The Association for Biodynamic Agriculture’s European tour for food democracy kicks off with a meeting held at MASAF-the Italian Ministry of Agriculture, attended by Luigi D’Eramo, Undersecretary with responsibility for organic farming. The tour, dedicated to food democracy, focuses specifically on the role of public canteens as crucial levers for supporting local farmers and ensuring healthy, accessible nutrition for all. The Association thus reaffirms a priority already expressed in its Declaration: bringing farmers directly into school, hospital, and institutional canteens, so that food becomes a central social, educational, and environmental issue in public policies.
The meeting brought together organizations, institutions, and representatives from the organic and biodynamic sectors to work together to achieve in Italy the European target of 25% organic agricultural land. The goal is to develop policies that strengthen healthy consumption, food sovereignty, personal health, environmental protection, and the sustainability of Italian farms. The initiative calls for systematic support from institutions to transform this result into a concrete opportunity for the country.
Carlo Triarico, president of the Association for Biodynamic Agriculture, emphasized the need to “bring farmers into restaurants, cafeterias, hospitals and schools. Together with many friends from important institutions, we are thus positioning the food issue as an urgent social issue, with a revolution in perspective—that of farmers and artisans. With these events from Italy, we are launching the example of a European movement for food democracy, in which solidarity, fairness, and a fair price restore dignity to agricultural work and promote food sovereignty and access to good, healthy food for all. Organic agriculture is at the center of this process and defines all agriculture as social, founded on care, responsibility, and co-creation.”
The Rome event is part of a process initiated by the Association with opportunities for discussion between institutions, universities, environmental associations, and organic and biodynamic experts, building a national and European network oriented toward more equitable and sustainable food policies. It also follows numerous events and training activities held in 2025 at the regional level, which attracted numerous farmers eager to learn about organic and biodynamic farming and potentially convert their own methods.
The event also marked the official launch of the European tour, which, in collaboration with the Organic Cities Network and Eating Cities, will lead the Association to engage with governments and public bodies in major European capitals to propose new regulations and guidelines for organic and sustainable nutrition accessible to all, capable of supporting local production, citizen health, and environmental protection.
The tour will visit cities such as Hamburg, Bologna, Bremen, Budapest, Mouans-Sartoux, Nuremberg, Paris, Turin, Trento, and Vienna, concluding in Brussels at the Committee of the Regions of the European Union.
Several biodynamic farms were also present at the meeting, presenting their experiences and paths.
Source: Agenparl/SINAB
