ORGANIC FARMING Istituto Comprensivo n°1 “Il Guercino”- Cento ITALY

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.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

Where can you find organic food in Cento?

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.

SUPERMARKET ProductOrganic product priceConventionally-grown product price Milk1,33 €0,95 € Tomato sauce1,05 €0,85 € Rice crackers1,10 €0,92 € Soluble barley1,35 €0,95 € Fruit juice1,72 €1,08 € Muesli cereal2,62 €2,10 € Eggs2,59 €2,05 € Jam1,34 €2,60 - 2,79 €

ProductOrganic product priceConventionally-grown product price Herbal infusions1,89 €1,08 € Chocolate cookies1,64 €1,38 € Cookies1,60 €1,49 € Pasta0,75 €0,52 € Sunflower oil (1l)3,08 €2,09 € Olive oil (1l)6,51 €4,45 € Canned tomatoes2,40 €1,94 € Yogurt (x2)1,03 €0,75 € Butter (250g)2,49 €1,79 € COOP SUPERMARKET

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

Supermarket Conventionally- grown product price Organic product priceProduct Jam Crisped rice eggs

Low-fat yogurt Butter Acacia honey Conventionally- grown product price Organic product price Product Supermarket

Corn crackers Rice crackers Baby food Conventionally- grown product price Organic product price Product Supermarket

Oregano Green tea 1.85 Soluble barley Conventionally- grown product price Organic product priceProduct 1.20 Supermarket

Balsamic vinegar Rice 0.95 Spaghetti Conventionally- grown product price Organic product priceProduct 0.58 Supermarket

Succo di frutta 7.90 Olive oil Conventionally- grown product price Organic product priceProduct 5.40 Supermarket

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

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.

3. Farmer's market The farmer’s market in Cento is a weekly market that takes place on Tuesday mornings. There are 11 stands. just a few of them

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

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.

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.

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.

Laura Elisa Greta Gaia Melissa Vittoria Riccardo Isabella Francesco

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