IFOAM Organics Europe welcomes the publication of the EU Bioeconomy Strategy and its objective to move away from fossil fuel materials by favoring sustainable biomass. Yet, while the Strategy recognises the importance of sustainably produced biomass, it fails in clearly highlighting organic farming as a central solution.
The decision to update the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) to improve the assessment, comparability, and market visibility of bio-based products is a welcome development. “As pointed out by scientists and civil society organisations, LCA methods, and in particular the PEF, do not adequately reflect the impacts of agroecological approaches such as organic farming systems”, reminds Eduardo Cuoco, Director of IFOAM Organics Europe. He continues, “We call for an inclusive governance process to identify methods that properly consider externalities when measuring the environmental impacts of food products and footwear. Different assessment methods, including those not based on LCA and more closely aligned with the EU policy objectives – that is, reducing the use of synthetic pesticides, fertilisers and antimicrobials, increasing the share of EU farmland under organic farming and improving animal welfare – must be acknowledged and explored”.
The organic sector also welcomes the recognition of natural fibres as a lead market and of its role in supporting regional value chains. However, as pointed out by Eduardo Cuoco, “It is disappointing that, while the strategy acknowledges the role and rising demand for lower-impact textiles, it fails in explicitly recognising and promoting organically produced natural fibres”. Indeed, “how natural fibres are produced matters just as much. By not using synthetic pesticides, fertilisers, or genetically modified organisms, and by greatly limiting the use of substances of concern, natural organic textiles deliver greater environmental and health benefits than non-organic textiles” he continued. “We hope that the upcoming Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) delegated act for textile will provide an opportunity to better reflect the added value of natural organic fibres”.
Finally, IFOAM Organics Europe’s Director points out that “while the Strategy stresses that the bioeconomy is constrained by planetary boundaries and that it should ensure the supply of sustainable biomass, it does not recognise organic agriculture as the most sustainable way to produce it”. The use of biomass is a major driver of environmental degradation across Europe and globally. Its extraction and conversion into energy, materials, or feed lead to water stress due to irrigation demands, biodiversity loss through habitat destruction and monoculture expansion, and greenhouse gas emissions from land-use change, soil degradation, and energy-intensive processing. “The EU Bioeconomy Strategy must alleviate these pressures rather than compounding them”, he finishes.
- Further information available at www.organicseurope.bio
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