“The difference between these olive trees and the ones next door is that here there are herbs, there is life, there are insects and you can hear the birds singing,” says Belén Luque, pointing out her ecological olive groves on a hillside in Castro del Rio (Cordova). Organic production, of which Luque is one of the pioneers, has been celebrating three decades in Spain – a European power in the sector – with lights and shadows: it has helped reduce pollution and increased biodiversity on agricultural land; but the majority continues to be exported, water use has not improved, nor has it transformed the food system. Experts point out that this transformation depends on more factors, such as changing the diet towards one with less meat and more vegetables and legumes, betting on seasonal and local foods and promoting public purchasing of these products.
In 1991, the EU approved the organic production regulations, which prohibits the use of chemicals (such as fertilizers, pesticides or feed) and GMOs in agriculture, while in livestock farming it limits antibiotics as much as possible, requires a natural diet and establishes a certain animal welfare – which excludes macro farms. Whoever meets these requirements can use the logo with the green leaf that he certifies as eco.
“At the end of the 80s my father, José Antonio Luque, decided that he did not want to be the first generation to apply pesticides and herbicides on his land, like the others were doing. He later became certified in organic, something very new. The neighbors looked at him as if he were crazy. Then they saw that production did not drop as much and our field was much more beautiful,” says Belén, 51, who later took over. Today, they sell their oil with the green leaf in Europe, as well as in the US, Korea and Japan.
![Belén Luque, owner of Luque Ecológico, in front of her eco-certified olive trees in Castro del Rio (Cordoba).](https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/3HHSCKUQNFGVBFWFFD3IWZOBBU.jpg?auth=ae82cb720e030835c4445fb4414d9c88ff046017d0d1418d0a66695326da799d&width=414)
“Spain is the great protagonist of the growth of the sector in Europe, for many years it has been the country with the largest surface area, although now it is France,” says Dionisio Ortiz, professor of Economics and Agrarian Policy at the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV). According to the Ministry of Agriculture, there are already 2.68 million hectares dedicated to this activity, almost 11% of the total agricultural area—compared to the 8.7% average in Europe. The EU has set a goal that 25% of European planting territory is certified by 2030.
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Does it improve the environment? “Organic farming has great benefits for health and the environment, since it does not use chemicals or pesticides, and that is important because we are the country in Europe that uses the most pesticides. The more hectares that are converted to this model, the better,” says Javier Guzmán, president of the NGO Food Justice. Ortiz, from the UPV, adds: “There is proven scientific evidence that these types of techniques represent great environmental gains, because they improve soils and groundwater by not contaminating them, create green covers, and generate much more biodiversity, especially in terms of insects, pollinators and birds. And it reduces antibiotics in livestock, which is essential.”
Another of the pioneers is Ernestine Lüdeke, 63 years old, who in 1995 bought a 700-hectare farm north of Huelva with her husband —Monte Mediterráneo Foundation— to protect the birds that migrate to Doñana and, incidentally, safeguard the pasture with organic livestock. “We were certified in 1996. The other ranchers would think we were Germans doing strange things,” he says under a tree next to a herd of pigs eating acorns. “The dehesa is a fundamental model for conserving all types of species and the last barrier against the desert.” They have 600 sheep, 200 Iberian fattening pigs and 18 cows. “We don’t breed more so as not to strain the land and in case a year comes with drought,” he summarizes. Most of it is sold in Spain.
Gloria Isabel Guzmán, director of the Master of Ecological Agriculture and Livestock at the Pablo de Olavide University (UPO), agrees with the positive effects of this model—“my olive grove overflows with life”—but puts on the table some of its shortcomings: “The cost of water is not contemplated, because the regulations are born in Central European countries that do not have that problem. Nor does it prohibit the use of plastic, which in greenhouses is a source of unsustainability. Although organic greenhouses have been pioneers in abandoning pesticides and chemical fertilizers, they have opened an important path for others.”
One of them is Flor de Doñana, with 70 hectares of organic red fruits near the Huelva national park. “We have been certified for 25 years. The covers are made of recycled plastic. When the season ends, in July, we recycle them again, rotate the land and provide natural nutrients. We try to use as little water as possible,” says Juan María Rodríguez (57 years old), manager of the company, which sells 88% of its production in Europe between a row of strawberries. Something similar happens with other greenhouse areas: Murcia, for example, exported 85% of its organic production in 2023. “We do not have exact data on what part of the organic production is consumed in Spain and what part is exported, but the Department of agriculture made an estimate in 2021 that 57% are sold abroad,” says Diego Granado, secretary general of Ecovaliathe sector’s employer.
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That is one of the problems with this model. “If we continue producing in greenhouses, even without chemicals, but they continue to be monocultures, which exhaust the land and consume a lot of water, and we send them for export through large companies that dominate the market, we are not transforming the food system,” complains Marta G. Rivera, professor of Research in Ingenuity (CSIC-UPV) and expert in food systems. Marc Gràcia, researcher at the Center for Ecological Research and Forest Applications (Creaf), says: “A true change in the food system would mean changing the entire chain, producer, intermediary and consumer, to achieve a closer, more local, short-circuit diet. ”. This is what happens in farmers’ markets, where consumers buy directly from farmers and ranchers.
Javier Guzmán believes that municipal markets must play that role: “The administrations have to promote these public infrastructures and open them to local organic producers, because the market is an oligopoly. In addition, we must promote eco-friendly public purchasing.” All the experts consulted agree that this is one of the keys. The Ministry of Social Rights is preparing a public purchasing decree for school cafeterias that includes the obligation that 5% of the food be organic, although it does not yet have a date. And, for now, it is not planned to expand it to other facilities (residences, prisons, public buildings…).
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Ortiz, from the UPV, adds: “The expansion of organic farming is one of the ingredients of the transformation, but it is even more important to change eating habits, make diets more sustainable, with a reduction in meat, and more vegetables. , fruits and legumes. In any case, in Spain the level of consumption of organic foods remains very low.” The Swiss spend an average of 437 euros a year on these types of products, and the Danes reach 365; Spaniards do not exceed 64, although in 12 years they have tripled what they spend in the sector.
One of the problems is the slow release of organic foods in large supermarket chains, where the majority of the population buys. El Corte Inglés already has 3,800 eco products and increases them by 5% each year, while Alcampo has 2,470 (for comparison, the chain offers about 50,000 different products); Aldi reaches 490 references and Carrefour remains at 360; Lidl offers 223 and Dia has 50. The exception is Mercadona, which does not have a single organic product. A source from the sector explains it like this: “Supermarkets sell products with low added value with the idea that there is a lot of rotation and they sell a lot. To include an organic product I have to be sure that it will sell more than the conventional one.” There are also chains specialized in organic, such as Veritas, with 80 establishments throughout Spain and more than 6,000 organic products.
Inflation and price differences also influence this aspect. According to a study by the OCU With 140 products, the prices of organic products are, on average, 54% more expensive than conventional leading brand products and three times more than non-organic white label products. This makes it difficult to access the lowest incomes. “Eco production is more expensive because it reflects the real cost, while conventional production externalizes the environmental and social costs: pollution, poor health of farmers and ranchers, emissions it produces…”, summarizes Rivera. Food production generates around 12% of greenhouse gases in Spain.
Rivera continues: “Instead of subsidizing conventional agriculture of large producers, as we are doing, we should subsidize organic agriculture to reduce the price of their products. And introduce agroecology criteria, which places more emphasis on the distribution of land so that people can produce food sustainably. But instead the land is increasingly concentrated in fewer hands.” Guzmán, from the UPO, believes that “there is a lack of aid for direct markets between producer and consumer, such as those applied by France and Denmark, and public purchasing programs with ecological and proximity production criteria.” Granado, from Ecovalia, resumes: “Organic production is an important step in the change of model, but then other productive changes are also needed, such as advancing local production and seasonal consumption.”
![Ernestine Lüdeke holds a sheep on her farm in Santa Olalla del Cala (Huelva).](https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/JQ7ODA2HWBBJPLWMS4OVESWMLQ.jpg?auth=ea256ef04249638f36d4a97e461d83ba5d1a5b0277b722245cc15974f2a0e082&width=414)
Back in the Huelva pasture, Ernestine Lüdeke looks at her sheep and summarizes: “There should be more awareness on the issue of food. It’s not just about replacing conventional products with organic ones, you also have to change your diet. Instead of eating meat four days a week, eat once and make sure it is good meat, and replace the other protein with chickpeas, beans and other legumes.”
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