Organic Industry News: EU, U.S., China, India

From From left: Agricultural ministers Renate Knast (Germany), Ritt Bjerregaard (Denmark) and Margareta Winberg (Sweden) at the presentation of the Copenhagen Declaration at the European Conference – Organic Food and FarmingOn May 11, Agriculture ministers from 12 European countries signed the Copenhagen Declaration – it calls for the development of a European action plan for organic farming and food to be created over the next two years. Denmark’s agriculture ministry calls it a breakthrough for the European organic movement. Signatories to the Declaration are Denmark, Germany, Austria, Sweden, the Netherlands, the UK, Ireland and Greece, plus non-EU members Estonia, Lithuania, Norway and Switzerland. The Declaration acknowledges the important role organic food production can play in addressing food issues such as the safety of genetically modified foods, mad cow disease, dioxin in animal feeds, and foot and mouth disease in cattle and sheep. It notes that organic food is becoming a major opportunity for European food producers in light of the “growing consumer interest in certified organic products.” [sorry this link is no longer available]In the UK, organic food prices dropped dramatically in recent months, spurred by record sales last year. Supermarket chain Tesco reports that the number of organic food […]

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