Rapunzel: New criteria for HAND IN HAND program

Rapunzel Naturkost has revised the criteria for its Fairtrade programme HAND IN HAND (HIH). The HIH program has been in existence for 25 years.

Sustainable Beauty Awards open to entries

Ecovia Intelligence (formerly known as Organic Monitor) has announced that entries are now open for the 2018 Sustainable Beauty Awards in five categories.

UK: GO! Organic Festival in September

The GO! Organic Festival will take place on 8-9 September at Battersea Park in London. The two days event will offer entertainment, family fun and a lot of products in organic beauty, health and eco-living.

Glyphosate and cancer: Bayer arraigned

The class action lawsuit filed by 450 cancer patients blaming the manufacturer Monsanto and its glyphosate-containing pesticide Roundup for their disease has taken a decisive hurdle.

6,000 products with NATRUE label

Over 6,000 products now carry the NATRUE label.

Limited resources for natural cosmetics

Raw materials for natural cosmetics are in great demand. The supply is limited, the number of interested parties and the quantity required are increasing. Many ingredients have become expensive - and there is no end in sight.

IFOAM EU: 12th European Organic Congress in Vienna

IFOAM EU invites interested parties to its 12^th European Organic Congress ‘Organic on every table: Added value for farmers, consumers and society’ taking place in Vienna, Austria, from 25^th-26^th September 2018.

Retail groups call on strict regulation of new genetic engineering

Leading food retailers from Germany and Austria such as Edeka, Lidl, Rewe and SPAR have appealed to the EU Commission to make the procedures of new genetic engineering subject to EU genetic engineering law.

Asian Summit tackles sustainable packaging and ingredients

Hosted in Singapore on 4-5th September, the second Asia-Pacific edition of the Sustainable Foods Summit will feature sustainable packaging, ingredients, and marketing.

Biofach China: Fair and conference - two successful events

The 262 exhibitors from 17 countries and regions attracted 16,787 visitors at 12th edition of Biofach China.

High-tech strategies for small farmers and organic farming

Organic farming can benefit from technological developments and innovative solutions. The conference „Revolution in Food and Biomass Production (REFAB)” in Cologne will take place on October 1st and 2nd.

USA: Draft for investment in organic research and education

Over the last decade federal funding for organic agriculture research has remained roughly level, and not kept pace with the growth and opportunity that the organic sector has demonstrated. The recent farm bill draft let´s hope for more investment.

Austria: 100% organic food supply is possible

A 100% supply of Austria with domestic, organically produced food is possible. This is the result of a new study carried out by the Centre for Global Change at the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU) and the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL). By the study, the authors show the economic advantages and positive consequences for health and the environment. The study was presented by the initiative Mother Earth as well as Greenpeace as part of the key subject 2018 “Look where your food comes from!”

German organic tea experts draw attention to pesticides in wild herbs

With the "Political Lime Blossom Campaign", German tea and herb specialist Heuschrecke has drawn attention to the contamination of herbs from wild collection.

Spain: Impressive growth in the organic sector

EcoLogical, an  independent consultancy for organic businesses in Spain, has published the ‘Organic Sector in Spain 2018’. This report gathers the most up-to-date information about national and international public bodies and contains original studies about the Spanish organic sector.

German Alliance publishes resolution to regulate new genetic engineering processes

In the coming weeks, the European Court of Justice will give its opinion on the legal classification of new genetic engineering procedures. On this basis, the EU Commission and EU Member States decide whether and how they will regulate them in future.

Dutch raw chocolate maker Lovechock acquires Raw Patisserie

Raw Patisserie, a Dutch start up which had to file for insolvency at the beginning of June, and its brand Ridiculously Good was acquired by Lovechock B.V.

Switzerland: market grew to 2.25 billion euro

The Federal Office for Agriculture published the statistics 2017 for organic food. One in ten fresh food items sold in Switzerland last year was organic.

Germany: 1.4 million hectares organic land

The figures published by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture confirm that many German farmers switched to organic farming in 2017. This is an opportunity for policymakers to achieve important sustainability goals, says the organisaton BÖLW. 

France: Carrefour´s seed inititative „Forbidden Market“ successful

Ninety per cent of the planet’s cultivable varieties have already died out in the 20th century, says FAO. The French retailer Carrefour joined producers in their fight to make fruit and vegetables grown from farmers' seeds available to consumers.