International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements
The International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements ( IFOAM ) is an international organization with the goal of a global introduction of environmental, social and economic sense systems based on the principles of organic farming. The list of members in 2013 includes more than 780 organizations in 155 countries.
History
The association was founded in 1972 by the then President of the French biological Farmers' Association " Nature et Progres ". Initially, there was no hierarchical organizational structure. Only because of the legal requirements for a non-profit organization had charge be established. Claude Aubert was appointed the first Secretary-General. The current President (as of 2012) is Andre Leu ( Australia). Only three years after its founding by the five original members of the Association had grown to 50 members from 17 nations.
1984, meanwhile, introduced Board was elected and prepared the hiring of a full-time manager. This was necessary because the membership had grown to over 100 and continued to rise in the years to over 500. The professionalization progressed, what it also became clear that more and more members from the business sector ( processors, traders ) participated. In the 1990s, the organization joined the cooperation with international actors, particularly the UN and the FAO. The scientific exchange is promoted with its own conferences and activities can be tackled concentrated in specific groups.
The seat of the head office is in Bonn -Gronau.
The IFOAM has developed among other activities, a standard for organic agriculture and a framework for eco- certification, which was a landmark for example, the EU-Eco - Regulation.
IFOAM Family of Standards
The IFOAM 2011 led the IFOAM Family of Standards a. With this approach, the harmonization and comparability of organic standards and Bioverordnungen should be ensured. The IFOAM Family of Standards enables organic standards due to a single valuation basis - the COROS (Common Objectives and Requirements of Organic Standards) - for quality and compliance with the principles of organic farming to check. Bilateral agreements on mutual recognition of organic standards are thus obsolete and organic certification and international trade in organic products be simplified.