ORGANIC FARMING

Istituto Comprensivo n°1 “Il Guercino”- Cento ITALY

Organic farming: what is it?

• It’s a farming and breeding method which uses only natural substances, and not chemical substances.

• Organic farming means to develop a production model that doesn’t overexploit natural resources.

Organic farming: why?

In the last decades the most developed countries have made large use of chemical fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides and insecticides.

These affect the environment in many ways:

• they kill good and bad organisms indifferently;

• they are poisons that go into ground water and from there into rivers and seas;

• impoverish the soil and poison it;

• conventionally grown food are bigger and more beautiful but are not nutritious, tasty and healthy – they contain chemicals

Advantages of organic farming

It favours the use of the natural substances and it's an alternative to industrialized agriculture.

Its products are sold at local markets and therefore they are healthier.

ORGANIC FARMING TECHNIQUES

Crop rotation

Green manure

Natural fertilizers (compost or

manure)

Reduced tillage

Mulching

How to: organic farming methods

Crop rotation

No pesticides and synthetic fertilizers

Effective use of local resources

Use of disease-resistant plants and animals

No GMO seeds

How to identify organic food • If you want a product to be identified as

organic you have to grow it following the European regulations.

• A European logo was designed to help consumers identify organic products.

Benefits for the environment

• Ecosystem: organic farming has a lower environmental impact than conventional farming on biodiversity of flora and fauna.

• Soil: organic farming has a good impact on soil fertility.

• Water: not using chemical fertilizers that contain nitrates, organic farming improves the quality of fresh waters.

• Climate and air: in organic farming, greenhouse gases emissions are lower than in conventional farming.

No GMOs, please!

A Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) is an organism whose genetic material (DNA) has been altered using genetic

engineering techniques.

Short food supply chain

• Short food supply chain means minimizing the distance food has to travel to go from producers to consumers.

• The short food supply chain provides always fresh food, cuts CO2 emissions and respects the environment

Where can you find

organic food in Cento?

1. Supermarkets

• In Cento 3 supermarkets out of 4 have an organic food line.

• The products range from fruit and vegetables to soluble coffee and herbal infusions.

SUPERMARKET

Product Organic product price Conventionally-grown product price

Milk 1,33 € 0,95 €

Tomato sauce 1,05 € 0,85 €

Rice crackers 1,10 € 0,92 €

Soluble barley 1,35 € 0,95 €

Fruit juice 1,72 € 1,08 €

Muesli cereal 2,62 € 2,10 €

Eggs 2,59 € 2,05 €

Jam 1,34 € 2,60 - 2,79 €

Product Organic product price Conventionally-grown product price

Herbal infusions 1,89 € 1,08 €

Chocolate cookies 1,64 € 1,38 €

Cookies 1,60 € 1,49 €

Pasta 0,75 € 0,52 €

Sunflower oil (1l) 3,08 € 2,09 €

Olive oil (1l) 6,51 € 4,45 €

Canned tomatoes 2,40 € 1,94 €

Yogurt (x2) 1,03 € 0,75 €

Butter (250g) 2,49 € 1,79 €

COOP SUPERMARKET

Supermarket

Products Organic product price

Conventionally-grown product price

Kiwi 1.99 2.19

Valsoia Milk 1.59 1.64

Apples 1.49 1.89

Rice crackers 2.99 1.99

Apricot jam 3.19 2.49

Crackers 3.15 1.35

Baby food 1.89 1.49

Green tea 1.75 1.29

Supermarket Conventionally-

grown product

price

Organic

product price

Product

2.95

3.45

Jam

1.45 1.10

Crisped rice

1.45

1.79

4 eggs

0.78

1.11

Low-fat yogurt

2.15 2.69

Butter

4.90

6.40

Acacia honey

Conventionally-

grown product

price

Organic product

price

Product

Supermarket

2.05 1.55 Corn crackers

1.38 2.80 Rice crackers

1.45

1.75

Baby food

Conventionally-

grown product

price

Organic

product price

Product

Supermarket

2.05 2.98 Oregano

1.95 2.15 Green tea

1.85 Soluble barley

Conventionally-

grown product

price

Organic product

price

Product

1.20

Supermarket

2.49

4.75 Balsamic vinegar

1.35 2.45 Rice

0.95 Spaghetti

Conventionally-

grown product

price

Organic product

price

Product

0.58

Supermarket

1.00 1.29 Succo di frutta

7.90 Olive oil

Conventionally-

grown product

price

Organic

product price

Product

5.40

Supermarket

We found out that organic products are generally more expensive than conventionally-grown products.

2. Organic product shop

In Cento there is just one organic product shop.

It opened six months ago.

They sell organic food, but also gluten-free food, organic clothes, organic beauty products, and organic diapers.

• All the products are made in Italy.

3. Farmer's market

The farmer’s market in Cento is a weekly market that takes place on Tuesday mornings.

There are 11 stands.

Six of them sell fruit and vegetables.

The others sell:

• honey

• bread and baked products

• cheese and dairy products

• wine

• flowers

All the producers come from nearby villages (short food supply chain):

• Bomporto (40 km)

• Savignano

sul Panaro (30 km)

• San Carlo (20 km)

• Castelfranco (30 km)

• Pilastri (30 km)

The products on the market are almost all organic.

• The number of people who shop there is quite large.

• The average age is high (55 to 65 years old)

• Products are more expensive than in supermarkets.

• People usually shop at the farmer's market because, even though more expensive, products are more fresh, more tasty and more healthy.

4. Solidarity-based purchasing groups (Gruppi di Acquisto Solidale, G.A.S.)

• It’s a group of people who cooperate in order to buy food and other common products directly from the producers or from big retails to redistribute between them.

• They find little producers in their area (to minimize the impact on the environment) and also organic and ecological products which are made respecting human rights.

• This means respecting the environment and the solidarity between the members of the group and the producers.

And the others… Well, see you in Slovenia!!!