Our Global CEO, Philip Lymbery, opened the Organic Summit in Copenhagen this week with a powerful speech advocating for organic farming to become standard practice.

This significant event focused on how to achieve the EU’s target of 25% organic agriculture, by 2030. Participants from all over Europe and beyond explored a range of topics including how to:

drive forward progress whilst also ensuring global food security, within planetary boundaries
get more farmers to grow organically on more land
improve productivity at the farm level whilst reducing their environmental footprint
make organic food more competitive and accessible to more people.

The event, held in Copenhagen during Denmark’s EU Presidency, included presentations from leading figures and advocates for the organic movement including:

Jan Plagge, Chairman, IFOAM Organics Europe.
Britta Riis, CEO, Animal Protection Denmark
Dr. Nic Lampkin, Thünen Institute and OrganicTarget4EU.

Turning vision into reality

Delivering the keynote speech, Philip emphasised the urgency of transitioning to organic, higher welfare, nature-friendly farming practices right now, for a liveable future. He referenced the EU’s Strategic Dialogue – to which he contributed – as the blueprint for turning this vision into reality.

He pointed out that organic farming means better lives for farmed animals, getting them out of factory farms and back onto the land where they can have the highest welfare. He stressed that animals should experience the joy of life and can thrive in mixed, rotational farming systems where they play a part in restoring ecosystems and soil naturally.

“Time is now” for organic farming transition