News
24/06/2021
Seeds
Commission opens public consultation on the review of the seed legislation
The Commission’s Directorate General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE) is reviewing the Union’s options to update the existing…
Comics showing why industrial agriculture is broken
In May 2020, the EU released its Biodiversity and Farm to Fork strategies as part of the European Green Deal.…
21/06/2021
Biodiversity
CAP
Climate change
EU Green Deal
Events
Farm to Fork
Food policy
Organic regulations
Ten take-aways of the European Organic Congress 2021 - 16-18 June, online, live from Lisbon
Following a successful edition of the hybrid European Organic Congress 2021, we are happy to share the ten key take-aways…
Beekeepers and civil society concerned about pesticide risk assessment methodology
At the Agriculture and Fisheries (AGRIFISH) Council on 28-29 June, Member State representatives will vote on a crucial step for…
21/06/2021
Biodiversity
CAP
Climate change
EU Green Deal
Events
Farm to Fork
Food policy
Organic regulations
More than 660 discussed transitioning to more sustainable food & farming systems at European Organic Congress - 16-18 June, online, live from Lisbon
This year’s edition of our European Organic Congress took place online and live from Lisbon on 16-18 June 2021. More…
Curious about alternatives to contentious fertilisers? Read RELACS’ new practice abstracts
The RELACS project just released two new practice abstracts on promising alternatives to fertilisers suitable for organic farming. Struvite as…
Getting food on the climate agenda - FoodSHIFT2030 webinar - 15 June 2021, online
Climate change policy debates fail to consider the interconnected nature of food systems and involve a wide range of actors.…
14/06/2021
CAP
Support for French mobilisation for organic farming in CAP strategic plan
Future national CAP strategic plans are now being discussed at national level. In France, FNAB, the French organic farming organisation…
IPBES and IPCC call to prioritize solutions benefiting both biodiversity and climate
On 10 June 2021, scientist and leading experts from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and…
09/06/2021
GMOs
European retailers take a strong stand against deregulating new GMOs
On 26 May 2021, European retailers took a strong stand against deregulating new GMOs in a joint resolution. One of…
For a just transition to align the EU food system with the Green Deal - 26 May 2021, online
French and European food systems need to be transformed to address health, environmental and social challenges. However, the current policy…
22/05/2021
Biodiversity
Organic is Part of the Solution in Ensuring Biodiversity
This article was first published by IFOAM Organics International on their blog ‘Organic without boundaries‘. Each and every animal, microorganism…
Vitamin B2 supplementation and copper reduction in organic farming - New RELACS practice abstracts
The RELACS project recently published three new practice abstracts (practical guidelines) on: Vitamin B2 supplementation for laying and parent hens…
19/05/2021
GMOs
New GMOs in Europe? Slow Food Europe podcast with our Policy Coordinator
Slow Food Europe just launched a podcast series dedicated to European food and farming policies, gathering experts to discuss hot…
Welcome note May 2021 newsletter
Dear readers, It is spring, a period I associate with birth and budding blossoms, the energetic execution of gardening plans…
05/05/2021
GMOs
Political hotspot May 2021 newsletter
On Thursday, 29 April, the Commission released their long-awaited in-house study on the ‘status of new genomic techniques under Union…
03/05/2021
Seeds
EU Commission presents options to review the common seed legislation
Following a request from Member States in 2019, the Commission has published a study on the options to update the…
03/05/2021
CAP
Co-legislators discussing green architecture
During the trilogue meeting on Friday 30 April, dedicated to the “green architecture” of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the…
Organic movement raises red flag on assumed benefits deregulating new genomic techniques
BRUSSELS, 29 APRIL 2021 – The organic food and farming movement criticises the Commission’s plan to work on a new…
20/04/2021
Biodiversity
Sign the European Citizens’ Initiative to save bees and farmers!
To all our members, newsletter subscribers & website visitors who have not signed the European Citizens’ Initiative to ‘Save bees…
RELACS and Organic-PLUS collaborate to find alternatives to contentious inputs
On 8 April 2021, more than 50 participants joined RELACS and Organic-PLUS’ webinar to discuss both projects’ activities on reducing…
Towards a new framework for EU soils?
Soil is a non-renewable resource key to all growing and living on it. Part of the EU Biodiversity strategy for…
13/04/2021
Plant health care
Public consultation on the revision of the Sustainable Use of Pesticides (SUD) legislation closes
While the European Commission is revising the Directive for a sustainable use of pesticides (the so-called SUD), IFOAM Organics Europe…
Discuss CAP, new EU Organic Regulation & more at the European Organic Congress 2021 - Remember to save the date!
Are you interested in discussing the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the new EU Organic Regulation, rural development and more? Then save…
LIVESEED webinar for Members of the European Parliament & their staff - 30 March, online
On 30 March, LIVESEED invited Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and their staff to present them the outcomes of…
Civil society, farmers and business organizations: Vice-President Timmermans, don't deregulate GM crops & animals
BRUSSELS, 30 MARCH 2021 – Today, a large coalition of 162 civil society, farmers and business organisations calls on Vice…
European Commission’s Soil Strategy
Healthy soils are essential to meet climate and biodiversity goals set by the European Green Deal. As part of the…
Welcome note March 2021 newsletter
Dear readers, On behalf of the European organic movement, I would like to welcome the new European Organic Action Plan…
25/03/2021
CAP
CAP negotiations and a ‘super trilogue’: An update
Agriculture Ministers of the European Union met on 22-23 March to further discuss their position on the future of the…
[Exclusive for members] Let's discuss organic hot topics
As a follow-up of the thematic sessions hosted during BIOFACH, we are bringing our members live sessions during which they…
23/03/2021
Plant health care
Have your say on future EU policy options on the sustainable use of pesticides: participate in the Commission’s public consultation
The European Commission is looking for stakeholders’ feedback to design future policy options for the revision of the Sustainable Use…
23/03/2021
Seeds
Secondary legislation on ‘Organic Heterogenous Material’ finalized
The secondary legislation on Organic Heterogenous Material (OHM) is in the process of being finalized and soon to be published…
New router database connects Member States’ organic seed databases
A long-awaited solution for seed suppliers, European organic farmers, and national authorities arrived. The new router database will increase the…
Organic agriculture as a living lab and front runner in applying digital technologies adapted to farmers' needs – Internet of Food & Farm 2020 final event - 16-18 March 2021, online
On 16-18 March, the final event of the Internet of Food and Farm 2020 (IoF2020) project took place online. More…
15/03/2021
Plant health care
The European Commission proposes updated rules for agricultural statistics on pesticides and fertilisers
The Farm to Fork strategy’s ambitions and targets have created needs for new data on pesticide and fertiliser use. In…
EUCARPIA-LIVESEED Conference - Breeding and seed sector innovations for organic food systems - 8-10 March 2021, online
A conference organised by Latvian LIVESEED partner AREI to present recent scientific results in organic plant breeding took place on…
11/03/2021
Biodiversity
Help us save bees and farmers - sign the petition to transform Europe’s food and farming systems now!
Do you want to help save bees and farmers? Then add your signature to The European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) before…
Listen to first episode of the #Food4EU podcast with IFOAM Organics Europe President Jan Plagge on the European Union’s role in shaping the organic market
IFOAM Organics Europe President Jan Plagge spoke during the first episode of the new podcast series on food and farming…
Watch RELACS’ new project video on copper replacement in Hungarian organic vineyard
RELACS just released a new project video on replacing copper in plant protection products in organic viticulture. In the organic…
[Exclusive for members] GMOs and gene editing in agriculture: Event recordings available until 15 March
On 10 February 2021, more than 160 participants and 7 speakers joined the online event GMOs and gene editing in…
More than 1,000 attended our sessions at BIOFACH’s e-Special - 17-19 February 2021, online
On 17-19 February 2021, the first online edition of BIOFACH took place with more than 13,800 participants. 17 February: Opening…
Organic and Conventional sectors discuss genome editing at IFOAM Organics Europe event - 10 February 2021, online
IFOAM Organics Europe invited food & farming stakeholders and policymakers to discuss GMOs and gene editing in agriculture. With the…
09/02/2021
Climate change
Read EIP-AGRI’s brochure on climate-smart agriculture and learn about solutions for resilient farming and forestry
Farming significantly contributes to climate change with agriculture being responsible for about 10% of greenhouse gas emissions in the European…
Welcome note February 2021 newsletter
Dear readers, On behalf of the European organic movement, I would like to welcome you back after the winter break…
02/02/2021
GMOs
Detection Cibus’ GM-canola: An update
A regulation is only worth so much as it can be enforced. This is why on 7 September 2020, an…
Save the date: The organic movement meets online at BIOFACH 2021 Policy Day to discuss “25% European land in organic by 2030” - 17 February 2021, online
Organised by IFOAM Organics Europe in collaboration with BIOFACH, the Policy Day under the title 25% European Land in Organic…
Coming soon: EU router database for organic seed
The launch of the EU router database’s for organic seed is approaching! This database will : Simplify access to international…
From lab to field: RELACS’ first project video on new plant protection products replacing copper in organic viticulture
In their commercial vineyard in Frick, Switzerland, FiBL carried out 16 treatments of new plant protection products against mildew in…
Register now for our public event “GMOs and gene editing in agriculture: the benefits of regulation” - 10 February, online
How does organic & non-organic food and farming avoid contamination with GMOs? Why is it so relevant for food production…
“Wir haben es satt!” alliance : Use the election year to vote out an agricultural policy that is harmful to farmers, animals and the environment
This press release was first published by Wir Haben Es Satt! Agriculture change alliance (“We are fed up!”) demands sustainable…