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First IFOAM International Conference on the Marketing of Organic and Regional Values Concludes Local and Regional Development Have to be Strengthened by All Means |
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August 29, 2007
First IFOAM International Conference on the Marketing of Organic and Regional Values Concludes Local and Regional Development Have to be Strengthened by All Means |
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Schwaebisch Hall, Germany – From August 26-28, 2007, over 200 participants from 40 countries came together for the 1st IFOAM International Conference on the Marketing of Organic and Regional values to discuss ideas, opportunities and strategies to protect organic product identity, traditional knowledge and biodiversity, and thus farmers and rural communities. With over 50 keynote speeches and presentations from experts and leaders in the organic sector, such as Dr. Vandana Shiva and Helena Norberg-Hodge, both winners of the Right Livelihood Award, the conference addressed the importance of bringing back value in local and regional economies that are increasingly getting lost in our globalized world. |
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Organized by Organic
Services and Ecoland in cooperation with IFOAM, and supported by the
German Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture, and Consumer Protection, the 1st
IFOAM International Conference on Marketing Organic and Regional Values
stressed the importance of local ecological and cultural systems from
around the world. With a growing consumer demand for organic products,
organic farming offers alternative strategies and solutions for rural
development, thus enhancing economic prosperity.
In his
opening speech, Gerald A. Herrmann, IFOAM President, emphasized “We
have been successful in establishing a common understanding of organic
in the world, and we are far ahead of other sectors in this regard. Now
we must ask ourselves what more we can do to position organic in the
mind of the consumer and in the heart of the farmer. This conference
discussed what we can do to highlight the richness that has always been
in organic farming and organic food manufacturing.”
Conference
participants unanimously issued the Schwaebisch Hall Declaration, which
concludes that as rural communities are threatened by corporate
monopolies and genetic engineering, regional development must be
strengthened by all means. The declaration sounds support for
identifying values through brands, trademarks and geographical
indications coupled with organic farming as the social and economic
alternative for rural areas that has the potential for developing
long-term ecological and economic sustainability. The complete
conference declaration can be found here:
www.ifoam.org/press/positions/pdfs/Conference_Declaration.pdf
IFOAM
appreciated the hospitality from Schwaebisch Hall and the pride that
the local population has in their local specialties. The hallmark black
and white Swabian breed of pig that was rescued by Rudolph Buehler,
President of the Baeuerliche Erzeugergemeinschaft Schwaebisch Hall, the
main sponsor of the event, epitomizes regional efforts to maintain
cultural heritage and sustainable food systems defined by high-quality,
unique identity and community integration. It was an honor for IFOAM to
enjoy a warm welcome from Roland Heckelmann, the Honorary Deputy Mayor
of Schwaebisch Hall and Peter Hauk, the Minister of Food and Rural
Development of Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany.
Dr. Vandana Shiva
highlighted the negative consequences of industrialized agriculture for
everyone – both rich and poor. “One billion people on the planet are
hungry. Another two billion are suffering from food related diseases
such as obesity, diabetes and hypertension. Those who are not getting
access to food are victims of malnutrition related to being poor, and
those who buy non-food from the global supermarket are victims of
malnutrition of the rich.”
Helena
Norberg-Hodge, author of Bringing the Food Economy Home, unraveled common
economic theory about food and agriculture. “All across the world, I’ve
seen that if we want to understand globalization, one of the best and
most clear areas is to understand what’s happening to food and farming.
Governments are subsidizing the transport of food, they are subsidizing
the green revolution, and they are subsidizing a type of education and
a type of energy and technologies that encourage markets from further
and further away and lead to the destruction of local economies. When
it comes to understanding the economy, we need a global perspective.
When it comes to understanding nature, we need a local perspective. If
we support a local food movement and the staples would come from closer
to home, the benefits to multitudes of businesses would be enormous,
starting with the farmers and production. Localizing doesn’t mean
eliminating trade, but it does mean that people have a human right to
fresh food from closer to home. If around the world we were to eat our
own staple foods, every time we eat, a multinational corporation
wouldn’t make money.”
Renate Künast, Chair of the Parliamentary
Party of The Greens, former Minister of Food and Agriculture declared
that the Agriculture Policy of the European Union but also structure
and policy of the World Trade Organization (WTO) have to be changed.
She highlighted that “We have to change funding mechanisms and build
them with social and ecological criteria. One of the possibilities is
that you only get money if your farm has a certain layer of humus, and
if you don’t have it, you don’t get direct payments. We also have to
help regional marketing projects to get more money. These are key
lessons learned from the program ‘Regionen aktiv’.”
Videos of several keynote speeches from the
conference are available on the IFOAM website at:
http://www.ifoam.org/press/videos
The
conference would not have been possible without the generous financial
support of all its sponsors and the support of cooperating partners and
media partners.
Main Sponsor
- Bäuerliche Erzeugergemeinschaft Schwäbisch Hall (BESH)
Silver Sponsors:
- BioFach 2008, World Organic Trade Fair
- German Investment and Development Company (DEG)
- Jürgen Serr, HerbService, Herbs & Spices
- Aegean Exporters’ Associations, Turkey
- ALB-GOLD Cereals and noodles
- Rack & Rüther, Hessische sausages, like homemade
Bronze Sponsors:
- Organic Valley Family of Farms
- KWS Seed AG
- Lebensbaum, Ulrich Walter GmbH
- CMA, Central Marketing Agency for German Products
- RoBert’s Organic Poultry
Basic Sponsors:
- LaSelva, Specialties from Toskana
- Kamut International
Cooperation Partners:
- International Trade Centre UNCTAD / WTO
- Academy for Nature and Environmenal Protection, Baden-Wuerttemberg
Media Partner
Delicious
local organic food was served throughout the conference, with donations
from the Baeuerliche Erzeugergemeinschaft Schwaebisch Hall, Lauretana,
Rapunzel, Juergen Serr HerbService, Edeka Suedwest, Schrozberg dairy,
Riedenburger Brewery, ErdmannHAUSER, Robert’s Bio Poultry, Lebensbaum,
Kamut, Oekoring and Guayapi Tropical.
The complete conference proceedings can be ordered via the IFOAM bookstore (Print, 20 Euros, CD, 16 Euros, Download, 12 Euros)
For more information, contact:
Organic Services GmbH
Mildred Steidle
Landsberger Str. 527
81241 München Germany
Tel: +49 89 820 759 -07
Ifoam.conference0708@organic-services.com |
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