Austria says "Ja" to organic...what's next?
A week ago, I was in Austria, a country better known for The Sound of Music than for its local and organic agriculture. But that's not because it's not there....it's just for local consumption.
The view from the "Knoedl-Alm," an organic farm and Inn in Austria's breadbasket region
Austria has a continuous and vibrant tradition of farmer’s markets, often held in church squares in towns and cities across the country, and most farms are still family-owned and operated. Since organic certification rolled into Europe in 1992, the number of organic farms has steadily increased as consumer interest and understanding of organic agriculture has taken root, and the word “bio” (meaning organic) has become a positive attribute (as you can see in the signage below).
Cold frames help grow herbs and vegetables
I was curious what evidence I would see of organic food on this visit. I lived in Austria for two years when I graduated from college, and that was 12 years ago! A vegetarian at the time, I was surprised to discover that Austrian food wasn’t all meat and potatoes, but actually featured changing seasonal vegetables (and wildcrafted foods), loads of fresh salads with the special dark green pumpkin seed oil that Austrians love, and of course lots of dark rye bread, eggs, and cheese. Add to that the local production of beer, wine, and brandy, and you had the makings for a complete local vegetarian meal, as far as I was concerned.
Old dairy cans on display
On this visit, I was fortunate enough to taste a part of the food culture I had been missing out on when I lived there, namely local meat. Just as Vermont is seeing a big upswing in farm tours and food experiences directly on farms, Austria, with its scenic mountains, orchards, and valleys, is in a prime position to capture an audience for (mostly local) food tourism.
Outside seating at the Knoedl-Alm
The Knoedl-Alm is an organic sheep farm, orchard, and Inn in Styria, Austria’s breadbasket. Situated high up on an alpine pasture, more than an hour from the nearest city, it feels remote yet wonderfully familiar. Sitting at hand-hewn tables outside, with the sheep grazing on the pastures above and organic herbs in raised beds growing close at hand, you feel the richness of connection to the people, place, and food that comes from eating a meal on a farm. With a menu filled with dumplings with various lamb and sheep stuffings, the farm’s specialty, as well as house-made brandy, it's easy to while away an afternoon in the hazy sunshine.
Dumplings, sauerkraut, and house salad
Dessert dumpling: cherry preserve-filled dumpling topped with melted butter and ground poppy seeds
The Knoedl-Alm relies on direct-to-consumer sales of value-added products and seems to be an excellent position to capture the growing interest in organic foods.
What will be interesting to see is how the new passage, on June 1st, of a US-Europe equivalency agreement for organic food will affect the supermarket sales for local organic products. In Austrian supermarkets, "organic" is still synonymous with local, if you take local to mean sourced from within the (smallish) country: Over 50 percent of the organic products in the supermarkets are sold under the “Ja Natuerlich” label, which is an aggregate of over 1,000 organic farms from upper Austria.
According to Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan, who signed the trade agreement, "This partnership will open new markets for American farmers and ranchers, create more opportunities for small businesses, and result in good jobs for American who grow, package, ship, and market organic products."
The question is - How will imported, industrial organic foods be received in a country still rooted in family farms? I may have to visit in another 12 years...