Federation for Organic Farming in Berlin-Brandenburg (Fördergemeinschaft Ökologischer Landbau Berlin-Brandenburg (FÖL) e.V.)
The Federation for Organic Farming in Berlin-Brandenburg – in German: "Fördergemeinschaft Ökologischer Landbau Berlin-Brandenburg (FÖL) e.V." – is a charitable organisation located in Berlin. Its main goal is conservation through the promotion of organic farming. As a registered association, the FÖL is a social network and important lobby for the organic food movement in the metropolitan area. The organisation currently represents 360 members from different organic food associations, the organic food industry such as farmers, processors, wholesalers and retailers as well as caterers and interested consumers in the region. To achieve its goals, the organisation is active in three different domains: public relations and consumer information, networking and lobbying.
The domain of public relations and consumer information includes the provision of prints, online and social media, as well as the organisation of festivals, events and workshops dealing with topics on organic farming. In 2014/15 the FÖL released about 500,000 copies of the so-called "Bio-Einkaufsführer", an organic food shopping guide that – published in a 1 ½ year cycle – collects over 330 addresses of interesting food shopping possibilities in the Berlin-Brandenburg region. Moreover, the FÖL informs consumers and families about organic farming and healthy food. This is realised for example organising theme evenings on a regular basis and two big children´s festivals every year. Furthermore, workshops are organised in schools and kindergartens for cooks and for children in order to increase the amount of organic food in school and nursery meals.
The FÖL also operates as a communication network. Regular networking events, e.g. meetings between small and medium sized businesses or “supply and demand” meetings between farmers and wholesalers / organic supermarkets, are held to promote cooperation and exchange between the different stakeholders. Additionally, the FÖL organises exhibitions like the “Biofach” exhibition in Nuremberg (Bavaria), one of the world leading trade fairs for organic food, and some smaller local exhibitions in Berlin-Brandenburg.
The FÖL does a lot of lobby work promoting the dialogue on organic farming. For this, the FÖL gives in press conferences and interviews and does political work on a federal level. The FÖL also cooperates with local Community Supported Agriculture projects, universities, the German Federation of Organic Farming (BÖWL) and other federal associations. Last but not least, the organization is co-founder of the “Aktionsbündnis Agrarwende Berlin-Brandenburg”, a coalition for action that campaigns for environmentally-/livestock-friendly and socially fair agriculture which initiated a successful petition for a referendum on animal welfare in 2015.
E-Mail: info@foel.de
Website: www.bio-berlin-brandenburg.de
Phone: +49 30 28 48 24 40