Biologisch voedsel

Biologisch voedsel, vers of verwerkt voedsel geproduceerd door biologische landbouwmethoden. Biologisch voedsel wordt geteeld zonder het gebruik van synthetische chemicaliën, zoals door de mens gemaakte pesticiden en meststoffen, en bevat geen genetisch gemodificeerde organismen (GGO's). Biologisch voedsel omvat verse producten, vlees en zuivelproducten, evenals verwerkt voedsel zoals crackers, dranken en diepvriesmaaltijden. De markt voor biologisch voedsel is sinds het einde van de 20e eeuw aanzienlijk gegroeid en is uitgegroeid tot een miljardenindustrie met verschillende productie-, verwerkings-, distributie- en retailsystemen.

Het beleid

Hoewel biologische voedselproductie begon als een alternatieve landbouwmethode buiten de mainstream, werd het uiteindelijk verdeeld over twee verschillende paden: (1) kleinschalige boerderijen die mogelijk niet formeel biologisch gecertificeerd zijn en dus afhankelijk zijn van geïnformeerde consumenten die op zoek zijn naar lokale, verse, biologisch geteeld voedsel; en (2) grootschalig gecertificeerd biologisch voedsel (vers en verwerkt) dat doorgaans over grote afstanden wordt vervoerd en wordt gedistribueerd via typische supermarktketens. Als consumenten hun lokale boer kennen en de productiemethoden van de boer vertrouwen, is het mogelijk dat ze geen certificeringslabel eisen. Aan de andere kant is voor biologisch voedsel dat ver weg wordt geproduceerd en verzonden, eerder een certificeringslabel vereist om het vertrouwen van de consument te bevorderen en fraude te voorkomen, wat een voorbeeld is van hoe nationale certificeringsregels het meest voordelig zijn.

Een regelgevingskader is het belangrijkst wanneer consumenten en boeren geografisch gescheiden zijn, en een dergelijk kader zal waarschijnlijk tegemoetkomen aan grotere producenten die deelnemen aan een meer industrieel systeem. Deze regelgevende benadering komt niet noodzakelijk overeen met de veronderstellingen van consumenten over biologische voedselproductie, die doorgaans afbeeldingen bevatten van kleine familieboerderijen en de humane behandeling van dieren. Over het algemeen gaan de regels rond biologisch voedsel niet in op complexere sociale zorgen over familiebedrijven, landarbeiderslonen of bedrijfsomvang, en op sommige plaatsen doet het biologische beleid weinig om dierenwelzijn aan te pakken.

Organic food policies were created largely to provide a certification system with specific rules regarding production methods, and only products that follow the guidelines are allowed to use the certified organic labels. In the United States, the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 began the process of establishing enforceable rules to mandate how agricultural products are grown, sold, and labeled. The regulations concerning organic food and organic products are based on a National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances, which is a critical aspect of certified organic farming methods. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulates organic production through its National Organic Program (NOP), which serves to facilitate national and international marketing and sales of organically produced food and to assure consumers that USDA certified organic products meet uniform standards. To this end, NOP established three specific labels for consumers on organic food products: “100% organic,” “organic,” or “made with organic ***,” which signify that a product’s ingredients are 100 percent, at least 95 percent, or 70 percent organic, respectively. Noncertified products cannot use the USDA organic seal, and violators face significant fines and penalties.

Organic regulations vary by country, some of the most comprehensive rules being seen in Europe. Objectives of organic farming in the European Union (EU) include respecting nature’s biological systems and establishing a sustainable management system; using water, soil, and air responsibly; and adhering to animal welfare standards that meet species-specific behavioral needs. In addition, principles of organic production in the EU are based on designing and managing farms to promote ecological systems and on using natural resources within the farming system. These policy goals go far beyond a defined listing of prohibited materials in organic production.

Environment

The overall impacts of organic agriculture are beneficial to the environment. Certified organic production methods prohibit the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, thus reducing chemical runoff and the pollution of soils and watersheds. Smaller-scale organic farming often is associated with significant environmental benefits, owing to the use of on-farm inputs, such as fertilizers derived from compost created on-site. By comparison, large-scale organic farms often require inputs generated off-site and may not employ integrated farming methods. These operations may buy specific allowable inputs, such as fish emulsion or blood meal to use as fertilizer rather than working within the farm to increase soil fertility. While this decrease in synthetic chemical use benefits the environment compared with industrial agriculture, these methods may not promote long-term sustainability, since off-farm inputs usually require greater fossil fuel use than on-farm inputs.

Society

Social concerns related to organic food include higher costs to consumers and geographic variations in demand. Organic food usually ismore expensive for consumers than conventionally produced food because of its more labour-intensive methods, the costs of certification, and the decreased reliance on chemicals to prop up crop yields. This often translates into unequal access to organic food. Research indicates that greater wealth and education levels are correlated with organic food purchases.Further, there are trends in some lower-income countries to produce certified organic crops solely for export to wealthier countries. This sometimes generates a situation in which the farmers themselves cannot afford to buy the organic foods they are producing. While this strategy may bring economic gain in the short term, it is a concern when farmers are forced out of producing food crops that feed their local communities, thus increasing food insecurity.

Certified organic agriculture has also become a big business in many places, with larger farming operations playing a key role in national and global certified organic food markets. Given economies of scale, big food-processing companies often buy from a single farming operation that produces organic crops on thousands of acres, rather than from many smaller farms that each grow on smaller acreages, a practice that effectively limits the participation of smaller farmers in these markets. There also is disparity among farmers, since the organic certification process can be prohibitively expensive to some smaller-scale farmers. Although certification subsidies exist in some places, such farmers often opt to sell directly to consumers at farmers’ markets, for example, and may decide to forgo organic certification altogether.

Overall, organic food has grown in popularity, as consumers have increasingly sought and purchased foods that they perceive as being healthier and grown in ways that benefit the environment. Indeed, consumers typically buy organic food in order to reduce their exposure to pesticide residues and GMOs. Further, some research shows that organically produced crops have higher nutritional content than comparable nonorganic crops, and some people find organic foods to be tastier. The question remains, however, whether organic food shipped in from across the globe is truly a sustainable method of food production. Certainly organically produced food from a local farmer who employs an integrated whole-farm approach is fairly environmentally sustainable, though the economic sustainability of such an endeavour can be challenging. Although humans must decrease their reliance on fossil fuels to combat climate change, many organic policies do little to address the issue of sustainability, focusing instead on the strict list of prohibited substances, rather than a comprehensive long-term view of farming and food.