Eating organic is good for your health, you are sure! But what do scientists think? What are the real benefits of organic food? MEPs put the question to experts on November 18, 2015. Here is their response. 

The goal of organic farming is to produce food while preserving environmental resources, biodiversity and animal health. To do this, it excludes the use of synthetic chemicals and GMOs and limits the use of inputs. Before the development of synthetic fertilizers and intensive agriculture, all world agricultural production was de facto biological !

For Professor Johannes Kahl, one of the experts brought together by the European Parliament, eating Bio it is above all to register in a “Sustainable diet”. This notion of sustainability of food and agriculture was promulgated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Rome in 2014¹.

To obtain this “high quality” feed, farmers and breeders in the European Union (EU) are subject to strict standards, framed by regulations (834/2007 and 889/2008)².

If 95% of the finished product meets these standards, the organic food can carry the green logo of EU organic farming³.

A response to consumer concerns

More and more of us are turning to organic, despite its higher cost. This interest grows a little more with each food scandal, whenever our health is put on the spot or uncertainties about the future of the planet assail us⁴.

Could organic be our food “safe haven”? Studies show consumers associate organic label with positive health effects⁵. We also attribute to organic fruits and vegetables better flavor, “purity” (completely or practically without additives) and particular cleanliness (absence of pesticides and other pollutants)⁶.

So organic farming is on the rise. It currently constitutes one of the fastest growing agricultural sectors. Between the years 2005 and 2011, the total area of ​​land used for organic farming increased from 3,6% to 5,5% of the total agricultural area of ​​the 27 EU Member States. Globally, alone 1% of land are grown under organic farming.

*Access the retransmission of the workshop organized on November 18, 2015 by the Scientific and Technological Choices Assessment Unit (STOA) of the European Parliament.

FAO “Building a common vision for sustainable food and agriculture – Principles and approaches” (pdf) Rome, 2014. Downloadable at this link: http://www.fao.org/3/a-i3940f.pdf European Parliament “ Organic food: Helping EU consumers make an informed choice ”May 2015 (pdf). EUFIC “Organic food and agriculture: scientific facts and consumer perceptions” 2013. Available online at http://www.eufic.org [consulted on 23/12/2015] Yiridoe EK, Bonti-Ankomah S & Martin RC (2005 ). Comparison of consumer perceptions and preference toward organic versus conventionally produced foods: A review and update of the literature. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 20: 193-205. Brunsø K, Fjord TA & Grunert KG (2002). Consumers’ food choice and quality perception. vol Working paper no. 77. The Aarhus School of Business Aarhus Roininen K, Arvola A & Lahteenmaki L (2006). Exploring consumers’ perceptions different qualitative of local food with two techniques: Laddering and word association. Food Quality and Preference 17: 20-30.