Organic farming

Back in 1924, Rudolf Steiner in Koberwitz read his "Agricultural Course", which became the concept of biodynamic farming .

In England, the term organic farming was first used by Lord Northbourn, Walter Ernest Christopher James in 1940 . In the development and popularization of the concept, an important role was played by such people as Albert Howard , Yves Balfor , Jerome Irving Rodale . In 1939, Yves Balfort laid down the Haglia experiment , in which "ordinary" and organic farming was carried out on different fields of the same farm for more than 40 years with the aim of comprehensive comparison. Rodale marked the beginning of the spread of organic gardening .

In 1972 , the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movement (IFOAM) was founded in Versailles , which aimed to disseminate information and introduce organic agriculture in all countries of the world. Since the early 1990s, global markets related to organic agriculture have been growing by 10-15% annually. In the US, the market for organic farms increased from $ 1 billion in 1994 to € 35.8 billion in 2015 .

Organic farming methods include using the principles of biological synergy:

• refusal to use fungicides , herbicides , artificial fertilizers and antibiotics;
• the use of animal and plant waste as fertilizer;
• the use of crop rotation to restore soil;
• application of biological methods of plant protection ;
• the use of a closed cycle agriculture-livestock (crop production - feed, livestock - fertilizers) ^[5] .

Instant mineral fertilizers and pesticides are prohibited (in “exceptional cases” with a high risk of crop loss, the use of synthetic chemistry products is allowed ^[6] ).

In livestock farming, a sign of organic farming is “species-appropriate animal husbandry”: refusal from year-round stall keeping , compulsory grazing, non-use of synthetic feed additives and hormones, and a ban on the preventive use of antibiotics ^[5] .

Cornwall University’s 22-year growing experience, published in 2005 , showed that organic methods for growing crops and soybeans produce the same yields as traditional crops, but they require less energy to produce fertilizers and do not lead to the accumulation of herbicides in the soil ^[7] . A similar Swiss experience showed, however, a 20% reduction in yield compared to traditional methods with a 50% reduction in energy costs for fertilizers and 97% for pesticides ^[8] . According to comparisons made by American proponents of organic farming, organic farming yields an average of 95-100% of traditional ^[9] .

Comparing organic and traditional economies in terms of efficiency is quite difficult. The yield per unit area does not reflect the fact that organic farming often requires large labor costs and more workers, which affects the cost of the final product .

Studies by the University of Minnesota show that the probability of contracting salmonellosis from vegetables grown on the organic field is three to five times higher than the risk of infection from ordinary vegetables, since manure used for fertilizing on organic farms is a favorable environment for the propagation of pathogens. ^[ten]

The Russian market for organic products, compared with the foreign one, is quite young and is currently at the initial stage of development. In value terms, over the past 15 years, it has grown 10 times: from $ 16 million at the beginning of the 2000s. up to $ 160 million in 2016. Initially, the “organic” market was 100% represented by imported products (mainly from Germany, France and Italy), but in 2016, “organic” domestic production accounted for 10% of the total market . In 2010–2014 the market for organic products increased by an average of 10% per year. For a number of reasons — the economic downturn in Russia, which led to a decrease in real incomes of the population, and the food embargo introduced in 2014 — the market growth in 2015–2016. was more moderate, increasing annually, according to estimates of the National Organic Union, by 4%. However, despite the positive changes over the past decade, Russia's share in the global market for organic products is only 0.2%. ^[eleven]

In December 2013, the Ministry of Justice registered the National Organic Union. It included the largest participants in the Russian market of “organics”: “Agranta”, “Agrarian system technologies”, “Alphabet of taste”, “Ariver”, “Organic”. One of the main goals of the association is to promote the development of organic agriculture and the market for organic agricultural products in the Russian Federation. ^[12]

Currently, the production and turnover of organic products in Russia is not regulated in any way. In 2015, the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation developed and introduced for consideration by the Government of the Russian Federation a draft federal law on the production of organic products ^{[13] [14]} .

Currently, the production and distribution of organic products in Russia is regulated by 3 national standards (GOST).

- GOST R 56104–2014 ^[15] “Organic food products. Terms and definitions ”dated September 10, 2014 contains definitions of the terms of organic agriculture, organic production and its rules, organic food products and organic certification and inspection.

- GOST R 56508–2015 “Organic production. Rules for production, storage, transportation ”dated June 30, 2015 contains rules for organic production (including crop production, animal husbandry, beekeeping, aquaculture); on the transition to organic production; for the production of organic feed; on the collection, packaging, transportation and storage of organic products; on the labeling of organic products. ^{[16] [17]}

- GOST R 57022–2016 “Organic production. The procedure for conducting voluntary certification of organic production ”dated August 5, 2016 establishes the rules for voluntary certification of organic production. ^[18]

In addition, in 2016 an interstate standard was developed (GOST 33980–2016 / CAC / GL 32-1999, NEQ) ^[19] . This standard regulates organic production in the CIS countries and will enter into force on January 1, 2018, replacing the 2nd GOST. The standard provides a consistent approach to the requirements that determine the production of organic products, their labeling and related product information. However, at the moment, except for Russia, only Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have adopted an interstate standard for organic production.

On December 3, 2015, announcing the annual message to the Federal Assembly , Russian President Vladimir Putin said: “I believe that we need to set a national level goal and fully provide the domestic market with domestic food by 2020. We can not only feed ourselves based on our land, water , which is especially important, of resources. Russia is capable of becoming the largest global supplier of healthy, environmentally friendly, high-quality food products that some western producers have long lost, especially since os in the global market for such products is steadily growing " ^[20] .

• Ralph Fuks. The Green Revolution: Growing Environmentally Friendly = Intelligent Wachsen. Die grune Revolution. - M .: Alpina non-fiction , 2015 .-- 330 p. - ISBN 978-5-91671-459-3 .

• International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) website
• Organic Agriculture Union in Russia, official website (POPs)
• Website of the National Organic Union of the Russian Federation
• Masanobu Fukuoka “The Revolution of a Straw” (Introduction to Natural Agriculture)
• “Toothy Mother Nature. Interview with Alex Avery, Director of the Hudson Institute’s Center for Global Food Problems, criticizing organic farming, Expert, 10.10.09
• Sepp Holzer. Desert or paradise. - 2012.
• Interview with Sepp Holzer in the journal Grain , No. 5, 2011.