I’m proud to be part of the organic community. Proud because it continues to drive change in food and farming systems in Europe and worldwide, because it is committed to actively shape these systems in the future and because it is ready to build on its successes that have seen organic food and farming develop from a niche to become a real alternative.

But the European organic movement needs to take stock of what organic has become. In a rapidly changing world we have to be able to cope with new political, environmental and societal challenges.

The future role of organic food and farming for us, for farmers, for food production and for society has indeed been a focus of thought and action for many of our members. This is one of the reasons why IFOAM EU launched its participatory vision exercise to try to define where the organic movement may be in 2030 and to help us prepare proactively to face the future. The next step will be to agree the strategies and actions needed to get there. Fifteen years is long enough to plausibly consider changes in technology, society and environment, while at the same time, sufficiently short to prepare a viable strategy.

It’s been an insightful process, full of intense debates rooted in common values and aspirations. I’d like to say thank you to everyone who participated, however you took part – via the online surveys, visioning sessions and workshops, though personal interviews or comments during the preparation of this publication.

The shared vision is not a prediction of the future; rather, it provides a common direction, a clear and vivid picture of where we want to be in 2030. It is in our power to select the best strategies and tools that will help us stay focused and make our vision a reality.

We want to start a conversation about practical ways of moving in the direction that we have identified together: a small selection of real-world examples is included, but there are many thousands of initiatives already up and running throughout Europe. We hope that this vision will inspire and motivate our stakeholders and encourage us all to look together towards future opportunities.

Christopher Stopes,
IFOAM EU President