With time, we can see more and more products certified as organic at the supermarkets, with official labels by the government. The current definition from the European Commission says it all: "organic is a method of food production controlled by the authorities, with stricter than usual criteria for both environmental protection and animal welfare." Indeed, the strict criteria of labeling something as organic is something few people know about.

The steps to becoming a certified food producer are extensive. First, "they [the food producers] notify their activity to the local control activity and commit to the terms of organic production set out in the regulation EU 2007/2008," says Beata Meinander, Head of Organic Production Section of the Finnish Food Authority. 

The European Union Commission regulates the certification of organic farming in all member states. It is considered an essential component of the development of a sustainable food system in the EU, and a great player in the European Green Deal: 

"Under the Green Deal’s Farm to Fork strategy, the European Commission has set a target of ‘at least 25% of the EU’s agricultural land under organic farming (…) by 2030’"

So, it's pretty much visible how the European Union is interested in increasing the number of food producers under the official certification, not just to reach goals, but to attend to a growing consumption trend. Retail sales for organic products grew from approximately €18 billion in 2009 to €41 billion in 2019. "The consumer's demand for organic products is one of the reasons for the increase of certified producers, another is the concern for our environment," explains Beata Meinander.

Besides those reasons, one is pretty interesting for producers: Organic production is subsidized by the government. The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) gives financial support, technical assistance, and the exchange of best practices and innovations in organics. 

In return, the government asks for some things back. All farms and companies producing or manufacturing organic products need to comply with the rules on organic production, which means inspections at least once a year, without prior notice, inform all changes in production with sanctioning risks, and to pay all the fees provided for inspections.

In Finland, the Finnish Food Authority directs and supervises producers of organic food and feed. Organic farms are under the supervision of ELY centers. Valvira monitors producers and importers of organic alcoholic beverages. Åland Islands has its own supervision of organic production and agriculture. And organic products imported to Finland are supervised by Customs. 

Food producers and importers working exclusively with organics are aware of the strict aspect of this trade. "The organic certificate system in the EU is safe and secure. The Customs test every lot/batch before letting it be traded as organic certified inside the EU. There is a worldwide system of organic certified products, TracesNT, where all legal operators (farms, authors, importers/exporters) are found. All documents are based on this system and you'll get the COI (certificate of inspection) with every purchase of green coffee you made. So organic certified coffee has always been very "transparent" or 100% traceable," says Virpi Hyvärinen, CEO and co-founder of Papu Roastery, the first organic coffee roastery in Finland.

Also, as the Natural Resources Institute (Luke) says, "organic is a certified production method and a brand that gives the product added value in marketing." In the case of wild berries, one of the most iconic foods in Finland, the image of an organic (and sometimes hand-picked in the forests) fruit, is extra valuable even for international markets. 

This is also due to the fact that Finland has the world’s largest certified organic collection area, with 11.6 million hectares, or 30 % of the world’s total organic area. And no, not all wild foods can be labeled as organic, only the ones from areas supervised and controlled by authorities. In fact, the Finnish organic collection area can be more than doubled, because over 90% of Finnish forests would be suitable for organic collection - if there was a way to control all the territory.

Currently, more than 10 % of Finland's arable land is in organic production (12 million hectares), with almost 4,500 organic farms. And this number is growing, as more farms and companies are interested in getting organic certification. But not all farmers and producers agree and are able to cooperate, with many of the strict rules and fees imposed by the government.

Fredrik Koivusalo from Terra Vinealis is one of the smallholder farmers that does not partake in the strict regimen of the current policies. "The current agricultural policy favors large farms and farmers - after all, large loans are tied up in running them. In addition, large facilities require a large fleet of machinery. With a big modern tractor paying the price of a new detached house, becoming a new farmer is impossible for many," says Fredrik about the difficulty in starting from scratch with a small piece of land. The average size of organic farms is 20 % larger than the average size of all farms in Finland. The system would be more beneficial if subsidies were calculated by land use, not size. 

For many farmers, the bureaucracy associated with the certification is so complex that many have to hire an expert to make the support applications. Also, the inspections and demands can be too hard to handle, imposing sanctions on farmers. "We are no longer an official organic farm, we no longer apply for subsidies and inspectors are no longer coming. We have not changed our farming methods and our farming is now EWB (Ecological Without Bureaucracy). This is about idealism, but I think there is a lack of idealism in today's world," Fredrik concludes.

Seems like the debate over organic certification goes beyond marketing, stimulating demand overconsumption, or the official eagerness to achieve planned numbers. Maybe micro/small food producers and farmers should be better evaluated, as familiar farming grows with more people moving out of urban areas to start a new life in the countryside. Maybe that 10% of organic arable land can increase substantially with better conditions for small food production. Or maybe it's just politics?

Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash