Ja! Natürlich starts organic regional offensive
The trend of consumers reaching for regional products is unbroken; according to A.T. Kearny, around 60 percent of Austrian consumers have been buying regional products on a weekly basis since 2013. “We are noticing that the desire for regional focus on food is unswervingly steady. In this it is especially important to us to clear things up for people. While regional produce promotes local economy and emphasizes shorter transport routes and domestic products, organic-regional from Ja! Natürlich achieves an effective contribution to soil, climate, animal protection and diversity of species. The world creation day that just took place shows us that nature’s potential is limited, and that everyone is called to take the environment into account in their personal consumption. Contrary to organic produce from around the world, the organic-regional produce from Ja! Natürlich is top-class among sustainable consumption: namely, it is the best of our Austrian organic farmers. And it is important to show people the difference, because only then can we convince them,” says Martina Hörmer, CEO of Ja! Natürlich. To this end, Austria’s largest organic market is going on the offensive and will put communicative emphasis on the theme, organic regionality, on all channels.
Studies prove benefits of organic regional focus
The most extensive study thus far on comparing conventional and organic food, which was published last year by Newcastle university and in the British Journal of Nutrition, confirms the better nutrient composition of organic products ("Higher antioxidant concentrations and less cadmium and pesticide residues in organically-grown crops: a systematic literature review and meta-analyses.” Baranski, M. et al. British Journal of Nutrition, July 15th 2014). According to this, organic fruit and vegetables contain around 19 to 69 percent more antioxidants, which protect our cells from free radicals, than their conventional counterparts. According to the researchers, this higher quantity of antioxidants corresponds to one or two (out of five recommended) portions of fruit or vegetables per day. “From the results of this very extensive study, we see that organic clearly has a greater significance for human health than many consumers realize. That is why Ja! Natürlich always emphasizes food that is at the same time organic and regional, and in doing so sends a clear signal: organic regionality is always the best that the food retail stores have to offer Austrian consumers.
Current research from Global 2000 on pesticide residues in Austrian fruit and vegetables emphasizes the sustainable aspect of organic: according to Global 2000, the difference between conventional and organic fruit and vegetables from Austria is mostly noticeable with red currants and apples. Currants and apples from conventional cultivation contain eight or nine different active pesticide ingredients, whereas with organic apples and currants from Austria, no pesticides could be accounted for ("Bio vs. Konventionell“, Global 2000, 2015).
Organic regionality at Ja! Natürlich
Around 80 percent of Ja! Natürlich’s organic products come from Austria. Only food that cannot grow in this country due to the climate is obtained abroad at organic quality – among these are bananas, coffee and kiwis. With this, Austria’s largest organic market intensively supports the consumer’s wish for predominantly domestic products of high quality.
Source: www.rewe-group.at