Brussels, 15/01/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 15 January, the European Commission launched an online consultation (from 15 January to 15 April 2013) on the production of organic products in Europe. The results of the consultation will fuel discussion on setting a new regulatory framework in place, as planned in the Commission's report of May 2012 on implementation of the current regulation.
European organic agriculture covered 9.1 million hectares of land in 2010, and land dedicated to organic production increased in size by 7.2% during the period 2005 to 2010. Surface areas devoted to organic production in 2010 represented 5.1% of all agricultural land area in the EU. Spain led the way in the EU in 2010 (1.6 million hectares), ahead of Italy (1.1 million) and Germany (0.9 million). The number of organic farms was estimated at 227,041 in 2011 (41,825 in Italy, and 27,877 in Spain) compared with 219,555 in 2010.
In the online consultation, citizens are first of all asked whether they believe that the current European standard for organic products should be strengthened.
Pesticides. Verifying the absence of pesticide residue in all organic products would increase production costs, and hence the price of food. The question asked is: “Should this nevertheless be made compulsory?” and “Should the level of pesticide residues for organic products be set at a lower level than for conventional products?”
GMOs. Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and products produced from them are considered incompatible with the concept of organic production. The online consultation asks: “Is the fact that 'organic' by definition means 'GMO-free' an important reason why you buy organic?” Because organic systems are not isolated from the general production chain (cultivation, harvest, transport, storage and processing), the accidental presence of GM crops in organic farming systems cannot be completely ruled out. Under the current laws, there is no need to mention the possible presence of GMOs on the label of any food product where the GMO is likely to account for less than 0.9% of the product content. However, lower/stricter labelling requirements are likely to increase costs for consumers. This begs the question: “Should organic products be subject to the same labelling rules as conventional products, as regards the accidental or unavoidable presence of GMO?” If not, “should the amount (labelling threshold for accidental presence) of GMOs that must be mentioned on the label of organic products be lower than for conventional products?” Finally, consumers are asked: “Are you prepared to pay higher prices for organic products if this were the result of a lower GMO labelling limit?”
Exceptions to the rules. At the present time, organic farmers and other operators can be exempted from production rules and still have their produce certified organic. For instance, when organic seeds are not available on the market, farmers are allowed to use conventional, non-treated seeds. Other exceptions allow them to use non-organic animals. Consumers are asked: “Do you think these exemptions should continue?”
Origins of feed. Under European organic livestock production rules, animals should be fed with organic feed primarily obtained from the farm where the animals are kept or from other organic farms in the same region. For herbivores, like cows, sheep and goats, at least 60% of the feed must come from the same farm (or, if not possible, the same region). For pigs and poultry, the minimum is 20%. The consultation asks whether organic livestock should be fed: - feed from any location, as long as it is organic - a minimum percentage of feed from the farm or region - 100% feed from the farm or region - or 100% feed from the farm.
Controls. European organic legislation requires EU governments to set up a system of checks, run by one or more national authorities. These authorities may delegate monitoring tasks to private control bodies, under specific conditions. This possibility is widely used in Europe. Consumers are asked whether they trust products certified as organic. All European organic operators are inspected at least once a year. It is suggested in the consultation that this should be reduced to every two years for organic operators with a proven track record of abiding by the rules. The system for monitoring organic products sold in Europe could be improved but this would entail price rises in food.
On the subject of certification, the following question is asked: “Do you think that group certification, which is allowed for organic farmers in some non-EU countries, should be allowed in the EU?”
Trade. The European market is open to imports of organic products from countries outside the EU (third countries). The question posed is: “Do you agree that non-EU countries exporting to the EU should open their markets to organic products produced in EU countries?” (LC/transl.jl)