Italy: Tutto Bio 2011 now available

The yearbook of Achille Mingozzi and Rosa Maria Bertino, Tutto Bio 2011, is available now. It costs 16 euros and can be purchased in various stores in Italy or online here. 8,500 organic operators in Italy are published on 336 pages. The new Bio Bank report is also featured, which compares the numbers of organic operators of 2010 to those of 2008.

According to the Bio Bank report, direct sales in Italy recorded the most important growth. There are 740 purchasing groups now in the country, a growth of 55 % in the past three years, and more than 2,400 farms and farm shops are offering organics, the number of  which rose by 25 % in the same period of time. The highest density of organic operators was found in Trentino-Alto Adige, followed by Marche and Valle d'Aosta. Regarding the absolute numbers of operators, Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy and Tuscany were the most important regions. The increase of organic operators split in eight groups, based on absolute numbers in the last three years (2008 / 2010), was as follows: purchasing groups + 55 %, e-commerce + 38 %, direct sales + 25 %, restaurants + 24 %, agri-tourism + 11 %, school canteens 10 %, farmers' markets 7 %, and shops +4 %.

This year's theme of Tutto Bio is "Organic, Ecological, Ethics: when green ideas become jobs", with sixteen stories dedicated to those who have transformed ideas into a real business in sectors like organic agriculture, catering, cosmetics and ecological fashion, sustainable architecture and renewable energies, or recycling. Bio Bank is the database of the organic, sustainable and ethical trade in Italy. Work began in 1993 and was updated year after year through direct surveys of thousands of operators. A database shows the evolution of the sector, keeps track of the changes, and reveals statistics.
 
BioBank