The Social and Environmental Benefits of Local Food

Worldwatch Live Online Discussion

Brian Halweil: Senior Researcher

November 22, 2002 - 1:00pm EDT

We are very happy this week to talk with Worldwatch Senior Researcher Brian Halweil about the social and environmental benefits of organic food. Worldwide, organic farming is now a multibillion dollar industry, and the area of certified organic land is expanding at an annual percentage rate in the double-digits in most nations.

Budapest,Hungary: How can you enforce quality assurance on organic food products? Are there any international standards that small farmers have to comply with, or it's up to the local institutions to create them?

Brian Halweil: Hi Everyone. Welcome to the chat and let's get started.

Thanks for the question from Hungary, a nation where the area of organic crops is growing very rapidly to serve the nearby European Union market.

One of the reasons that the organic community in the U.S. asked the U.S. Congress to come up with one national standard is because the word was being misused. Previously, there had been a patchwork of state and private certification bodies which helped control quality, but the word "organic" still showed up on products that did not meet organic standards.

The best known international standard and international standard setting body is IFOAM (the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements), www.ifoam.org. Generally, a local certification body makes it easier and cheaper for the farmer--especially small farmers--because of a better knowledge of local production conditions.

Washington, DC: How do you see the vegetarian and vegan population as contributors to the organic boom? Is the growth in the organic market grossly outpacing the growth in the vegetarian/vegan population?

Brian Halweil: I think there is some overlap between these populations, since vegetarians/vegans concerned about their health or animal welfare, might also be concerned about the environmental implications of our diets. For instance, almost all of the soy products on the market are made with organic soybeans, based partly on the realization that many vegetarian consumers also care about organic. At the same time, the market for organic meat and dairy products is exploding, as meat-eaters become more concerned about antibiotics, hormones, and other contaminants in their meat.
I'm not sure about the growth in organics vs. veg population. The organic market is growing at roughly 20 percent each year, while I don't know how rapidly the veg population is growing, although more people are enjoying vegetarian meals regularly.

Washington, DC: Why does the United States lag so far behind the more enlightened nations in terms of growth rate of the percentage of organic land usage?

Brian Halweil: Organic farming is growing rapidly everywhere. It's growing faster in certain nations--especially in Europe--because of direct government support, in the form of transition payments for farmers shifting to organic, technical support at universities, help from agricultural extension, etc. This sort of support is almost nonexistent in the United States. There is no financial support, and the Department of Agriculture and agricultural universities lag way behind in organic research. The Organic Farming Research Foundation (www.ofrf.org) did some great analyses of research at the USDA and landgrant colleges relevant to organic farmers, and found a mind-boggling neglect at both institutions.
U.S. organic growth has been propelled exclusively by enterprising farmers and concerned citizens. It's been market-driven, not driven by policy or government help.

Washington, DC: Are the new organic farms simply replacing the old farms (i.e., are the old farms being converted) or is there mainly a clearing of new fields/farms for orgainic production?

Brian Halweil: I would say it is mostly the former--existing nonorganic farmers are converting to organic production, and existing farmland is being shifted to organic production. (The total farmland area in the United States has remained pretty much the same for decades, and I don't think there has been much new land taken out of forests or other wildnerness are and converted to farmland. Most of this conversion took places decades ago.)
However, what surveys have been done show that organic farmers tend to be younger on average than nonorganic farmers, and that more organic farmers are farming as a second career. So, even though existing farmland is being converted, the farmers may not always be the same. That is, many of today's organic farmers are people who have just entered agriculture recently.

Dick Bell, Worldwatch Institute: We are experiencing some technical difficulties with our chat software. Brian has agreed to come back on October 25, and continue this discussion about organic food and farming. Thanks for joining us today, and we apologize for the problem.

Brian Halweil: Yes, sorry for this inconvenience. We had the makings of a good discussion underway. Please join us again in two weeks.