IFOAM initiated

IFOAM’s website

The beginnings of IFOAM – Organics International trace back to a meeting in Versailles, France in 1972.

Roland Chevriot, of Nature et Progrès, envisioned the need for organic agriculture movements to coordinate their actions as well as to enable scientific and experimental data on organic to cross borders. In order to realize this vision, he invited organic pioneers including Lady Eve Balfour, founder of the UK Soil Association, Kjell Arman from the Swedish Biodynamic Association and Jerome Goldstein from the Rodale Institute to join him in Versailles to set the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM – Organics International) in motion. See Roland Chevriot’s invitation letter. 

Four decades later, we now have over 800 members from about 120 countries and territories. The organic sector has gone through extraordinary change in phases we refer to as Organic 1.0, Organic 2.0 and Organic 3.0.