Organic food

In sintesi 19-05-2015

Organic production is an overall system of farm management and food production that aims at sustainable agriculture, high-quality products and the use of processes that do not harm the environment, human, plant or animal health and welfare. Globally, 43.1 million hectares of agricultural land was under organic production in 2013, six million more than the year before. With 10.2 million hectares, the European Union (EU) accounts for 24% of the world’s organic land. There are almost 2 million organic producers in the world, mostly in Asia (36%), Africa (29%) and Latin America (16%). The EU represents 13% of this total. The infographic first shows the production and consumption of organic food in the world. It then focuses on the EU figures for organic agricultural land, producers, sales and consumption. The last part describes the places where Europeans buy organic food and the reasons they choose to do so. Unless otherwise reported, data in this infographic are based on ‘The world of organic agriculture 2015’ - the largest global data collection on organics published by the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) in collaboration with the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM - Organics International) and other partners. Data are collected and published annually.