Organic can be interpreted in different ways

Organic can be interpreted in different ways

Organic is becoming more and more popular.
But it should be cheap – that is the opinion of many.

Big discounters promise customers what they want to hear: That sustainability and good organic products are compatible with the lowest possible price. How this is supposed to work is not explained. It can't be.

BUT LET'S START AT THE BEGINNING.

Among the customers in the organic market or discounters who hold a product with an organic seal in their hands. The good news first: When there is an organic seal on it, there is also organic in it. But is organic interpreted in the same way and what does organic actually cover?

MINIMUM REQUIREMENT OR CONTRIBUTION TO A HEALTHY WORLD?

Many understand organic only as something that leaves something out, such as pesticides and artificial fertilisers. Organic is much more.

The EU organic regulation as a minimum standard requires, for example, the maintenance of soil fertility as well as varied crop rotations. For conventional food 400 additives are allowed, for certified organic only 70. Genetic engineering and irradiation of food are taboo in organic farming.

WE AT RAPUNZEL, ON THE OTHER HAND, UNDERSTAND ORGANIC AS A HOLISTIC APPROACH THAT GOES BEYOND ALL THAT.

For us, this also includes actively promoting organic, for example through our own cultivation projects or the promotion of organic seed projects. In this way, we want to contribute to a lasting, healthy world. Rapunzel's understanding of organic also includes the claim to use 100 per cent organic, even if this means additional effort or costs. According to the EU Organic Regulation, there are exceptions for certain ingredients – then the organic content in the product only has to be 95 per cent.

With our way of farming, we are actively committed to soil fertility, recycling management, humus formation through crop rotation and thus also to CO² sequestration. We want to create robust agro-ecosystems with a high level of biodiversity, promote organic seed breeding and send a political message against genetic engineering and agricultural poisons.

We have our own cultivation projects worldwide to strengthen organic and also support organisations such as IFOAM (International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements). For example, IFOAM is advancing new strategies in the face of climate change and resource scarcity. Why are we doing this?

Because for us, organic does not stop with the product, but is rather an attitude to life. And not a game that is won by the one who puts the lowest stake in organic and multiplies it as much as possible with marketing.

WHICH WAY OF DOING BUSINESS DO I VOTE FOR WITH MY PURCHASE?

When we look beyond the end of our nose or the shopping basket, we also have to ask ourselves “WHO OR WHAT DO I WANT TO SUPPORT WITH MY PURCHASE?” For example, the organic specialist trade that offers 100 per cent genuine organic products and is committed to a healthy and just world from A to Z? Or a discounter that focuses on a small organic portion of 7 to 15 per cent in its assortment, but (with a few exceptions) realises the majority of its turnover with conventional food from non-fair-trade, thus further promoting it?

Would I rather support a natural food company which, like Rapunzel, produces its own electricity from renewable energies, relies on green logistics and donates one million euros annually to eco-social projects? Or a company that sees organic as a partial-range that has nothing to do with the company philosophy and is subsidised with mixed costing, i.e., by selling THE OTHER, CHEAPEST PRODUCTS IN THE RANGE.

PAY THE TRUE PRICE

“I can't afford it” – is the tenor of many who avoid going to the organic specialist shop or don't even buy organic in the first place. However, if we compare the “true” price of food, cheap products end up costing us significantly more, both as individuals but also for society as a whole.

Because in fact, the follow-up costs of a favourable diet are not paid at the checkout, but in the overall balance of the general public – often years later. In this way, we all compensate financially and health-wise, for example, in conventional agriculture, for the consequences of nitrate and pesticide-contaminated groundwater, soil erosion and flood events, greenhouse gas emissions and the loss of pollinating insects.

But even with products that are not fairly traded or that only meet the minimum requirements for organic, the price for our actions is paid – for example, by the earth or the people involved in the production of the product.

Let's not just see price as something to be kept as low as possible. Because it can be a sign of quality and that something good can be achieved with these financial means.

This gives farm animals more space to live a more dignified life. As a result, however, the farmer sells fewer animals and these at a higher price. Soils, in turn, are ideally not intensively cultivated and gutted, but given time to regenerate. Time in which farmers receive no yield from this field, but do something for soil health in the long term. That should be worth a premium to us. Because we have to pay the price for exploiting the earth – sooner or later.

WITH WHICH ORGANIC PRODUCTS DO I NOT ONLY DO GOOD FOR MY BODY, BUT ALSO CONTRIBUTE TO A BETTER WORLD?

At Rapunzel, we believe that an organic product can only do us good if the people along the supply chain are doing well. No one should suffer through our enjoyment. But all those involved – from the farmer to the trader – have a sufficient income.

Rapunzel's in-house and externally certified fair-trade programme HAND IN HAND follows the basic conviction that ecological sustainability always needs economic and social sustainability as well.

Because only when people are doing well do they have the capacity to care for and protect nature. In this respect, “just” organic is certainly a good first step. In the long term, however, it is only effective if the social component is also taken into account.

THE SPECIAL RAPUNZEL QUALITY

For us, natural food is much more than a delicious organic product – it is a promise. Our standards go far beyond the requirements of the EU Organic Regulation, because product quality is Rapunzel's top priority (along with excellent taste). For example, we also largely do without the processing aids and additives permitted in the organic regulations.

Some call it real organic, for us it is consistent Rapunzel quality – top quality from organic cultivation, out of true conviction. And this includes so much more than product quality. For us, quality means taking responsibility: for the supply chain, for organic farming and, of course, for the organic product itself.

Do you also take responsibility?