Three questions for… Karen Mapusua

The theme of the BIOFACH Congress 2025 “Yes, we do! – How to effect change in the organic food segment” is very important to you. How do we achieve this change?

To achieve the change, we really have to work together. We have got to focus on the positives and the opportunities and really look at the holistic response to the global crisis that organic can provide. But it is also about making life richer, more nourishing and focusing on those positives. Because in the world today, we need positive things we can focus on, and we can do that through our commitment to organic agriculture, organic food and an organic lifestyle.

What stories do we need to tell to make organic bigger and more popular?

I really think that storytelling is about touching people's hearts. We don't change our behaviour with our thinking brains. We do it with what we feel and what we respond to. So, our stories must be about connecting food to people. A really good friend of mine, who is a chef, says that the story of the food is the story of the people. If we talk to people about people, about food culture and how it brings us together as families and communities, then we can start to get those changes. But everyone has different values. So, we also need to be able to tell different stories. And, for some, talking about stories of how organic changes farmers lives, builds biodiversity or helps us build a resilient climate are all the stories that we have in our organic movement and that we can share. We need to learn to tailor our message. The world is very diverse, and we respond to different things. So, a big part of this is listening and understanding people. Then we can speak their language and say the things that are important to them.

What global trends do you currently see in organic farming?

I think the trend that we are seeing is that we are not only talking about the purity and the lack of agrochemicals anymore. We are also talking about how organic food is more nourishing: from the vitamins and minerals perspective, but also from the connection perspective – the connection to the farmer and the connection to the soil. So, that holistic understanding is a trend that we are starting to see. We are seeing it with consumers, and we are also seeing it with organic farmers. I think one of the other trends that we are seeing is an interest in our own health as humans. There is a lot of illness around, a lot of lack of nutrition. If organic has those answers, people are looking to organic for those answers.