{"id":27423,"date":"2021-11-04T02:44:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-04T02:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=27423"},"modified":"2021-11-06T03:55:36","modified_gmt":"2021-11-06T03:55:36","slug":"unlike-the-us-europe-is-setting-ambitious-targets-for-producing-more-organic-food","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/unlike-the-us-europe-is-setting-ambitious-targets-for-producing-more-organic-food\/","title":{"rendered":"Unlike the US, Europe is setting ambitious targets for producing more organic food"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Kathleen Merrigan<\/a>, Arizona State University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Joe Biden has called for an all-of-government response<\/a> to climate change that looks for solutions and opportunities in every sector of the U.S. economy. That includes agriculture, which emits over 600 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent every year<\/a> \u2013 more than the total national emissions of the United Kingdom, Australia, France or Italy<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recent polls show that a majority of Americans are concerned about climate change and willing to make lifestyle changes to address it<\/a>. Other surveys show that many U.S. consumers are worried about possible health risks of eating food produced with pesticides, antibiotics and hormones<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One way to address all of these concerns is to expand organic agriculture. Organic production generates fewer greenhouse gas emissions than conventional farming<\/a>, largely because it doesn\u2019t use synthetic nitrogen fertilizer. And it prohibits using synthetic pesticides and giving hormones or antibiotics to livestock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the U.S. isn\u2019t currently setting the bar high for growing its organic sector. Across the Atlantic, Europe has a much more focused, aggressive strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The EU\u2019S Farm to Fork plan<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The European Union\u2019s Farm to Fork<\/a> strategy, often described as the heart of the European Green Deal<\/a>, was adopted in 2020 and strengthened<\/a> in October 2021. It sets forth ambitious 2030 targets: a 50% cut in greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, a 50% cut in pesticide use and a 20% cut in fertilizer use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recognizing that organic production can make important contributions to these goals, the policy calls for increasing the percentage of EU farmland under organic management from 8.1% to 25% by 2030. The European Parliament has adopted a detailed organic plan<\/a> to achieve this goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today the U.S. is the world\u2019s largest organic marketplace<\/a>, with US$51 billion in sales in 2019. But the EU is not far behind, at $46 billion, and if it achieves its Farm to Fork targets, it is likely to become the global leader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that ambition is reflected in national food policies. For example, in Copenhagen 88% of ingredients in meals served at the city\u2019s 1,000 public schools are organic<\/a>. Similarly, in Italy school meals in more than 13,000 schools countrywide contain organic ingredients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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