Reflections from the Organic Summit in Copenhagen

This past August, Organic BC Executive Director Eva-Lena Lang had the opportunity to attend the Organic Summit in Copenhagen, a dynamic gathering of minds committed to shaping the future of organic food and farming in Europe and beyond. The Summit brought together around 450 diverse and passionate individuals—farmers, policymakers, scientists, conservationists, business leaders, and innovators, including Katie Fettes (Canadian Organic Growers) and Gillian Flies (The New Farm Centre).

Prior to the Summit, Eva-Lena, Katie, and Gillian met with Organic Denmark, who has built a highly strategic and collaborative model for growing the organic sector by partnering closely with dominant retailers and tailoring strategies to help them differentiate and increase their organic offerings. Their approach focuses on leveraging data, storytelling, and public procurement goals while supporting farmers, processors, and the broader food system through innovation, education, and capacity-building. With a strong emphasis on market development—both domestically and internationally—Organic Denmark also plays a key role in shifting narratives around organic as a tool for biodiversity, sustainability, and affordability for consumers.

As a leader in organic growth, Denmark hosted the Summit as part of their European Union presidency. Over the two-day event, it became clear that organic is more than certification or a method of farming—it is a holistic approach that addresses health, environment, and resilience. Organic agriculture, as many participants emphasized, is increasingly being seen as a solution to multiple, interconnected challenges: biodiversity loss, soil degradation, water pollution, climate change, animal welfare, and even social and economic inequalities in the food system.

While the energy at the Summit was inspiring, there was also a healthy dose of realism: challenges were openly discussed and explored.

In closing the Summit, Connie Hedegaard, former EU Commissioner for Climate and Danish Minister of Finance, compared organic to a Swiss army knife— a multifunctional tool to address health, resilience, climate, and economic priorities. The narrative around organics must shift and business as usual cannot continue—the organic sector has proven change is not only necessary but possible. What really matters now is accelerated action to scale organic’s impact for a sustainable future and that is going to take political will.