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BOX 2: DEFINITIONS
The word “organic” is legally protected in some countries. In the EU, for example, this word has been protected since the early
1990s in English-speaking countries. The equivalent in French, Italian, Portuguese and Dutch-speaking countries is
“biological”, and “ecological” in Danish, German and Spanish-speaking countries.
IFOAM definition:
The International Federation for Organic Agricultural Movements (IFOAM), established in the early 1970s, represents over 600
members and associate institutions in over 100 countries. IFOAM (1996) defines the “organic” term as referring to the particular
farming system described in its Basic Standards. The “Principle Aims of Organic Agriculture and Processing” are based on the
following equally important principles and ideas:
• to produce food of high nutritional quality in sufficient quantity;
• to interact in a constructive and life enhancing way with all natural systems and cycles;
• to encourage and enhance biological cycles within the farming system, involving micro organisms, soil flora and fauna,
plants and animals;
• to maintain and increase long-term fertility of soils;
• to promote the healthy use and proper care of water, water resources and all life therein;
• to help in the conservation of soil and water;
• to use, as far as is possible, renewable resources in locally organized agricultural systems;
• to work, as far as possible, within a closed system with regard to organic matter and nutrient elements;
• to work, as far as possible, with materials and substances which can be reused or recycled, either on the farm or
elsewhere;
• to give all livestock conditions of life which allow them to perform the basic aspects of their innate behaviour;
• to minimize all forms of pollution that may result from agricultural practices;
• to maintain the genetic diversity of the agricultural system and its surroundings, including the protection of plant and
wildlife habitats;
• to allow everyone involved in organic production and processing a quality of life conforming to the UN Human Rights
Charter, to cover their basic needs and obtain an adequate return and satisfaction from their work, including a safe working
environment;
• to consider the wider social and ecological impact of the farming system;
• to produce non-food products from renewable resources, which are fully biodegradable;
• to encourage organic agriculture associations to function along democratic lines and the principle of division of powers;
• to progress towards an entire organic production chain, which is both socially just and ecologically responsible.
IFOAM notes that “Genetic engineering focuses on the genetic makeup without taking into account the complete organism or
system in which the organism functions. It is thus a contradiction to the above mentioned principle aims of organic agriculture.”
US definition:
In 1980 the US Department of Agriculture defined the concept of organic agriculture as follows: “...a production system which
avoids or largely excludes the use of synthetically compounded fertilizers, pesticides, growth regulators, and livestock feed
additives. To the maximum extent feasible, organic agriculture systems rely upon crop rotations, crop residues, animal manure,
legumes, green manure, off-farm organic wastes, mechanical cultivation, mineral bearing rocks, and aspects of biological pest
control to maintain soil productivity and tilth, to supply plant nutrients, and to control insects, weeds, and other pests’. The report
also included the following observation: “The concept of the soil as a living system which must be "fed" in a way that does not
restrict the activities of beneficial organisms necessary for recycling nutrients and producing humus is central to this definition.”
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