News
Jan Plagge re-elected President of IFOAM Organics Europe
BRUSSELS, 21 JUNE 2023 – At today’s General Assembly, IFOAM Organics Europe’s membership elected a new Board and Jan Plagge…
12/06/2023
Biodiversity
Farmers want nature restoration
On 15 June the European Parliament’s Environment Committee will vote on their report on the Nature Restoration Law. Organic farmers…
26/05/2023
GMOs
300+ organizations unite to send strong signal to Frans Timmermans, demanding a shift to evidence-based sustainability food systems rather than unfounded hope on new GMOs
More than 300 organizations signed a letter sent to Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal in the…
Political Hotspot May 2023
The proposal for an EU nature restoration law is facing major opposition, recently leading to the rejection of the whole…
22/05/2023
Biodiversity
Nature restoration, crucial for resilient food & farming systems
BRUSSELS, 22 MAY 2023 – Biodiversity protection and well-functioning ecosystems are essential for food production. But the Commission’s proposal on…
High-level policy debate and networking reception organised by TP Organics on "A Soil Deal for Europe and Beyond" on 30 May
TP Organics, the European Technology Platform for Research and Innovation in Organic and Agroecology, whose secretariat is hosted by IFOAM…
National CAP Strategic Plans: On the road to achieving the 25% organic target
The Horizon Europe project OrganicTargets4EU supports the achievement of the targets set by the EU’s Farm to Fork and Biodiversity…
ECO-READY: Developing a European Observatory for short and long-term food and agriculture resilience strategies
The ECO-READY project aspires to identify climate-change drivers affecting food security and biodiversity across Europe. The comprehensive understanding of the EU…
The multiple benefits of organic for climate and biodiversity – visualised in our new infographic
The systemic approach of organic farming contributes to climate mitigation, supports the adaptation of farmers to the consequences of climate…
10/04/2023
TP Organics
Farmers at the heart of innovation applying and sharing knowledge in living farm labs
“Organic living labs and lighthouse farms in Europe” is a study by TP Organics, the European technology platform for organic…
Political Hotspot March 2023
After a postponement in November 2022, on 22 March 2023 the European Commision’s proposal for a Directive on substantiation and…
22/03/2023
GMOs
EU environmental ministers give clear signal to Commission to maintain precautionary principle & risk assessment for NGTs
On 16 March, the Council meeting of environmental ministers sent a decisive message to the European Commission as a large…
08/03/2023
GMOs
We want to be able to choose! Ensure GMO-free food production.
Update 23.03.2023: Junges Bioland initiated an online petition on this topic, addressed to Olaf Scholz, Germany’s Prime Minister, and to…
February 2023 Newsletter - Multilingual Edition
Read this Special Newsletter edition in CZ, DE, ES, FR, HU, IT, LT, NL, PL, PT, RO Welcome note Dear reader, Welcome to a very special edition of our newsletter. At…
13/02/2023
GMOs
European Court of Justice decision on ‘in vitro’ mutagenesis strengthens 2018 ruling subjecting gene editing to EU GMO Directive
The recent ruling by the European Court of Justice, published on 7 February, closes a 2015 case brought forward by…
Study on the environmental impacts of achieving 25% organic land by 2030 published
The European Union’s ambitious Farm to Fork Strategy target of 25% organic farmland by 2030 is a clear statement of…
Successful GMO petition handover to the Commission
On February 7, environmental, agricultural, and consumer rights organizations gathered in front of the European Parliament in Brussels to officially…
06/02/2023
GMOs
New year, old narratives – Why genetic engineering is (still) not the solution to food security
The European Commission kicked off 2023 by publishing a report on the drivers of food security, recognising the value of…
22/12/2022
Biodiversity
What the Global Biodiversity Framework means for agriculture
Two years later than initially planned, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, world leaders adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).…
GMOs – An easy breakdown on common myths
Global grassroots organization Slow Food International has recently published a short myth-busting article with the most common, but wrong and…
November newsletter: SUR, GMO-free event, and more!
Two weeks ago, we published our November newsletter and it’s rich in updates and information on the hottest organic topics!…
Agreement on new deforestation law
EU consumption is responsible for around 10% of global deforestation. In the beginning of December, the Council and European Parliament…
Welcome note November 2022
Dear reader, I am happy to welcome you to this year’s last edition of our newsletter. I am proud to…
1 million EU citizens knock on EU’s door: No synthetic pesticides to save bees & farmers
Over 1 million EU citizens are asking to restore nature, provide healthy food, healthy soil and clean water. On Friday 25…
GMO-free Europe Event held at the European Parliament to take a stand discuss the European Commission's new NGT legislative proposal
The European Commission announced a new legislative proposal for so-called ‘Novel Genomic Techniques’ in the second quarter of 2023. This…
14/10/2022
GMOs
The scientists behind the GMO deregulation lobby – A story of vested interests
Many scientists currently active in agricultural biotechnology who lobby for deregulating so-called ‘new genomic techniques’ (NGTs) in the European Union…
14/10/2022
GMOs
Add your signature – Support these EU-wide petitions to stop attempts to deregulate new GMOs
The European Commission is working on a new legislative proposal for ‘New Genomic Techniques’ (NGTs). We expect this to be…
Save the Date: GMO-Free Europe Event 2022 - 17 November
We invite you to join us for a GMO-free Europe event at the European Parliament to discuss the European Commission’s…
27/09/2022
GMOs
Worrying step to deregulating GMOs: EU Agriculture Commissioner says “no controversy about direction” among EU Agricultural Ministers
The recent Informal meeting of the EU Ministers of Agriculture set a worrying tone for the political agenda regarding Genetically…
Watch the EU Organic Awards ceremony, tomorrow 23/9, 10:00
Tomorrow, Friday 23 September, there will be the second edition of the EU Organic Day, established by the European Commission…
14/09/2022
Biodiversity
European Parliament adopts position on deforestation-free products
The European Parliament has voted on its position on the Commission proposal for a regulation on deforestation-free products. On 13…
June newsletter: measuring pesticides, new GMOs, and more!
We just published our June newsletter and it’s rich in updates and information on the hottest organic topics! Not sure…
27/06/2022
GMOs
Public consultation on new genomic techniques still ongoing + Member briefing
The 12-weeks consultation period of the European Commission in the context of the Impact Assessment for new legislation for ‘New…
Organic Innovation Days 2022: Living labs & lighthouse farms in organic, 11-12 October 2022, Rumbeke-Beitem & Brussels, Belgium
After two virtual editions of the Organic Innovation Days, this year’s edition will once again take place as a physical…
Alternatives to contentious input in organic - Heritage of RELACS project
The RELACS project developed and researched alternatives to contentious inputs in organic crop production – copper and mineral oils, nutrient…
Wrapping up the RELACS project: Policy roadmaps, videos & other publications
The RELACS project, which aims at finding alternatives to contentious inputs in organic farming, came to an end on 29…
03/05/2022
GMOs
Commission opens public consultation on new legislation for new genetic engineering techniques
The EU Commission launched a 12-weeks consultation period in the context of the Impact Assessment for new legislation for ‘New…
Soil Health Law: Organic movement’s contribution to public consultation
60-70% of soils in the EU are not healthy and the EU still lacks a comprehensive soil protection policy. In…
16/03/2022
GMOs
No risk assessment and labelling for eggs and hens of genetically modified origin?
Following an EU Commission statement, it can be concluded that eggs and laying hens that originate from genetically engineered hens…
02/02/2022
GMOs
New GMOs: What’s next for Europe & state-of-play legislative process
As covered in previous editions of our newsletter, the European Commission has been moving forward with plans to create a…
Trialogues on Regulation on Statistics on Agricultural Inputs and Outputs to start
On 10 December, the Council of the EU approved its mandate for negotiations on the Regulation on Statistics on Agricultural…
Revised Directive for a Sustainable Use of pesticides expected on 23 March
The indicative calendar of the European Commission for the first half of 2022 mentions the launch of a “Nature restauration…
New tools and practices for organic dairy sector from the NEFERTITI project
Looking for inspiration for improving organic dairy farming? Check out the new videos from the NEFERTITI project that showcase tools…
19/01/2022
Animal welfare
Feedback to the public consultation on animal welfare
The European Commission launched a public consultation on the revision of the EU legislation on animal welfare. IFOAM Organics Europe…
Review of events
On November 16, IFOAM Organics Europe and French Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Eric Andrieu (S&D) co-hosted a webinar…
14/12/2021
GMOs
Commission event: Can New Genetic Engineering Techniques (NGETs) be sustainable?
The European Commission invited stakeholders, public officials, and politicians for a high-level event to discuss their plans to launch new…
Read our new leaflet on plant health care in organic farming
Have you ever heard of all the preventive plant protection measures implemented by organic farmers to produce food without using…
Alternatives for contentious inputs: Research well on track, 30 November 2021-1 December 2021
On 30 November and 1 December, the Organic Innovation Days 2021 entitled “Better inputs for organic agriculture” took place online. In 2021,TP Organics’ annual public event,…
25/11/2021
Animal welfare
Public consultation revision EU legislation on Animal Welfare open until 21 January 2022
The European Commission launched a public consultation on the revision of the EU legislation on animal welfare, open until 21…
Addressing food & nutrition security at ATF-FEFAC event - Brussels, 18 November 2021
Nowadays, livestock and crop production are intensive and specialised with negative impact on the nutrient flows and environment. An efficient…