Lobbying on biological agriculture

The Platform for Biological Agriculture and Nutrition (Platform Biologische Landbouw) of the Netherlands is a federation of NGOs, whose main purpose is lobbying, particularly the ministries of agriculture and environment to influence government policy. Its main activities are proposing amendments to legislation or new legislation to parliament. To strengthen its hand, a council was formed representing all the major groups involved in the modern food chain, from agriculture through processing to distribution all the way to the consumer. The council includes the union of farmers (LTO), as well as the association of car owners (the ANWB), the association of food processors, the association of supermarkets, the biggest environmental NGOs and the consumer association. Today, this council represents several million citizens and is strong enough to propose legislation in favour of biological farming to the parliament and cabinet of ministers. The partners have committed themselves to contribute to promoting the production and consumption of biological food products.

Although organic farming methods may be appropriate in certain markets to satisfy particular consumer preferences and tastes, the system is unlikely to be the preferred option for most farmers, because of its limited ability to produce sufficient affordable food for the majority of the world's population.