Organic Standards

„Organic agriculture is a production system that sustains the health of soils, ecosystems and people. It relies on ecological processes, biodiversity and cycles adapted to local conditions, rather than the use of inputs with adverse effects. Organic agriculture combines tradition, innovation and science to benefit the shared environment and promote fair relationships and a good quality of life for all involved“. (IFOAM 2009)

 

The historical evolution of organic agriculture goes back dates from the beginning of the 20th century when improvements in biochemistry and engineering led to intensified conventional farming. This intensification, the use of synthetic fertilizers and chemical pesticides received criticism and triggered the evolution of organic farming movements from the 1920s onwards, major influences stemming mostly from European countries. These movements included various schools (e.g. “natural agriculture” or “biodynamic agriculture”), all based on ecological ideas. Their aim was to create an alternative farming system that stresses the interconnectedness of living organisms with nature. The farming system is thus seen as one whole organism. The first organic agriculture organizations and farmers’ associations were established in the 1940s, including for example the first organic certification label Bioland, as well as Naturland and Demeter in Germany, Bio Suisse in Switzerland, Nature et Progrès in France and the Soil Association in the UK. However, it was not until the rise of the environmental movement in the 1970s that organic farming received much attention and acceptance. In 1972 the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) was created as a forum for different actors engaged in organic farming. The consumers’ concern on food safety, food quality and animal welfare as well as their environmental responsibility were the driving forces of an increasing demand for organically produced agricultural products, especially in Europe, USA, Japan, Australia and Canada. In developing countries, traditional sustainable agriculture has been practiced for centuries; this type of farming may from today’s point of view also be called “organic by default”, although producers are often not certified organic. Organic agriculture today is based upon this traditional farming, innovations and scientific research.

Standards in organic agriculture were first set up by organic farmers’ associations which imposed certain binding norms for their members. These standards were solely private until the 1990s when organic agriculture started to become an issue of public discussion and legislation on organic agriculture was introduced by various countries, first of all in Europe. Today, standards on organic farming encompass hundreds of private voluntary standard initiatives worldwide and more than 60 countries have adopted national regulations. At the international level the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) publishes the “Guidelines for Production, Processing, Labelling and Marketing of Organically Produced Foods” on which national governments base their legal regulations. Mainly for the private sector, IFOAM publishes the “International Basic Standards for Organic Production and Processing”. Both documents include guidance on management principles for the production of agricultural products, handling, storage, processing, packaging and transport of products as well as a list of permitted substances. Regularly reviewed and updated these international guidelines provide a framework for certification bodies and standard-setting organizations (public and private) and thus constitute “standards for standards”. According to IFOAM, organic agriculture encompasses four basic principles: principle of health, principle of ecology, principle of fairness and principle of care. And according to the CAC organic standards have in common certain specifications, as for example: very strict limitation of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, prohibition of genetically modified organisms, crop rotation and mainly organic feed for livestock. Besides, the CAC guidelines become important for equivalence judgments under the rules of the WTO and thus guide governments in developing more harmonized national regulations for organic food. 

Most national and supranational regulations require producers to be certified by an approved and independent certification body. National organic farming programs include for example the EU Organic Regulations for EU countries, the US National Organic Program (NOP), the Japanese Agricultural Standard (JAS), the India National Program on Organic Production (NPOP), or on a provincial level in Canada the Québec Organic Reference Standards. Differing national organic standards and the acceptance of certain certification and accreditation labels may cause trade barriers. Therefore, FAO, IFOAM and UNCTAD launched the International Task Force on Harmonization and Equivalence in Organic Agriculture (ITF) in 2003 which aims at achieving a general consensus on harmonizing private with government standards/regulations.

Certification bodies, being private or public organizations, can be accredited by independent third-party accreditation bodies. At the international level, the International Organic Accreditation Service (IOAS) is the major accreditation body accrediting certification bodies according to IFOAM criteria. At the national level, governments or national accreditation bodies which are recognized by the respective government, accredit certification bodies. Both private and public accreditors adhere to the International Organization for Standardization basic standards for accreditation of certifiers (ISO 65).

Beside the differences in national organic regulations, private voluntary organic standards often have additional and more stringent requirements or cover specific areas in more detail (as for example on animal husbandry, animal welfare or certain compost preparation recipes). Private organic standard initiatives include for example Bioland, Naturland, Demeter (biodynamic agriculture) or Bio Suisse.

References:

Codex Alimentarius Commission (2007). Organically Produced Foods, 3rd ed. Rome:  Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), FAO and WHO.

Dabbert, S., Häring, A.M. & Zanoli, R. (2004). Organic Farming. London: Zed Books.

FAO (2009). Organic Agriculture: FAQ. http://www.fao.org/organicag/oa-faq/en/. Rome: FAO.

Giovanucci, D. & Purcell, T. (2008). Standards and Agricultural trade in Asia (ADB Institute Discussion Paper No. 107). Tokyo: Asian Development Bank Institute (ADB Institute).

IFOAM & FiBL (2008). The World of Organic Agriculture: Statistics & Emerging Trends 2008. Bonn, Germany: IFOAM and Frick, Switzerland: Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL)

IFOAM (2009). Definition of Organic Agriculture. http://www.ifoam.org/growing_organic/definitions/doa/index.html. Bonn: IFOAM.

Le Guillou, G. & Schrapé, A. (2000). Organic Farming: Guide to Community Rules. Luxembourg: European Commission, Directorate-General for Agriculture.

Lockeretz, W. (Ed.) (2007). Organic farming: an international history. Wallingford, UK: CABI.

Lotter, D.W. (2003). Organic Agriculture. Journal of Sustainable Agriculture, 21 (4), 59-128.

Luttikholt, L.W.M. (2007). Principles of organic agriculture as formulated by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements. NJAS wageningen journal of life sciences, 54 (4), 347-360.

Raynolds, L.T. (2004). Globalization of Organic Agro-Food Networks. World Development, 32 (5), 725-743.

Sawyer, E.N., Kerr, W.A. & Hobbs, J.E. (2009). International Marketing of Organic Foods: Consumers, Standards, and Harmonization. Journal of International Food & Agribusiness Marketing, 21 (1), 44-66.

Vogl, C.R., Kilcher, L. & Schmidt, H. (2005). Are standards and regulations of organic farming moving away from small farmers’ knowledge?. Journal of Sustainable Agriculture, 26 (1), 5-26.

 

Further information:

• CERTCOST (2009). Organic Rules and Certification. http://www.organicrules.org. Tjele, Denmark: International Centre for Research in Organic Food Systems (ICROFS).
• Ecolabelling: http://www.ecolabelling.org
• IFOAM: http://www.ifoam.org

Private Sector

Regional/National

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