Where organic comes alive
In Hall 22a, trade fair visitors can talk to producers and find out to what extent organic production makes a difference.
“Bio Bio” was the magic word on Sunday in Hall 22a at Grüne Woche. Berlin magicians Siegfried and Joy in their glitter suits cast a spell over visitors young and old alike with a spontaneous show at the Naturland stand - and finally made them “disappear” behind their golden magic cloth.
The hall offers visitors plenty of experiences throughout Grüne Woche. Both the Naturland and Bioland producer associations and the Federal Organic Farming Program (BÖL) will be hosting farmers to talk about their work. Delicious dishes made from organic ingredients will be cooked on stage, including by Berlin celebrity chef Jonas Merold. The recipes will be available to take home afterwards.
Inspiring children
“We want to make the subject of organic farming as vivid as possible,” says Heiko Niehaus, explaining the concept behind the Bioland truck. He has enlisted support for this: Friederike Schultz brings a touch station from the Kudammhof farm near Celle into conversation with children and parents. That elongated horn, does it come from a cow? And this soft mat? It's a nesting box insert for laying hens. They guess how farm animals eat by playing a memory game with animal feed. The farmer is familiar with working with children from the farm: she regularly welcomes groups to take them out to see the animals and into the forest or to track down insects. Despite the rural location, it's not just Grüne Woche that connects her to Berlin: the farm's address is Kurfürstendamm 46.
Flourishing diversity
“Anyone cycling through a wine-growing region will immediately recognize whether it is a conventional or organic farm. You don't even need to look at the sign,” says winegrower Michael Albrecht from the Hirt-Albrecht winery at his stand in the organic hall. “The soil says it all: organic winegrowers grow clover and phacelia, poppies and grasses. They enrich the soil with nutrients and retain them during heavy rainfall.” This makes his vines strong against disease. His credo is that anyone who buys organic wine is making an active contribution to environmental protection.
The winery is one of 300 organic demonstration farms run by BÖL. Dr. Karl Kempkens, responsible for organic farming at the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL), says: “In addition to changing organic farms, we also present research projects and organic cities such as Nuremberg. They clearly show how regional organic nutrition also works in schools and daycare centers.”
