Welcome to iGrow News, Your Source for the World of Indoor Vertical Farming
VIDEO: Is Hydroponic Produce Organic?
The organic farming standards were created by the USDA in the 1990s when there was increased public awareness of the health and safety of our food. However, at that time, hydroponic farming wasn't as widespread as it is today
Aaron Fields, Eden Green Technology's Head of Horticulture
Photo from Eden Green Technology
The organic farming standards were created by the USDA in the 1990s when there was increased public awareness of the health and safety of our food. However, at that time, hydroponic farming wasn't as widespread as it is today. That leads us to question: is hydroponic produce organic?
Check out this great video from Eden Green Technology, a hydroponic farm based in Texas. Aaron Fields, their Head of Horticulture, explains what organic really means and how hydroponic growing can be sometimes cleaner and safer. (Did you know? I hate to burst the organic bubble, but produce that is grown organically can still have some level of pesticides.)
VIDEO: What Makes Organic Food "Organic"?
Organic food is no longer a niche market. Sales of organic food products in the European Union have more than doubled over the last decade - from €16.3 billion in 2008 to €37.4 billion in 2018 - and demand continues to grow
The EU is the second-largest consumer of organic food in the world. - Copyright nsplaUsh
Organic food is no longer a niche market.
Sales of organic food products in the European Union have more than doubled over the last decade - from €16.3 billion in 2008 to €37.4 billion in 2018 - and demand continues to grow.
However, many Europeans are still unsure of what "organic" really means. Is it natural? Free of pesticides? Locally grown?
Well not exactly. Here are some of the conditions food products must meet in order to be considered organic in the EU:
No synthetic fertilizers
Natural fertilizers, such as compost and seaweed derivatives, are essential to maintaining fertile and healthy soil. So organic food must be grown with these products, rather than synthetic fertilizers that are used in conventional farming, and which tend to be made of harsher chemical ingredients including nitrogen compounds, phosphorus, and potassium.
"Organic farming improves soil structures and quality and enhances biodiversity. Studies have shown that organic farming present 30% more of biodiversity in the fields", explains Elena Panichi, Head of Unit at DG Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI).
No synthetic pesticides
Farmers need to fight weeds and pests. Organic farmers are only allowed to use naturally-derived pesticides, made from plants, animals, microorganisms, or minerals.
"These chemicals are of a natural origin. For instance, essential oils, plant extracts, that are listed in the relevant regulation, and are authorized, following a process that implies a scientific committee to assess the effect on the environment", says Panichi.
Organic farms also have techniques such as crop rotation or planting different crops on the same plot of land, to help to prevent soil-borne diseases.
Natural predators, such as ladybugs, can also be an effective method of pest control.
However, it is important to remember that just because something is “natural”, it doesn’t automatically make it harmless to either people or the environment.
No GMOs
To be certified as “organic”, food cannot contain products made from genetically modified crops.
This rule is the same for organic meat and other livestock products. Besides, the animals are to be raised on 100% organic feed.
Antibiotics as a last resort
The animals we eat, or whose products we consume, need to be kept disease-free. Many conventional farmers routinely use antibiotics for disease prevention. These can end up making their way into the food chain.
Excessive antibiotics are not good for people or animals because they can help create superbugs. Antimicrobial resistance is a global concern. Every year, around 33, 000 people die in the EU, due to infections from antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
On organic farms, the use of antibiotics is severely restricted. Farmers control disease by limiting the number of animals they raise and using methods such as a healthy diet for their livestock. They are only allowed to use antibiotics when absolutely necessary for an animal's health, in order to avoid suffering, and when natural remedies such as phytotherapeutic and homeopathic medicines are not effective.
"If in conventional [farming], sometimes antibiotics are given as preventive tools, inorganics, antibiotics can be given as a last resort if there are no other methods to intervene. Normally, the higher animal welfare standards applied in organics already keep animals in a healthier status that prevent the use of antibiotics", explains Panichi.
However, studies have shown that antibiotic use on farms is on the decline. Sales of animal antibiotics in the EU have fallen by more than 34% between 2011 and 2018.
Better animal welfare
Organic farmers must provide the environmental conditions necessary for animals to express their natural behavior, such as adequate outdoor space. This is not compulsory in conventional farming.
There are additional rules such as the prohibition on caging or mutilation unless absolutely necessary for health reasons.
What "organic" doesn't mean
Locally grown
Europeans are the second largest consumers of organic in the world. Local supply can’t meet demand yet, so a large number of organic products are imported.
China, Ukraine, Dominican Republic and Ecuador are the main EU trade partners for organic food imports.
"Green" packaging
Words like “natural”, “green” or “eco” on labels and packaging do not necessarily mean a product is organic.
Healthy
There's a wide range of organic product on supermarket shelves, from burgers to pizzas, from cheese to wine. The health implications of consuming excess fats, salt, or sugar don't disappear just because a food product is organic. Too much fat, salt, and sugar are still bad for you, whether it is organic or not.
How can you be sure that the “organic” food you’re buying is actually organic?
EU organic logo European Commission
The most reliable way to know if a product is organic is if it has this official EU logo.
The white leaf on a green background means that EU rules on production, processing, handling, and distribution, have been followed and that the product contains at least 95% organic ingredients. This logo can only be used on products that have been certified by an authorized control agency or body.
Some countries have also created their own organic logos. They are optional and complementary to the EU's leaf. This is the French one, for instance.
French organic logo Agence Bio
New rules coming in 2022
EU rules on organic production will change soon. In 2022, Europe will have legislation with stricter controls.
Panichi believes it will bring a "substantial improvement" to the organic sector.
"We have to bear in mind that the new organic legislation is not a revolution, but it's an evolution of the organic legislation that started in the past years and has been kept evolving together with the sector".
The new legislation will harmonize rules for non-EU and EU producers. It will also simplify procedures for small farms in order to attract new producers, thanks to a new system of group validation.
The list of organic foods is expected to grow, with the addition of products such as salt and cork. The possibility of certifying insects as organic is also expected in the rules.
What is the future of organics?
"Surfaces in Europe are increasing or as well as all over the world, and they are increasing at a fast pace," says Panichi.
As part of its Farm To Fork strategy, the EU has committed to increasing organic production, with the goal of 25% of all agricultural land being used for organic farming by 2030. In 2019, it was only around 8%.
By 2030, Europe also aims to reduce the use of harmful chemicals and hazardous pesticides by 50%.
Buying organic food is still too expensive for many. One of Farm To Fork's main goals is to make healthy, sustainable food more accessible and affordable to all Europeans. A French family 2019 shows that a basket of eight organic fruits and eight organic vegetables is, on average, twice as expensive as a basket of non-organic products.
Note: The requirements listed in this article are just some of the conditions necessary for a product to be considered organic. If you want to know more about what is needed to obtain the green logo, please check the EU regulation.
Lead photo: EU organic logo European Commission
EU: According To Marcell Kovacs "Hydroponics Should Be Labeled As Organic"
“We’re living in a time where environmentally-conscious decisions are imperative,” says Marcell
Earlier this year, many vertical farms, especially hydroponic farms and their investors received a cold shower after an EU decision. Although hydroponic farming offers high-quality, pesticide-free, green, nutrition products it hasn’t been acknowledged by the European Parlament’s Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI) as “organic”.
Losing many benefits
“Agriculture technology progressed at a break-neck speed in the last 3 to 5 years, and we are only at the beginning of the trend,” says Marcell Kovacs, founder, and CEO at Maxellco an innovation agency. “The next EU budget will unleash millions of euros for the agriculture sector in the form of grants or investments for a more sustainable and greener sector. This is the time and place to witness the revolution for the next 5 to 7 years.”
The technology in novel growing solutions, such as automated vertical farms, hydroponics, and aquaponics, often fitted with Private Equity and Venture Capital investments, resulted that these products hit the market at scale. However, production at high-tech facilities is expensive as labor, electricity, and heating are major cost factors that need to be managed. Due to high CapEx and OpEx it is crucial for the sector to sell products at a premium price to keep the business afloat.
According to Marcell, one solution could be to classify indoor farming products as officially ‘organic’, using the approved logo set by the EU across all 27 countries.
The organic logo (Source: European Commission)
It appears that the labeling, such as ‘bio’, ‘organic’, ‘eco’ or ‘locally produced’ are crucial to justify a higher price for produce. The organic label has become an immediately recognizable statement for quality. “We track retail prices in several regions in the EU and we can clearly demonstrate a 30% or even in some cases a 50% price premium for organic labeled products, fruits, vegetables and greens,” Marcell says. “Therefore, the label is clearly a powerful designation and producers have a strong incentive to be included under the organic umbrella,” he adds.
Why rejected?
“It was unrealistic to assume that the Parliament would approve hydroponics as organic at one go says Marcell. He says that the European agriculture sector is one of the most heavily regulated and subsidized sectors. Only a handful of experts understand the entire Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to its full extent. It took years of negotiation, industrial influence and compromise to develop the organic label followed by a decade of heavy marketing so the brand could easily be recognized by (potential) customers. It is a sacred protection tool to prevent European citizens from buying low-quality and unhealthy food from sources other than inside the EU,” Marcel affirms.
“Technology always progressed faster, whereas legislation and regulation followed the progress five to 10 years later to catch up with trends. The new agriculture is surely disruptive, but this is not a get-rich-quick scheme,” Marcell warns. “Farmers should embrace themselves for years of continuous investment in technology and marketing.” In order to pursue these classification goals, the AgTech sector must unite and push for legislative change together, or try to develop a new label as a standard for hydroponic and indoor farming production. Even with the best efforts, the process might take years, and maybe even decades for it to pass. So why not spend this effort in customer education instead?” Marcell suggests.
Photo 17690284 © Panpote | Dreamstime.com
Customer engagement
“We’re living in a time where environmentally-conscious decisions are imperative,” says Marcell. The change is not only a peak of the political centrum, but it’s present in industries, companies and customers. Customer's habits are now changing as many are becoming more environmentally conscious and are set to pursue a healthy diet. They prefer high-quality products as they’re able to afford it. Marcell says that the green aspect is part of the customer’s decisions as they want to become part of the story and have an emotional attachment to the food. Questions will arise such as, Where did come from? How was it produced? What is the environmental impact of this one?”
Marcell states that customers have the power to decide the future of the planet and the agriculture sector. On the other hand, producers have the chance to engage with customers across the supply chain, to better inform, educate and assist them to maintain their choice of lifestyle. Companies and producers should explore this field to begin developing a long-term customer relationship.
“An armada of digital tools are available for companies to take advantage and lead the changing customer habits. Think of QR codes to track down the source of vegetables (from Farm-to-Fork), or mobile apps to track eating habits or gamified waste collection. These are all easy to go answers and an important piece of this extremely complex situation.”
For more information:
Maxellco
Marcell Kovacs, Founder, and CEO
marcell.kovacs@maxellco.com
www.maxellco.com
Publication date: Fri 5 Mar 2021
Author: Rebekka Boekhout
© VerticalFarmDaily.com
World's Biggest Rooftop Greenhouse Opens In Montreal
Lufa Farms on Wednesday inaugurates the facility that spans 15,000 square metres, or about the size of three football fields. "The company's mission is to grow food where people live and in a sustainable way,"
Lufa Farms just opened what it says is the world’s largest commercial rooftop greenhouse, seen in this aerial photo in Montreal
26 Aug 2020
MONTREAL: Building on a new hanging garden trend, a greenhouse atop a Montreal warehouse growing eggplants and tomatoes to meet demand for locally sourced foods has set a record as the largest in the world.
It's not an obvious choice of location to cultivate organic vegetables -- in the heart of Canada's second-largest city -- but Lufa Farms on Wednesday inaugurates the facility that spans 15,000 square metres, or about the size of three football fields.
"The company's mission is to grow food where people live and in a sustainable way," spokesman Thibault Sorret told AFP, as he showed off its first harvest of giant eggplants.
It is the fourth rooftop greenhouse the company has erected in the city. The first, built in 2011 at a cost of more than C$2 million (US$1.5 million), broke new ground.
Since then, competitors picked up and ran with the novel idea, including American Gotham Greens, which constructed eight greenhouses on roofs in New York, Chicago and Denver, and French Urban Nature, which is planning one in Paris in 2022.
A local Montreal supermarket has also offered since 2017 an assortment of vegetables grown on its roof, which was "greened" in order to cut greenhouse gas emissions linked to climate change.
'Reinventing the food system'
Lebanese-born Mohamed Hage and his wife Lauren Rathmell, an American from neighboring Vermont, founded Lufa Farms in 2009 with the ambition of "reinventing the food system."
At Lufa, about 100 varieties of vegetables and herbs are grown year-round in hydroponic containers lined with coconut coir and fed liquid nutrients, including lettuce, cucumbers, zucchini, bok choy, celery and sprouts.
Bumblebees pollinate the plants, while wasps and ladybugs keep aphids in check, without the need for pesticides.
Enough vegetables are harvested each week to feed 20,000 families, with baskets tailored for each at a base price of C$30.
The company's "online market" also sells goods produced by local partner farms including "bread, pasta, rice, etcetera," Sorret said.
On the ground floor of the new greenhouse, a huge distribution center brings together nearly 2,000 grocery products for offer to "Lufavores," including restaurants.
Shopper Catherine Bonin tells AFP she loves the freshness of the produce but laments that some items are always out of stock. "I can never get peppers," she says.
Sales doubled during pandemic
"We are now able to feed almost two percent of Montreal with our greenhouses and our partner farms," said Sorret.
"The advantage of being on a roof is that you recover a lot of energy from the bottom of the building," allowing considerable savings in heating, an asset during the harsh Quebec winter, he explains.
"We also put to use spaces that were until now completely unused," he said.
Fully automated, the new greenhouse also has a water system that collects and reuses rainwater, resulting in savings of "up to 90 percent" compared to a traditional farm.
Lufa "more than doubled" its sales during the new coronavirus pandemic, a jump attributable "to contactless delivery from our online site," says Sorret.
Profitable since 2016, the private company now employs 500 people, around 200 more than before the pandemic, according to him.
It is currently working on the electrification of its fleet of delivery trucks and is in the process of exporting its model "to different cities around the world," starting with Canada and the United States, Sorret said.
"What's a little crazy," he recalls, is that none of the founders "had grown a tomato in their life" before opening the business.
