EU organic output out of step with consumption

Organic consumption is falling in Europe even as governments mandate more production using that farming system.

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The European Commission is not paying attention to what people want, said Lode Ceyssens, president of the Belgian Farmers Union in Flanders.

Why it matters: The EU’s Farm to Fork strategy emphasizes sustainable agriculture production, and organic production is encouraged.

“They are not following consumer trends,” he said during a session on market and consumer trends at the North American European Union farm leaders conference.

“They are saying you should produce more organic. In Belgium, we don’t see organic consumption increasing. Instead I thought last year it was lowering. So now they’re imposing us to produce more of a thing consumers want less.”

Ramon Armengol, a Spanish hog producer and president of Cogeca, which represents European farm co-operatives, said inflation has changed buying habits.

“Sales of organic products have fallen and consumers have begun to opt for the cheapest option, even the wealthiest consumers,” he said through a translator.

“The problem is that we cannot produce these products meeting higher requirements at the same price as conventional products.”

Being forced by law to produce organically puts farmers at economic risk, he said.

Farmers and agribusinesses have to use common sense and direct legislators toward more realistic objectives. They also have to educate consumers.

“We have to improve communication to the public regarding what we do and how new technologies work and why we need them,” Armengol said, adding consumers have no knowledge of how agriculture actually works.

Canadian Federation of Agriculture president Keith Currie said organic consumption in North America has remained stable despite a constant call for more organic production.

There is a perception that it is better, but it’s just different, he said, pointing to his own use of copper sulfate on organic land he owns. Consumers are surprised when he tells them it is one of the most toxic substances in the world and is approved for organic production.

“Organic is a choice,” Currie said.

The organic versus conventional debate is just one of the challenges farmers face in educating people.

Michael Graydon, chief executive officer of Food, Health and Consumer Products Canada, said consumers can be smart but they can also be led down the garden path with false information online.

Food producers and processors need to set the record straight.

“What people say and what they do is very different,” he said.

“We’re at a particular juncture in time now where there’s a lot of competing information, and we just need to be clear as an industry and try to get the facts on the table.”

Currie said the CFA is involved with a couple of initiatives, including the Canadian Agri-Food Sustainability Initiative (CASI) and the National Index on Agri-Food Performance.

CASI is still in the pilot stage, but the farmer-led platform intends to measure and communicate on-farm sustainability initiatives so that consumers can be confident in how their food is produced.

The latter involves 135 partners throughout the value chain who are using science-based, outcome-based data, where available, to demonstrate sustainability and drive consumer confidence.

– Karen Briere is a reporter with The Western Producer.