Accelerating conversion to organic farming in Scotland

Conventional agriculture is the second biggest emitter of greenhouse gases and a leading cause of nature loss in Scotland. Organic agriculture cuts GHG emissions, eliminates the use of pesticides and promotes biodiversity. Cutting emissions and increasing biodiversity is part of the EU’s green agenda. This is why the European Commission has set a target of “at least 25% of agricultural land under organic farming by 2030”. However, despite the Scottish government's commitment to continued alignment with EU rules, post Brexit, there is no target for expanding organic farming beyond the current 2% land cover, in their new Climate Change Plan. Meanwhile, Austrian farmers have already converted more than 30% of their farm land to organic. If you have visited Austria recently, you will have noticed that all their food shops are crammed with delicious organic produce. How and why did organic farmland in Austria increase from 5 to 30% within 23 years? What can Scotland learn from this process?

In order to answer these vital questions, we invited two experienced organic farmers and policy-makers to give their views:

is an organic farmer, forester, beekeeper and a Member of the Austrian Green Party in the European Parliament. He fights for small-scale and ecologically sustainable agriculture, better animal, climate and environmental protection, a peaceful foreign policy and a green EU.

is a small-scale, organic fruit and vegetable producer and a Co-Director of the Soil Association in Scotland. The Scottish Soil Association is working for a fairer food system where everyone has access to pesticide-free, sustainably produced food that benefits human health, creates resilient food and farming businesses and revives nature.

Since Thomas Waitz MEP is based in Brussels, we have pre-recorded this highly instructive interview. David MacKay and other farming experts will be in the room to answer participants’ questions after the showing.

This event is organised jointly by Yes for EU and Europe for Scotland, as part of the Festival of Europe Scotland.

We hope you can join us at the Quaker Meeting House in Edinburgh on 13 May! The timings of this event are:

5.00pm - Doors open for refresments

5.30pm - Event starts promptly

6.30pm - Event finishes

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Host or Publisher Yes for EU