Organic vs. : When Choosing What to Buy, What is Really at Stake? Marianna B. Ferreira-Aulu University of Turku, Finland.

Masters Student of Futures Studies, Turku School of . Minor in , Finland Futures Research Centre.

Content of this Presentation • What organic are • Certifications • Organic foods & the environment: meta-analysis by Tuomisto et al (2012) • security • • Animal ethics • Conclusive remarks & discussion Organic Foods Food produced free from chemical or synthetic Pesticides and can be used, as long as they are not manufactured. (Leifeld, 2012, p.1) The term ‘organic’ is given because the used for growing the crops has been nourished by , rather than synthetic fertilizers. (Pollan 2008, p. 169)

Organic Certifications Each country (or region) has a different definition of what can be considered organic foodstuffs. In order to get certifications, products have to be grown according to local definitions of the term, and follow specific standards. Organic Foods & the Environment: Meta-analysis by Tuomisto et al (2012) Per Area Per Product Unit Comparison of organic & 31 % lower 49 % higher conventional Nitrous Oxide 31 % lower 8 % higher farming Emissions (2012, p. 312-315) Ammonia Emissions 18 % lower 11 % higher Land Use 84 % more 71 papers with 65 % higher or quantitative data Energy Use 21 % lower (wide variation) 30 % higher species richness 50 % higher abundance of organisms GHG Emissions Median response: no difference. (Wide variation between product groups ) No Single Best Farming System For All Circumstances produces more emissions per product unit and uses more land for production. Many of the impacts depend on the ’s management choices, more than choices between conventional and organic farming.

Food Security “ exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life”. World Food Summit (1996) In a utopian food-secure world, we (human kind) would all have access to the food we prefer. This food would not only taste good, but it would also be nutritious, clean, and cheap. Land Use & Food Insecurity

1 in 8 people in the world (~ 870 million people) were chronically undernourished in the period 2010–2012. In the developing world, ~ 14.9 % of the population is undernourished. (FAO 2012, p.8) The human population is growing, and the land area inhabited by humans is expanding. Would organic farming create territory tension in the future?

Animal Ethics In order to consider an animal product “organic”, the must have access to the outside, direct sunlight, fresh air and freedom of movement.

• All organic animal products are also free-range products. – But isn’t it possible to buy non-organic free-range ? • But should consumers who are concerned with animal ethics consume meat and animal products in the first place?

Conclusive Remarks • Cultural dimension: freedom of choice Consumers should have access to their food of preference. • Ethical dimension (animal): free-range animal products • Ethical dimension (human): Can we feed everyone with ? • Economical dimension: efficiency, energy use, costs • Ecological dimension: footprint of products per unit Thank you! Now it is time for questions and discussion. Sources • All images used in this presentation were found from • • Pollan, Michael. In defense of Food: an Eater's Manifesto. The Pinguin http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/images/ Press, USA, 2008.

• Canavari, Maurizio., D. Olson. (Editors) Organic Food : • • Steffan, Rachel, Demand Media. The Difference between Organic & Consumers’ Choices and ’ Opportunities. Electronic resource. Free-Range Chicken. National Geographic. Last Fetched 06.02.2013 New York, NY : Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, 2007. Restrictions on Access: University of Turku local network https://ezproxy.utu.fi/login?url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387- • http://greenliving.nationalgeographic.com/difference-between- 39582-1 organic-freerange-chicken-2580.html Last Fetched 06.02.2013

• • FAO, WFP and IFAD. (2012) “The State of Food Insecurity in the World • • Tuomisto, H.L., .D. Hodgeb, P. Riordan, D.W. Macdonald. Does 2012. Economic growth is necessary but not sufficient to accelerate organic farming reduce environmental impacts? – A meta- analysis of reduction of hunger and malnutrition.” Rome European research. Elsevier Journal of Environmental Management. http://www.fao.org/docrep/016/i3027e/i3027e.pdf Volume 112, 15 December 2012, Pages 309–320

• • Hermansen, John E., Paul Rye Kledal, Henning Høgh Jensen, Henrik • http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.utu.fi:2048/science/article/pii/S Egelyng. of organic farming in a global food chain 0301479712004264 perspective. GLOBAL ORG 2007-2010. ICROFS, International Centre for Research in Organic Food Systems. www.icrofs.org. Last Fetched • • World Bank, The. Population Projection Tables by Country and Group 06.02.2013 • http://go.worldbank.org/KZHE1CQFA0 Last Fetched 06.02.2013 • • Leifeld, Jens. How sustainable is organic farming? , and Environment 150 (p.121– 122) Elsevier Journal: Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment. 2012 • • Ziv, Aaron. Demand Media. Organic Vs. Free-Range Chicken. National www.elsevier.com/locate/agee. Last Fetched 06.02.2013 Geographic. Last Fetched 06.02.2013

• • Lockeretz, William (editor). Organic farming: an international history. • http://greenliving.nationalgeographic.com/organic-vs-freerange- Electronic resource: Cambridge, MA : CABI, 2007. Restrictions on chicken-2890.html Access: University of Turku local network https://ezproxy.utu.fi/login?url=http://site.ebrary.com/lib/uniturku/D oc?id=10193764