1. 1st IFOAM Conference on the Marketing of Organic and Regional Values to take Place from August 26-28 2007 in Germany August 26-28 2007 Schwaebisch Hall, Germany
The marketing of organic products is viewed as a significant link between production and consumers. Today, organic products are becoming increasingly interchangeable, disconnecting the linkage between producer and consumer and diluting their identity. Stakeholders can obviously organize organic production, but in light of continuous growth and the entrance of organic in mainstream markets, it is important to develop new and specific marketing strategies that protect organic product identity, traditional knowledge, and biodiversity, and thus organic farmers and rural communities.
IFOAM is organizing this conference with the goal of initiating discussion and fostering knowledge about the marketing of organic and regional values. This conference will focus on a discussion of specific marketing strategies that aim to give value to products by taking into consideration their uniqueness. It will deal with the question of how to create and identify regional and other specific values, and ultimately how to translate these values into successful marketing strategies for organic products. Communicating these values to the consumer is part of that strategy. The conference will consider various concepts and marketing strategies, including regulatory approaches, to protect regional values and traditional knowledge.
Call for papers Papers are invited for a list of topics that can be found on the website. Case studies and practical marketing experiences are strongly encouraged; it is hoped to receive a full range of papers spanning from grassroots and political nature, to scientific and professional articles. Complete details can be found on the website.
For more information, visit: <a href=”http://redaktion.ifoam.org/events/ifoam_conferences/regional_values_2007.html”> redaktion.ifoam.org/events/ifoam_conferences/regional_values_2007.html</a>
2. Gunnar Videgård, Former IFOAM General Secretary, Passes Away
On Saturday January 6th 2007, Gunnar VidegÃ¥rd, former IFOAM General Secretary, passed away peacefully at Orupslunds nursing home in Höör, Sweden. From 1982  1987, Gunnar VidegÃ¥rd and his wife Airi served voluntarily as the General Secretariat of IFOAM. Gunnar also served as the treasurer of the organization at this time, and due to his successful financial management and because he undersigned the loan guarantee for the first 2 years budget, IFOAM was able to finance a professional General Secretariat in 1987.
According to his will, Gunnar wished for donations to The Holma Foundation: <a href=”http://www.stiftelsenholma.org/index.htm”> www.stiftelsenholma.org/index.htm</a>
3. FAO Organizes Conference on Organic Agriculture and Food Security Call for Papers Extended! See the call for papers here <a href=”http://redaktion.ifoam.org/events/other_events/FAO_Call_Papers.html”> redaktion.ifoam.org/events/other_events/FAO_Call_Papers.html</a> .
The International Conference on Organic Agriculture and Food Security will be held from May 3-5 2007 in FAO’s Headquarters (Green Room) in Rome, Italy, in connection with the 33rd Session of the Committee on World Food Security (May 7-10 2007).
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, through its Inter-Departmental Working Group on Organic Agriculture, is organizing the conference in partnership with the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), Rural Advancement Foundation International (RAFI), World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Third World Network (TWN).
Conference participants The Conference is open to all interested parties, including government, academic institutions, civil society and private sector institutions interested in organic agriculture and food security.
There is a need to clarify the contribution of organic agriculture to food security and to demystify this subject so that FAO can provide objective and informed advice to its member countries. Organic agriculture offers a rich arena for research and debate about the future, and FAO offers a unique forum for this knowledge exchange.
For more information visit the FAO website on Organic Agriculture <a href=”http://www.fao.org/organicag”> www.fao.org/organicag</a> or contact Nadia Scialabba (nadia.scialabba@fao.org).
4. IFOAM Publishes Background Paper on Organic Agriculture and Globalization Most organic agriculture organizations have been involved in the anti-globalization movement, but thus far, no attempts have been made to reach a common position on the matter at the international level. With the primary intention of providing an overview and background information that may lead to a decision as to whether IFOAM should engage more seriously with the issue in some way, IFOAM published this paper as a general introduction to globalization from the perspective of the organic agriculture movement. The paper briefly assesses the fundamentals of agricultural trade, the WTO and other trade agreements, and includes references for further investigation. The paper concludes that a position on globalization by the organic movement could offer an original contribution to the globalization and food trade discussion, if it is backed by key companies engaged in organic food trade, and thus achieving considerable credibility both on the market and as a political statement.
To download the complete paper, visit: <a href=”http://redaktion.ifoam.org/organic_facts/politics/pdfs/OA_Globalization_BackgroundPaper.pdf”> redaktion.ifoam.org/organic_facts/politics/pdfs/OA_Globalization_BackgroundPaper.pdf</a>
5. Publish the IFOAM Emblem on Your Website and Printed Materials! IFOAM’s new emblem is available on the IFOAM Intranet for its members, affiliates and supporters to showcase their relationship with IFOAM to the public.
The emblem can be displayed on your letterhead and business cards, or as a banner from which you can link your webpage to the IFOAM website.
Use of the membership emblem is governed by Policy 12 – “Use of the IFOAM name, logo, membership emblem and seal,” which can be found on the Intranet.
Now, more than ever, you can show the world that you are proud to be part of IFOAM! Promote organic agriculture, IFOAM, and your own organization by using the new emblem!
Login to the IFOAM Intranet to download the IFOAM Emblem today!
<a href=”http://www.ifoam.org/intranet/index.php”> www.ifoam.org/intranet/index.php</a>
6. New Updated General IFOAM PowerPoint Presentation Available on the Intranet A general presentation about IFOAM has been uploaded to the IFOAM Intranet for the use of IFOAM affiliates. It includes the latest data and statistics, and is available as both pps and pdf files. In addition, a dozen other presentations, many posters and leaflets are also available for your use on this page.
<a href=”http://redaktion.ifoam.org/intranet/outreach/presentation.php”> redaktion.ifoam.org/intranet/outreach/presentation.php</a>
7. Calendar of Events Ecology Istanbul 2007 April 19-22 2007 Istanbul, Turkey <a href=”http://www.asdf.com.tr/”> www.asdf.com.tr/</a> <a href=”http://www.ecolologyturkey.com/”> www.ecolologyturkey.com/</a>
BioFach China May 31 – June 2007 Shanghai, China biofach-china@nuernbergglobalfairs.com <a href=”http://www.biofach-china.com/”> www.biofach-china.com/</a>
1st IFOAM Conference on Marketing of Organic and Regional Values August 26  28 2007 Schwäbisch Hall, Germany Organizer: Organic Services Contact: Mildred Steidle m.steidle@organic-services.com <a href=”http://redaktion.ifoam.org/”> redaktion.ifoam.org/</a>
BioFach America September 27-29 Baltimore, Maryland Till.Ahnert@ngfmail.com <a href=”http://www.nuernbergglobalfairs.de/”> www.nuernbergglobalfairs.de/</a>
BioFach Japan October 10-12 2007 Tokyo, Japan heinz@inter.net <a href=”http://www.nuernbergglobalfairs.de/”> www.nuernbergglobalfairs.de/</a>
BioFach America Latina October 16-18 2007 Sao Paolo, Brazil Frank.Venjakob@ngfmail.com <a href=”http://www.biofach-americalatina.com.br/”> www.biofach-americalatina.com.br/</a>
Natural Ingredients 2007 October 30 – November 1 2007 London, United Kingdom Cbalder@cmpi.biz <a href=”http://www.fi-events.com/”> www.fi-events.com/</a>
The Organic World Congress and IFOAM General Assembly June 15-24 2008 Modena, Italy Organizer: The Province of Modena bonfreschi.p@provincia.modena.it Stay tuned to the IFOAM website for more information! <a href=”http://redaktion.ifoam.org/”> redaktion.ifoam.org/</a>
World News
1. Report Highlights Rejection of GMOs by Consumers, Farmers, Governments In a new briefing paper, Greenpeace shows major instances in which consumers, farmers, governments and a number of major food companies have rejected or opposed GE crops and GE foods in the past year, indicating a lack of confidence in the technology and its products. It also notes that 2006 was a year of contamination, pointing out the cases that have emerged in the US, China and New Zealand.
The briefing ‘Global Status of Genetically Engineered Crops: Consumers and farmers still say NO!’ can be downloaded here. <a href=”http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/international/press/reports/global-status-of-genetically-e.pdf”> www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/international/press/reports/global-status-of-genetically-e.pdf</a>
2. Friends of the Earth Europe Report Highlights the Failure of GMOs and the Benefits of Environmentally Friendly Farming Environmentally-friendly farming will create more jobs and make the EU more competitive than if it grows genetically modified (GM) crops, shows new research published today by Friends of the Earth Europe. The research coincides with the withdrawal of a European Parliament Resolution that promotes GM crops.
For more information and to read the report, visit: <a href=”http://www.foeeurope.org/press/2007/March12_HH_biotech_mtr_report.htm”> www.foeeurope.org/press/2007/March12_HH_biotech_mtr_report.htm</a>
3. California Bill Aims To Make Companies Liable for GMO Contamination A US legislator Jared Huffman of California has introduced legislation that would make companies developing genetically engineered crops liable for damages if these crops result in contamination of other fields. The measure aims to protect California farmers against losses due to contamination of their conventional or organic crops by GE plants, seeds or pollen.
The Bill (AB 541) can be found by searching the website <a href=”http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/bilinfo.html”> www.leginfo.ca.gov/bilinfo.html</a> and is also posted on <a href=”http://biosafety-info.net/article.php?aid=443″> biosafety-info.net/article.php?aid=443</a>
4. International Conference on Plant Genetic Resources and Agro-Ecological Livestock Husbandry to take Place in Cuba The Pastures and Forages Research Institute (IIPF) of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Cuba and the Institute for Tropical Animal Husbandry (IGAT), calls on producers, researchers and teachers to take part in the Convention of Plant Genetic Resources and Agro-ecological Livestock Husbandry FITOGEN-SIGA 2007 from December 3rd to 5th 2007, which will be held in the provinces of Sancti Spiritus, Cienfuegos, Villa Clara, Matanzas and Habana.
The purpose of the conference is promoting the international exchange on Agro-ecological livestock husbandry, animal and plant conservation, the conservation and use of the biodiversity and the sustainability of agricultural and livestock production systems, as well as the need for summarizing the knowledge of the sustainable livestock systems.
Deadline for short and extended abstracts: August 2007
For more information, contact: President SIGA-FITOGEN 2007: MSc. Aurelio ”lvarez Menendez Phone number: 537- 682 7253 Fax: 537- 682 9408 Email: auralva@cima-minag.cu
5. Bees Mysteriously Disappearing Across the United States Beekeepers across the United States are reporting record losses of honeybees. The exact cause of this problem has not yet been determined, but bee colonies are disappearing, with some states reporting a 70% drop in bee populations. “I have never seen anything like it,” said California beekeeper David Bradshaw. “Box after box after box are just empty. There’s nobody home.” A Cornell University study has estimated that honeybees annually pollinate more than $14 billion worth of seeds and crops in the United States, mostly fruits, vegetables and nuts. “Every third bite we consume in our diet is dependent on a honeybee to pollinate that food,” said Zac Browning, vice president of the American Beekeeping Federation. Many organizations are suggesting a connection to the planting of GMOs or use of pesticides. Click here <a href=”http://organicconsumers.org/articles/article_4404.cfm”> organicconsumers.org/articles/article_4404.cfm</a> for more information.
6. New Study Reveals the Positive Benefits of an Organic Diet on Breast Milk A new study titled the Influence of organic diet on the amount of conjugated linoleic acids in breast milk of lactating women in the Netherlands concludes that breast milk from women with an organic diet contains higher levels of fatty acids that are considered important for human health.
Download the complete report from the IFOAM website: <a href=”http://redaktion.ifoam.org/organic_facts/research/pdfs/Breast_Feeding_Study.pdf”> redaktion.ifoam.org/organic_facts/research/pdfs/Breast_Feeding_Study.pdf</a>
7. Workshop on Sustainable Consumption and Production Research The Sustainable Consumption Research Exchange (SCORE!) Network will be holding a workshop on case studies into Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) from June 4th to 5th, 2007 in Paris, France. The SCORE network is a high profile expert group of researchers, companies, policy makers and other stakeholders, who work together to find out and suggest best possible ways and strategies to reach system changes towards more sustainability. See <a href=”http://www.score-network.org”> www.score-network.org</a> for more information.
News from IFOAM Members
1. Organic Marketing Forum 2007 Â 2nd International Meeting on Marketing of Organic Food in Warsaw in May
European business people and experts for organic production and trade will meet from May 14th to 15th, 2007 in Warsaw at the Organic Marketing Forum. Its aim is to bring companies together to generate new business ideas and contacts, and to highlight the national markets and high quality organic products of Central and Eastern Europe. EkoConnect  the International Center for Organic Agriculture of Central and Eastern Europe, is organizing the meeting in cooperation with the Polish organic farmers association Ekoland and the Organic Retailers Association, and is under the patronage of the Polish Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The registration deadline is April 10th, 2007. More information can be found at <a href=”http://www.ekoconnect.org”> www.ekoconnect.org</a> .
2. New Website Links Farmers to Organic Supplies <a href=”http://www.OrganicAssistant.com”> www.OrganicAssistant.com</a> lets shoppers locate organic food and its suppliers near their home simply by entering their postcode. The site gives results that cover everything from supermarkets to box schemes and food from the farm gate.The success of the site allows farmers, retailers, wholesalers and processors to manage their own entries – meaning their product lists can be always up-to-date. The site also allows farmers to search each others’ produce and supplies, allowing them to trace feed and other farm inputs available from colleagues in their area (or further afield).
With more than 30,000 entries already in the database, the site is a major source of finished goods and other supplies. Now farmers are able to register for free and update or create their own details and products. And until the end of March they can send in their details and have the <a href=”http://www.OrganicAssistant.com”> www.OrganicAssistant.com</a> team add the information for them for free.
Users of <a href=”http://www.OrganicAssistant.com”> www.OrganicAssistant.com</a> can register for free and build their own personal shopping list, while farmers and other suppliers can update their stock lists and useful contacts.
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