The responsibility of the cities

“If more than half of all people live in towns, it means that they not only have great responsibility but also great power to shape developments,” said the Chair of BÖLW, Felix Prinz zu Löwenstein. He went on to say that in towns there’s abundant scope for promoting the organic idea, and now is the time to turn our attention to a field of activity with a bright future, but one which has been largely ignored by politicians and the media. “We want to encourage mayors, their administrations and local politicians, incentivised by examples and experience across the whole of Europe, to take action in their own communities,” is how the BÖLW chairman explained the aim of the conference. Presenter Frieder Thomas, the managing director of AgrarBündnis e.V., stressed that, with its multifunctionality, organic agriculture in particular was an important theme for towns. He pointed out that there are many towns and communities in Cenral Europa that are already involved in these activities. Representatives from Denmark, Estonia, France, Italy and Germany had come to Berlin to report on the initiatives they were engaged in. (Picture: Felix Prinz zu Löwenstein welcoming the guests)

The President of the Städtetag (Association of Towns and Cities in Germany), Nuremberg’s Senior Mayor Ulrich Maly, described the close relationship between town and country.  He detailed the many and varied possibilities open to communities to use organic and regional products in cities. As long ago as 2003, the Nuremberg City Council took the decision to promote organic, regional and fair products by using them in canteens in public institutions like schools, hospitals and local authorities, by creating parks, organic management of drinking water catchment areas and by providing opportunities for people to learn about nutrition. Maly described how some projects, sometimes after initial resistance, had turned out to be a great success – an example being the input of organic products at the famous Nuremberg Christmas Market (Christkindlesmarkt), where a third of the food sold is already organic. In kindergartens the proportion of organics is 40 % and in schools it is 20 %. He added that on ‘experience organic days’ about 40,000 people usually turned up. (Picture: Ulrich Maly, Nuremberg’s mayor, has for many years been a powerful advocate of all things organic)
 

In Copenhagen, the proportion of meals in public canteens using the products of organic agriculture is as high as two-thirds. Given the rate of increase and the fact that in daycare centres for children the proportion is already 90 %, the target of 100% organic is well within reach. The President of Organic Denmark, Per Kølster, stressed that, in order to achieve success, it is essential to create awareness of the issues, so that people in general, including children and parents, politicians and officials, know all about organic. He said that the Danish capital began going down this route 15 years ago - in every aspect of life they wanted to focus on sustainability and by 2030 at the latest their aim was to become a CO²-neutral city.

In this year’s IGW partner country Estonia, there’s great commitment too. In the context of a LEADER-Project on the Baltic island Hiiumaa, Reet Kokovkin, as the coordinator of the local action groups, engages with farmers and consumers in order to bring them together. This initiative is putting organically produced food centre-stage in the whole country. Ms. Kokovkin also insisted on the crucial role of discussion in society to achieve transformation in the fields, cowsheds and canteens: “Children have to urge their parents to use food that comes from organic farms that they have visited. Then things begin to change!”
(Picture: Estonian specialities at the Green Week)

The mayor of Turin, Pierro Fassino, also came to Berlin at the invitation of BÖLW. The president of the Italian association of cities and communities intends to make the theme of nutrition a core issue at EXPO 2015 in Milan and Turin. The mayor of the city where Slowfood meets and holds its big fair said: “The future of the world depends on what happens in cities. If we can establish an organic culture in cities, we’re on the way to success.”  He is already campaigning vigorously for the change of lifestyle that Ulrich Maly also spoke about. He added: “It takes a long time to change the mentality of people, and that’s why we must keep on working at it. It’s a long, laborious process.“

Michaël Latz, the mayor of the small rural community of Correns in Provence, described how they created the first organic village (900 inhabitants) in France: for 20 years, the farmers of the village have been producing their wine, olives, cereals and aromatic plants almost entirely in keeping with organic guidelines. Latz is convinced that what has emerged is future-oriented agriculture. Food in schools and kindergartens has been converted to organic. The recipe for success is the fact that the people of the village themselves have developed the projects that, apart from food, address other aspects of sustainability such as producing energy. (Picture: Mayor Michaël Latz – a convinced advocate of organic)

In the afternoon of the Organic Agriculture Day, the experts from city administration and civil society sat down together in workshops to delve into the different aspects of community involvement in organic agriculture. In the next few weeks, BÖLW will summarise and publish the results in a conference report.