I’ve mention this before. If passed, this measure will regulate organic agriculture in Europe starting in the year 2020. This measure is the result of a 2+ year trialog process between the EU Commission, Council and Parliament, and several people and organizations I know have been involved in it. It’s been heavily influenced by the food industry, and lots of compromises have been made on all sides. Probably everyone is a little unhappy with it, and it’s not perfect. It is however set to significantly change the way organic food is produced for the European market.
The first vote on this measure is expected in the council on 20 November 2017.
The most contentious element concerns the use of organic seeds, or more broadly Plant Reproductive Material (PRM), in organic production. That is, the food industry wants the use of organic seeds to be mandatory, because they are the ones who control most of the production and distribution of organic seeds. This has really no added benefit to consumers, because they are still industrially bred and produced seeds, and it’s unlikely any incidental agricultural chemicals present in seeds could impact the quality of the final product. In a broad sense, the food industry seems to have won on this point, and organic seeds will be required more frequently in organic production.
On the other hand, the rules concerning biodiversity have been relaxed. There is now a new class of PRM called ‘heterogeneous material’, which is more suited to use in organic production and more likely to result in higher quality products and more diversity being available to the consumer. Technically speaking, pretty much any organic seed will be legal to use, which is a big change from the present situation.
The main losers in the new regulation will be small farmers in the developing world, who now have to comply with EU organic rules, and will find it difficult to source reasonably priced organic PRM suited for their local climates. This also means European consumers will also lose out, because fewer high quality products will be legal to import under the label of ‘organic’.
Some important points of the new regulation:
- Organic farmers will be allowed to exchange, use and sell their own ‘organic heterogeneous material’ without prior registration. The current rigorous system of prior registration will be replaced with a highly simplified system of notification.
- Farmers will now have access to ‘organic varieties suitable for organic production’, initially on the basis of a 7 year marketing test, later to be incorporated permanently into EU legislation. This will allow organic farmers access to better quality seeds than are currently available.
- An EU-wide database will be created, containing all available organic seeds. This will be available to all EU users free of charge.
- Many products not covered by the current organic framework, or presently sold as organic, will be in the future. For example rabbits, deer, traditional herbal preparations, beeswax, cork, wool, salt, etc.
- Reinforcement of the soil-bound principle for plants. In the future, plants not grown on soil would not be considered organic. There will be a minor 10-year exemption for some pre-existing Nordic producers.
- Limited ‘group certification’ of organic producers would be allowed. For very low income farmers, it will now be possible to apply and maintain organic certification with a group of other farmers.
- Measurement of contamination is to be addressed, and smarter enforcement of violations.
- European standards are to be imposed on all imported goods. Currently about 50% of organic goods are imported, covered by about 60 different organic standards.
Responsibility of Consumers
While this regulation may be a little more credible, and under some circumstances ‘make legal’ some biodiversity that’s not currently available, no benefits are guaranteed for the consumer.
Now more than ever, it’s important to uphold the principle of buying locally, from farmers and sellers you trust. This is far more important than buying certified organic. It’s important to share your experiences and conclusions on social media, and to promote sensible products over low quality mass marketed ones.
More than ever, it’s important for consumers to be aware of what seeds are used in the production of our food. This new regulation provides a small crack, through which the sale of non-industrial seeds are to be legalized. It’s important consumers find ways of buying food grown from these seeds, and clawing back control of the food system from multinationals.
This new regulation will introduce many changes, and no doubt some surprises are in store for all of us.
