Biofach 2025 live: IFOAM highlights organic farming’s importance in sustainable nutrition

From February 11–14, the Nuremberg Exhibition Center is hosting Biofach 2025, the trade show for organic food, nutrition, and natural cosmetics. IFOAM Organics Europe is an exhibitor and a congress contributor, spotlighting key topics like policy updates, the EU’s water resilience strategy, and pathways to more accessible organic certification. 

Nutrition Insight meets with Eric Gall, deputy director of IFOAM, to learn about organic farming’s well-documented benefits for the environment and public health. However, he stresses the need for policies that reduce certification costs and support sustainable practices to make organic food more accessible and competitive globally.

This year’s Biofach program emphasizes sustainability, with sessions exploring organic farming’s contributions to better soil and water management, sustainable certification practices, and the evolution of the global organic market.

Organic health benefits

Gall says that scientific literature well establishes the benefits of organic agriculture for nature (soils, drinking water, biodiversity) and health. “The negative impacts of synthetic pesticides, which are banned in organic production, are also well established.” 

He cites a French National Health Institute INSERM study that reveals how pesticides raise health and environmental concerns. It identified six major pathologies, including prostate cancer, Parkinson’s disease, and cognitive disorders, with strong links between exposure during pregnancy or childhood and leukemia, central nervous system tumors, and developmental issues.

A review in the journal Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems reveals that organic and conventional crops differ in nutritional content due to different farming methods and soil health. Conventional crops often have higher pesticide levels, whereas organic crops contain more health-protective phytochemicals.

Other research in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition evaluates the health impacts of organic food consumption compared to conventional alternatives. Results show a significant inverse relationship between organic consumption and cardiometabolic risk factors but are inconclusive on cancer risk and nutrient value comparison. 

“The organic standard is the only sustainability standard for food production defined and regulated at the EU level,” says Gall. “What is allowed or not in organic production is clearly defined. Organic producers are controlled by third-party certification every year, and Eurobarometer surveys show that the EU organic label is the most well-known and trusted sustainability label among EU consumers.”.

Meanwhile, the EU reauthorized the use of the pesticide glyphosate despite concerns about its adverse health impact. Experts and scientists cautioned that its use can impair the nutrient content of crops, harm public health, and lead to environmental degradation.

Cost of health 

Gall says that organic certification is not necessarily expensive, as costs differ in various countries. 

“The key question is how to internalize in the price of food all the negative externalities of food produced with intensive farming methods. A levy on the use of toxic pesticides could be a starting point. Public policies also need to better support financially productive producers who are engaged in truly sustainable practices that provide benefits for society,” he adds.

“The new EU organic regulation shifts imports from a system of equivalence to one of compliance with the organic regulation, which can raise some challenges.”

Gall adds that organic farming supports the nutrition industry in getting sustainable ingredients, as the organic production system is the leading sustainability initiative in the agriculture and food sectors. “[It is] recognized by the recommendations of the EU strategic dialogue on the future of agriculture. It protects the very natural resources on which we depend to produce food.”

Also at Biofach, Vidya Europe is presenting its plant extracts and ingredients for functional food, nutraceutical, nutricosmetic, and cosmetic applications, and Tradin Organic is showcasing its ongoing sustainable coconut sugar project.