Bio Suisse

Association of the Swiss Organic Agriculture Organisations
(Bio Suisse)
(in German) Vereinigung der Schweizer Biolandbau-Organisationen
(in French) Association suisse des organisations d’agriculture biologique
(in Italian) Associazione svizzera delle organizzazioni per l’agricoltura biologica
(in Romansh) Uniun svizra da las organisaziuns d’agricultura biologica
Former logo of Bio Suisse ("Bio Bud").
Motto Bio Bud. People, animals and nature in balance.
Formation 1981 (1981)
Headquarters Basel
Subsidiaries 32 associations of organic farmers and the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture[1]
Affiliations International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements
Website www.bio-suisse.ch

Bio Suisse is the main organisation of organic agriculture in Switzerland. It notably manages the guidelines of the organic label "Bio Suisse".[1]

It was founded in 1981 and, as federation of the Swiss organic farmers, represents the interest of about 6,100 agricultural businesses (regularly inspected by independent bodies).[2] It also certifies 900 processing companies.

The organic label "Bio Suisse" is widely distributed in Switzerland, for instance through the largest supermarkets chains: Migros (1,300 products) and Coop (1,800 products).

History

As of 2012, eleven percent of Swiss farms are organic.[2]

Between 2010 and 2015, the surface of organic agriculture in Switzerland increased of 23 percent, reaching 136,000 hectares.[3]

Since 2015, the Conservatory and Botanical Garden of the City of Geneva is the first public garden in Switzerland to formally meet the standards of Bio Suisse.

In 2017, Migros introduced a new label, in addition to "Migros Bio", for organic products containing at least 90% of Swiss ingredients ("Migros Bio Suisse").

Certification

The Bio Suisse organic label guarantees notably:[4][5]

  • No synthetic fertiliser nor synthetic pesticide
  • No genetic engineering
  • Priority to short cycles and soft processing
  • Ecological compensation area and other measures for biodiversity
  • Animals fed with local organic fodder
  • No transport by plane
  • No colouring agent nor preservative

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Who is Bio Suisse" (page visited on 19 October 2016).
  2. 1 2 Peter Siegenthaler, "Rich or poor, Swiss are big fans of organic food", Swissinfo, 31 May 2012 (page visited on 18 October 2016).
  3. ↑ "La Suisse se place au cinquième rang européen en matière d'agriculture bio", Radio Télévision Suisse, 25 October 2016 (page visited on 25 October 2016).
  4. ↑ (in French) Brochure "8 bonnes raisons de choisir le Bourgeon Bio Suisse", Coop (Switzerland), 2017.
  5. ↑ (in French) Cahier des charges et règlements, Bio Suisse, 2017 (page visited on 11 June 2017).
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