On the matter of organic food the opinions are divided. Some people say we should intensify our food production systems, so that we can grow more food on less land. This way, we leave the rest of the land to nature. Others (me haha) say that food production can go hand in hand with nature. I think we should have an 100% organic food system. I believe that this is the most sustainable form of agriculture, as long as it’s also 100% plant-based. In this post I want to see if that’s the future where we’re headed or not. Will The Netherlands ever eat 100% organic? I’ll tell you what the share of organic food in The Netherlands is.
Trend in organic groceries
As far as I could find, there’s no official authority in The Netherlands that measures the exact share of organic food in our food system. The Central Bureau of Statistics only measures the percentage of products bought with any sort of sustainability label. The only organization that I could find which measures the share of organic food is Bionext. I found numbers for the past 7 years, which you can see below. Now, that graph seems to be going up and down a little bit, but once you look at the y-axis, you notice that it’s only at 3% and that it’s sort of stagnating at that percentage. In the past 7 years, the share of organic food sold in supermarkets has risen by 0,3%. That is nihil.

We’re the richest 1% of the world
The information I just listed does not make me very hopeful. In The Netherlands the share of food that is bought by consumers is around 3% and that number seems to be stagnating. This means that 97% of the food we buy is non-organic. We have a long way to go still. And what makes this so stunning to me is that the argument I always hear from people is the following: ‘I don’t have enough money to buy organic food’. And I believe that this is a lie for 99% of the people I talk to. The truth is that people are selfish. They rather spend that money on another holiday or a new shirt.
That upsets me because people are not honest about it. If you have a modal income in The Netherlands, you belong to the richest 3,5% percent of the world. So especially for the people in my bubble: the argument of organic food being too expensive is bullshit. If not us, then who? If not now, then when? When do people consider themselves wealthy enough to choose organic food? Choosing organic food is a matter of priorities, it’s not a matter of income for most Dutch people. I know people who earn way less than a modal income who buy most of their food organic. Just because they think it’s important. So that’s the real difference.
Optimistic about the future
What I just said might sounds pessimistic, but I still am an optimist. I think we’ll slowly move towards buying more organic food eventually. I just think this will be one of the last changes we make when it comes to sustainability. And maybe that’s not such a bad thing, as it is most important that we switch to a plant-based diet. So let’s focus on that first.
European Union
But what also makes me hopeful is the European Union. In the European Union the organic food production is growing. The EU has set the goal for all food production in the European Union to be 25% organic by 2030. In 2022 the actual number was only 6%. I think we won’t meet this goal (as it’s not a law but an intention), but the intention is there and that makes me optimistic. What also makes me optimistic is that some European Countries are already doing really well. I read different numbers, but if I may believe the internet, in Liechtenstein 38,5% of food production is organic. In Austria this is 24,7%. But that is the production side. When it comes to consumption Denmark is going a great job, they buy about 11,5% of their food organic.
I am hopeful the organic food consumption in The Netherlands will keep growing. And I do believe The Netherlands will at one point eat 100% organic. But that will probably take a decade or more.
Yours sincerely,
Romee