This November marks 40 years since the first edition of BioCultura in Madrid, pioneer in the creation of a unique fair in Spain dedicated to ecological products and responsible consumption.
All this at a very interesting time for organic farming in Spain, which increased by 12% to reach almost 3 million hectares in 2023and everything indicates that we will be the first after passing France.
Behind this adventure and this feat, started four decades ago in an unprecedented movement in Spain, hides a team led by Angeles Parradirector of BioCultura and president of the entity that organizes the fair, the Vida Sana association. She is a tireless activist who, in her free time, spends walking in nature and on the shores of the Mediterranean.
BioCulture Madrid 2024
And that’s it BioCultura is more than a fairit is a meeting point for conscious producers and consumers, a busy agenda of activities and conferences and to try to take care of the planet, with demands and the struggle, for example, to defend the name “organic » against the food giants.
BioCultura will arrive at the IFEMA exhibition center on November 21, 22, 23 and 24, with a wide range of organic food, certified eco-natural cosmetics and hygiene, sustainable fashion, lifestyle, health and of well-being. The organization announces the participation of 400 exhibitors and once again exceeds 50,000 visitors.
OKGREEN: When you think that you are going to celebrate BioCultura’s 40th anniversary, what is the first emotion that comes to you?
ANGELES PARRA: The first thing I think is that life is strange, curious, mysterious. When we created the first BioCultura, 40 years ago, at the Casa de Campo in Madrid, with the support of the then mayor, Don Enrique Tierno Galván, “The Professor”, we had no idea of everything what was going to happen. arrive next.
At the time, there was not a single certified organic hectare in Spain. Today, we reach 3 million. Everything happened little by little. It seems incredible what human beings are capable of. The success of the organic production sector in Spain is the result of the determination of many people. And yes, I can’t wait to see everything that has been achieved!
Q.: You are a reference fair, you are part of the history of responsible consumption and organic food in Spain. Being a pioneer also involves responsibility. Did you feel this weight to show a path?
A: This responsibility has marked us over these 40 years. Because at the beginning, as I already said, because there was… there was no officially recognized certification. We have had our successes and our mistakes. Because we are human and we have qualities and faults.
But what has always moved us is activism. To a much lesser extent, business. Enough to be profitable and have to request minimal subsidies.
The show reflected the market but, above all, it was an accelerator of the process and a marker of trends. the world biography It would exist without BioCultura, of course, but it would be different.
Q: I suppose there are many, but what has been the most memorable moment for you over these four decades?
A: In 40 years of the fair, everything has happened. A moment that marked a before and after was the move from Casa de Campo to IFEMA, a move that we made with apprehension, but which ultimately proved to be a great success, since we considerably increased the number exhibitors and visitors.
I would like to emphasize that the fair served to raise awareness and that many boys and girls who grew up in the halls of the fair are today solvent eco-entrepreneurs.
On the other hand, the Covid pandemic and the resulting economic crisis have been a bad experience. We are still recovering from its devastation… But on the other hand, and thinking back to years ago, unfortunately the food scandals (mad cows, dioxins in chickens, etc.) represented a positive leap for the organic sector which still offers guarantees from many points of view.
Q.: Everything indicates that we are going to become the first country in Europe in terms of used agricultural area. However, we Spaniards spend 64 euros per inhabitant per year on organic consumption, very far from the 437 euros in Switzerland… Is this closely linked to our economic level? What must we do as a state to move forward in this area?
A: Yes, we are mainly producers. But domestic consumption is growing and encouraging. Spain has established itself in the top 10 countries with the largest market share biography and managed to reach 3 billion euros in 2023.
Only the United States, Germany, China, France, Canada, Switzerland, Italy, the United Kingdom and Sweden are in the lead. Furthermore, Spain represents 5.7% of the European market share.
And everything indicates that it could continue to grow at around 6 or 7% per year. Spaniards’ per capita spending in 2023 amounted to an average of 64 euros per year on products biography (data prepared by Ecovalia based on information from MAPA), indeed. This indicates that the sector still has a long way to go.
The autonomous communities thus distribute the highest percentages of consumption: 117 euros, Balearic Islands; 86 euros, Galicia; 80 euros, Catalonia, etc. There are several reasons why it is difficult to increase consumption in Spain. I think it is difficult for us Spaniards to understand the infinite range of virtues of organic food and that is why we are moving slowly towards domestic consumption.
The economic crisis doesn’t help either. And neither is high inflation. This is why we constantly ask the government, among other things, for major promotional campaigns in public media… and a strategic plan that helps in this sense, which would also be more ecological by avoiding transport to other countries.
Q: Do you think that one of the solutions is to reduce VAT on organic products?
A: We are working hand in hand with leading sector associations to lobby the government for a rapid transition to agroecology.
The main demands of the sector to the respective governments (central, regional, municipal, councils…) to support ecological production and consumption in every possible way are: We ask for 0 VAT, or reduced VAT for the product. biography; Tax incentives of all kinds; Organic public purchases for school canteens, hospitals, nursing homes… And, as I have already said, major campaigns to promote agroecology in the public media.
Q: Have advances in this sector been accompanied by certain political moments? Is this a requirement that you share?
A: The advancement of the organic sector in Spain has not so much to do with those who worked in public administrations. It is true that some governments have been, or are, more sensitive than others. But what continues to influence are the agro-industrial lobbies, very strong in Spain.
On the other hand, I would say that you can count on one hand the number of politicians sensitive to BioCulture issues. I take this opportunity to nominate Tierno Galván, because thanks to him the birth of BioCultura was possible. Very few are at his level. If the sector has progressed, it is above all thanks to the energy and commitment of eco-entrepreneurs, farmers, breeders, citizens and prescribers.
Q.: Last year, farmers’ demands were very much highlighted… Do you share and understand some of their concerns?
A: The agrarian world is plural and not all demands are the same. We cannot share the demands of mega-entrepreneurs who want to continue investing in large, highly polluting cattle and/or pig farms, for example.
We also cannot share the demands of landowners who want to continue to exploit farms in an industrial manner, with enormous health, environmental and social consequences. Our commitment is to agroecology and short circuits.
The industrial system is leading us to destruction, disease and the decline of biodiversity. Bread (for a few) for today and misery for tomorrow.
The urgent transition to agroecology would mean: fighting global warming, stopping desertification, giving life to humans, restoring health to our organisms, conserving ecosystems… These are our demands, and also dignifying the work of those who give us healthy food.
Q: Could organic farming be a solution to any of these demands?
A: Yes of course. We have no doubt about it. Organic production is a multiple solution to many environmental and health problems, climate change mitigation, relocation of economies and a long process, etc.
Thousands of scientists across the planet are highlighting the influence of toxins on health, why are they not being listened to? This is not a personal opinion. It’s a global cry.
Q: The global organic market continues to grow. However, the use of pesticides continues to increase, Spain is leading in its use, and with Europe not seeming to want to impose more restrictions… Are we facing a purely geopolitical issue?
A: We live in a very turbulent and complex society. In our world, the consumption of agroecological foods is increasing at the same time as the consumption of junk food and ultra-processed foods, and their respective consequences, are increasing.
Do? Personally and publicly, work on the right path to follow for the good of Humanity, ecosystems and the health of our own family and all living beings.
The rest… is not in our hands. Be aware to only consume what regenerates. Avoid consuming what denigrates and increases degeneration. Contribute, by all possible means, to restoring the world and especially the soul of the world.
Q.: Finally, who would you use as an example of good work in the sector? Choose between a person, a company or an institution…
A: I would cite the scientists who work daily to justify legislation aimed at eliminating toxic products present in our food, our environment… and those who work to demonstrate the benefits of producing and consuming organic products also on the basis of a scientific rigor. For me the main ones are Dr. Nicolás Olea and Dr. Dolores Raigón respectively.
Olé and olé for both of them. They are great people working for the common good. We need more committed people like these.
