The first ever EU Organic Awards will take place later this year as part of major pan-European collaboration. The awards will recognise excellence along the organic value chain and organic’s “whole philosophy” approach to food and farming.
The launch of the awards was announced jointly last week by the European Commission, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), COPA-COGECA and IFOAM Organics Europe. Applications will be open from 25 March until 8 June 2022.
The new awards are conceived as a follow-up to the Action Plan for the development of organic production, adopted by the Commission on 25 March 2021, which announced the launch of such awards to raise awareness of organic production and increase demand for organic products.
Eight awards within seven categories will be given out, including best organic farmer female, best organic farmer male, best organic region, best organic city, best organic bio-district, best organic SME, best organic food retailer and best organic restaurant. More information can be found on the dedicated EU Organic Awards page.
An award ceremony will be organised to announce the winners on EU organic day, 23 September 2022.
Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski said: “I am proud to see the EU organic awards become a reality. Organic production is and will play a key role in the transition to sustainable food systems, and we cannot achieve this without the various actors of the organic supply chain. These awards are a great opportunity to celebrate them while promoting examples of best practices across the EU.
EESC president Christa Schweng said: “Organic is more than just a label on the product. It is a whole philosophy – the way we produce and consume our food can make our planet more sustainable and help make sure it is fit for future challenges. This requires recognition and promotion throughout the food chain. The EESC is very proud to be co-hosting these awards, thus raising awareness of the organic sector’s potential to help achieve more sustainable food systems.”
IFOAM Organics Europe’s president, Jan Plagge, added: I am thankful that the engagement of many working in the European organic movement will now have a chance to be visible and share their best practices across Europe! We wholeheartedly support this pan-European initiative and I am convinced it is an important step in the right direction. Now we need to make sure the rest of the European Organic Action Plan will be fully implemented so our sector and movement receive the right support to contribute to the Commission’s ambitious but achievable goals.