Istituto Comprensivo n 1 Il Guercino - Cento ITALY ORGANIC FARMING

Transcription

1 Istituto Comprensivo n 1 Il Guercino - Cento ITALY ORGANIC FARMING

2 Organic farming: what is it? It s a farming and breeding method which uses only natural substances, and not chemical substances. Organic farming means to develop a production model that doesn t overexploit natural resources.

3 Organic farming: why? In the last decades the most developed countries have made large use of chemical fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides and insecticides. These affect the environment in many ways: they kill good and bad organisms indifferently; they are poisons that go into ground water and from there into rivers and seas; impoverish the soil and poison it; conventionally grown food are bigger and more beautiful but are not nutritious, tasty and healthy they contain chemicals

4 Advantages of organic farming It favours the use of the natural substances and it's an alternative to industrialized agriculture. Its products are sold at local markets and therefore they are healthier.

5 ORGANIC FARMING TECHNIQUES Crop rotation Natural fertilizers (compost or manure) Mulching Green manure Reduced tillage

6 How to: organic farming methods Crop rotation No pesticides and synthetic fertilizers No GMO seeds Effective use of local resources Use of disease-resistant plants and animals

7 How to identify organic food If you want a product to be identified as organic you have to grow it following the European regulations. A European logo was designed to help consumers identify organic products.

8 Benefits for the environment Ecosystem: organic farming has a lower environmental impact than conventional farming on biodiversity of flora and fauna. Soil: organic farming has a good impact on soil fertility. Water: not using chemical fertilizers that contain nitrates, organic farming improves the quality of fresh waters. Climate and air: in organic farming, greenhouse gases emissions are lower than in conventional farming.

9 No GMOs, please! A Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) is an organism whose genetic material (DNA) has been altered using genetic engineering techniques.

10 Short food supply chain Short food supply chain means minimizing the distance food has to travel to go from producers to consumers. The short food supply chain provides always fresh food, cuts CO2 emissions and respects the environment

11 Where can you find organic food in Cento?

12 1. Supermarkets In Cento 3 supermarkets out of 4 have an organic food line. The products range from fruit and vegetables to soluble coffee and herbal infusions.

13 SUPERMARKET Product Organic product price Conventionally-grown product price Milk 1,33 0,95 Tomato sauce 1,05 0,85 Rice crackers 1,10 0,92 Soluble barley 1,35 0,95 Fruit juice 1,72 1,08 Muesli cereal 2,62 2,10 Eggs 2,59 2,05 Jam 1,34 2,60-2,79

14 COOP SUPERMARKET Product Organic product price Conventionally-grown product price Herbal infusions 1,89 1,08 Chocolate cookies 1,64 1,38 Cookies 1,60 1,49 Pasta 0,75 0,52 Sunflower oil (1l) 3,08 2,09 Olive oil (1l) 6,51 4,45 Canned tomatoes 2,40 1,94 Yogurt (x2) 1,03 0,75 Butter (250g) 2,49 1,79

15 Supermarket Products Organic product price Conventionally-grown product price Kiwi Valsoia Milk Apples Rice crackers Apricot jam Crackers Baby food Green tea

16 Supermarket Product 4 eggs Organic product price 1.79 Conventionallygrown product price 1.45 Crisped rice Jam

17 Supermarket Product Acacia honey Organic product price 6.40 Conventionallygrown product price 4.90 Butter Low-fat yogurt

18 Supermarket Product Baby food Organic product price 1.75 Conventionallygrown product price 1.45 Rice crackers Corn crackers

19 Supermarket Product Soluble barley Organic product price 1.85 Conventionallygrown product price 1.20 Green tea Oregano

20 Supermarket Product Spaghetti Organic product price 0.95 Conventionallygrown product price 0.58 Rice Balsamic vinegar

21 Supermarket Product Olive oil Organic product price 7.90 Conventionallygrown product price 5.40 Succo di frutta

22 We found out that organic products are generally more expensive than conventionally-grown products.

23 2. Organic product shop In Cento there is just one organic product shop. It opened six months ago. They sell organic food, but also gluten-free food, organic clothes, organic beauty products, and organic diapers. All the products are made in Italy.

24 3. Farmer's market The farmer s market in Cento is a weekly market that takes place on Tuesday mornings. There are 11 stands.

25 Six of them sell fruit and vegetables. The others sell: honey bread and baked products cheese and dairy products wine flowers

26 All the producers come from nearby villages (short food supply chain): Bomporto (40 km) Savignano sul Panaro (30 km) San Carlo (20 km) Castelfranco (30 km) Pilastri (30 km) The products on the market are almost all organic.

27 The number of people who shop there is quite large. The average age is high (55 to 65 years old) Products are more expensive than in supermarkets. People usually shop at the farmer's market because, even though more expensive, products are more fresh, more tasty and more healthy.

28 4. Solidarity-based purchasing groups (Gruppi di Acquisto Solidale, G.A.S.) It s a group of people who cooperate in order to buy food and other common products directly from the producers or from big retails to redistribute between them. They find little producers in their area (to minimize the impact on the environment) and also organic and ecological products which are made respecting human rights. This means respecting the environment and the solidarity between the members of the group and the producers.

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30 And the others Well, see you in Slovenia!!!