If you want to protect nature or just want to live healthily, you'll certainly be interested in organic farming.

Organic farming
Organic farming is a form of agriculture which avoids the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, plant growth regulators, gene manipulated organisms and livestock feed additives. The goal is to keep our environment clean and preserve the variety of animal and plant species in nature. Livestock is kept in animal-friendly conditions. Organic farmers agree to follow strict conditions and undergo controls.

 

In Finland the percentage of organically farmed land was very small until the early 1990's when the Ministry of Agriculture first started subsidizing farmers for conversion to organic farming.

 

In 2006, over six percent of the used agricultural land in Finland was certified organic.

 

To recognize organic food, search for the word "luomu" (shorting of "luonnonmukainen maataloustuotanto") meaning organic agriculture. Luomu does not necessarily have to be related to foodstuff only. Furthermore, also raw materials for cosmetics, textiles and soaps can be produced without using harmful chemicals. The market share of organic food in Finland is estimated to be approximately 1,5 %.  In Finland, the largest percentage of luomu products is sold through regular supermarkets. Special luomu shops are still rare here and to be found mostly in bigger cities like for example Helsinki and Tampere in southern Finland. Luomu products are usually somewhat more expensive than regular articles due to higher production costs.

Organic food and other products in Oulu
Here in Oulu, you can find some organic food and other luomu articles in the product offering of supermarkets or in the market hall. Another source is shops for natural and health products. One of them is the "Luontokauppa" (Nature shop). A portion of the shop's earnings are donated to the Finnish organization for nature preservation (Suomen Luonnonsuojeluliitto).

The shop has a variety of nature-friendly products from ecological soaps without any chemical detergents to cosmetics without additives and produced without animal testing. Furthermore, you can find T-Shirts with nature pictures, the newest nature calendar, tea made of local wild berries and probably one of the most interesting absolutely nature-friendly products: Soapnut shells (pesupähkinä). "They are naturally grown nuts from an Indian tree", explains Leena Holström, who is taking care of the shop. The nut shells contain saponin, a natural detergent which can be used to clean clothes in an environmentally friendly way. The nuts are placed in a little bag into the wash load and be reused several times. According to Holström's customers, the nutshell washing method does not leave odour in the laundry and is especially good for people with allergies.

Luomu food rings in Oulu
As well as buying organic food in supermarkets, it is also possible to order it through a food ring. "The idea behind such a luomu food ring is to purchase from local organic farmers." explains Olli-Pekka Siira who is a part of the luomu-food ring Maatamo. "In the world of globalisation it seems to become normal that food is transported over large distances producing loads of exhaust gases and wasting energy. When wanting to act really nature friendly, it should be logical to buy local food!"

The approximately 30 households belonging to Maatamo order their food from a list in the internet. About once a month one of them fetches the ordered amounts from organic farms in the vicinity of Oulu and brings them to a collecting place where the others pick them up. Another benefit besides being nature-friendly is also the lower cost of organic food bought straight from the producer compared to the same items in a supermarket.

The members of Maatamo are mostly young families wanting to take care of nature and their own health. Organic food rings can also be found in some Finnish student unions, including that of the University of Oulu.

Organic farming statistics
According to a report of Eurostat (Statistics in Focus) 31/2005, organic farming is progressing in the EU although it presented only 4% of the total EU utilized agricultural area in 2002 (15 member states, as before the EU-enlargement of May 2004). The area organically cultivated in the EU increased at a rate of about 21% per year between 1998 and 2002. In 2002, Austria had the largest share of total organic area relative to its total utilized agricultural area. It was followed by Italy, Sweden and Finland. Ireland was the member state with the lowest share with a value under 1%.
However, there are large differences in the total utilized agricultural area between the single member states of the EU. In 2002, Italy has had the largest share with nearly 25 % of the country's total area. Nordic countries like Finland and Sweden remained under 5% .


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