Voices of an Organic Planet

Projects / Videos

In October 2014, I was invited to be part of the Organic World Congress, a gathering of the world’s largest organic agriculture and advocacy network, the International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements (IFOAM). In the United States, we have the misperception that the kind of people who choose organic food are driving Teslas to Whole Foods for over-priced fennel. This couldn’t be farther from the truth: Organic consumers here and abroad come from across the economic spectrum and can be found in every single country in the world. And organic farmers span the globe from wealthy specialty growers in some of the richest areas of the United States to smallholder farmers in Namibia, and everywhere in between. As of 2012, 162 countries reported acreage of certified organic farms covering 37.5 million hectares worldwide, a significant undercount of the total since not all farmers are officially certified. Although the United States has the largest market for organic food, 80 percent of all organic producers farm in developing countries, with India, Uganda, Mexico, and Tanzania leading the pack.

Here are just a few of their stories – the voices of organic.

 

Further reading from the IFOAM Congress:

5 Amazing Things I Learned from the World’s Leaders of the Organic Food Movement

5 Questions for an International Organics Expert

Yes, Organic Farming Can Feed the World