{"id":137833,"date":"2025-05-19T12:41:52","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T10:41:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mounthagen.de\/uncategorized\/sprechen-wir-mal-ueber-die-wirkung-von-biosiegeln\/"},"modified":"2025-06-24T09:54:18","modified_gmt":"2025-06-24T07:54:18","slug":"lets-talk-about-the-impact-of-organic-labels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mounthagen.de\/en\/blog\/greenlifestyle\/lets-talk-about-the-impact-of-organic-labels\/","title":{"rendered":"Let&#8217;s talk about the impact of organic labels."},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"137833\" class=\"elementor elementor-137833 elementor-136200\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ece6348 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"ece6348\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-678af67a e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"678af67a\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-61c4cc12 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"61c4cc12\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-54e9490d elementor-align-center elementor-widget elementor-widget-post-info\" data-id=\"54e9490d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"post-info.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"elementor-inline-items elementor-icon-list-items elementor-post-info\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item elementor-repeater-item-4443ade elementor-inline-item\" itemprop=\"about\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text elementor-post-info__item elementor-post-info__item--type-terms\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-post-info__terms-list\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-post-info__terms-list-item\">Green Lifestyle<\/span>\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5cd28df1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"5cd28df1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Let&#8217;s talk about the impact of organic labels.<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3da7c5f8 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"3da7c5f8\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>If, like me, you&#8217;re in the green eco-bubble, it&#8217;s sometimes hard to imagine <em>that the benefits of organic labels are so little known. <\/em><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-57cacb3d elementor-author-box--layout-image-above elementor-author-box--align-center elementor-author-box--avatar-yes elementor-author-box--name-yes elementor-author-box--biography-yes elementor-widget elementor-widget-author-box\" data-id=\"57cacb3d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"author-box.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-author-box\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div  class=\"elementor-author-box__avatar\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/658aaa1cb222764631d1806651a1719f2be5e13e7c9eb4fba543d3264646fc4e?s=120&#038;d=mm&#038;r=g\" alt=\"Picture of Kristin Oldenburg\" loading=\"lazy\">\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-author-box__text\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div >\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"elementor-author-box__name\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tKristin Oldenburg\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-author-box__bio\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3044f6e7 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"3044f6e7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tphoto: La Chacra D&#8217;dago\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-470b551 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"470b551\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-174e2802 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"174e2802\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2b2520ac e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"2b2520ac\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6b10fbfe elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"6b10fbfe\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong><em>\u201cIt&#8217;s all just marketing.\u201d \u201cDoesn&#8217;t do anything anyway.\u201d<\/em> I hear these and similar comments time and time again. And I want to put an end to that now. Let&#8217;s take a look at the two best-known labels: EU organic label versus Naturland. What should consumers know about them? What are the advantages and disadvantages? <em>Here are the answers.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2d35914d elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"2d35914d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">In principle, organic is better for the climate.<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3472e28 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"3472e28\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>So, let&#8217;s start at the beginning: <em>Every form of organic farming is fundamentally more climate-friendly than conventional farming.<\/em><\/strong> <em>Why?<\/em> Organic farms produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions. On the one hand, because they use less energy (keyword: fertilizer),<em> and on<\/em> the other, because the cultivation methods build up more humus and thus bind CO2.* How high the proportion is depends on the food category<em> (e.g. plants or meat)<\/em> &#8211; and on the strictness of the guidelines according to which the crops are grown.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0b98999 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"0b98999\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Minimum standards? Or as strict as possible?<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-158e08a elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"158e08a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>In order to be able to answer and evaluate this question, we have focused on the carbon footprint.<\/strong> It is one of the most important factors for climate protection and is therefore essential for all of us.<\/p><p><strong>One of the decisive aspects for more or less greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture is <em>nitrogen fertilizer.<\/em><\/strong> Its production is very energy-intensive. Added to this are transportation, logistics, etc. <em>(leaving aside the effects of nitrate formation, over-fertilization, water pollution, etc.).<\/em> So, if less nitrogen fertilizer is used, less CO2 is emitted <em>&#8211; logical, right? So, how do the two labels address this topic?<\/em><\/p><p>The EU label allows the purchase of up to 170 kg of additional nitrogen per hectare, while Naturland stops at 40 kg per hectare per year.** Naturland farmers must also produce at least 50% of their own feed, which also saves energy and transportation.<br \/>The EU directive does not stipulate this, so you can also buy in soy from overseas as long as it is certified organic. It&#8217;s not hard to imagine what that means.<\/p><p>And the permission granted by the EU label to convert a farm to organic only in certain areas <em>&#8211; e.g. conventional livestock farming, organic arable farming &#8211;<\/em> means that feed and fertilizer are not produced around the corner but are often transported over long distances. A logistical effort that can have a massive impact on the CO2 balance. Incidentally, this also applies to the disposal of surplus manure on other areas. If you then add to this the higher so-called <em>\u201canimal stocking density\u201d (how many animals are allowed to be kept on a specific area),<\/em> you can understand why critics refer to the EU organic label as <em>\u201corganic light\u201d.<\/em> And what about Naturland?<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9d48a50 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"9d48a50\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Better, but more expensive?<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f2f4de3 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"f2f4de3\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>The Naturland label goes well beyond the EU standards<\/strong> in many respects and places a stronger focus on climate protection and sustainability &#8211;<em> including biodiversity, soil protection, social standards, and animal welfare.<\/em> For example, the livestock density for Naturland is lower than for EU organic, which increases land consumption but at the same time reduces pressure on the soil and the need to import feed.<\/p><p><strong>Another exciting aspect is the additives in processed products:<\/strong> The EU allows 53 additives <em>(such as sodium nitrite in sausage),<\/em> while Naturland only allows 22.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b925dbd elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"b925dbd\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Are there any disadvantages to Naturland-certified products?<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3b36aba elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"3b36aba\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Well, they are more expensive, <em>which is not really surprising.<\/em><\/strong> Products with the EU label are usually around 15% cheaper and also more widely available. So perhaps it&#8217;s more a question of appreciation than a disadvantage.<\/p><p><strong>Conclusion:\u00a0<em>The Naturland label is a premium standard but has its hurdles due to the higher prices.<\/em><\/strong> The EU organic label makes compromises <em>(especially when it comes to fertilizer)<\/em> but has a broad impact and may make it easier to get started with organic.<\/p><p>However, anyone who values the smallest possible ecological footprint and few additives when shopping is definitely better off with Naturland products.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8206bea elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"8206bea\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">What does all this have to do with our coffee?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a4b2294 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"a4b2294\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Naturland&#8217;s strict requirements for environmental protection, biodiversity, and social aspects <em>are in line with our principles at Mount Hagen.<\/em><\/strong> That is why we have consciously opted for Naturland and Demeter certification. Making the world a little better every day is our motivation <em>&#8211; and the reason why we have been promoting enjoyment and sustainability in the industry with our coffees for over 30 years.<\/em><\/p><p><strong>The effort behind this is huge, because it not only costs time, but also money.<\/strong> And this applies to every single step &#8211; from coffee cultivation to roasting and packaging. It probably does not come as a surprise that this ultimately affects the price. <em>But who likes the taste of coffee that causes rainforests to be cleared or prevents a farmer from feeding his family? We don\u2019t.<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1b59fcf elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"1b59fcf\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<em>Sources:<\/em>\n<em>*<a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.nabu.de\/naturschaetze-retten\/ist-oeko-wirklich-besser\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">blogs.nabu.de\/naturschaetze-retten\/ist-oeko-wirklich-besser\/<\/a><\/em>\n\n<em>Overall, the researchers came to the conclusion that organic farms produce an average of 50 percent less greenhouse gas emissions per hectare and only 70 percent of the emissions of comparable conventional farms when emissions are considered in relation to yield.<\/em>\n\n<em>**<a href=\"https:\/\/www.naturland.de\/images\/01_naturland\/documents\/RiLi_Vergleich_Naturland-EU_deu.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">www.naturland.de\/images\/01_naturland\/documents\/RiLi_Vergleich_Naturland-EU_deu.pdf<\/a><\/em>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2cd1fd3e e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"2cd1fd3e\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><b>Everyone is talking about organic. <i>But what do the labels really achieve?<\/i><\/b> While the EU certificate defines minimum standards, Naturland sets much stricter standards with its guidelines. This is the reason why we have had our <i>(caffeinated)<\/i> coffees certified in this way. <i>In this article, we compare the two labels and show what they really do for the environment, climate, people, and animals &#8211; or not.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3499,"featured_media":136202,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[144],"tags":[],"custom_tag":[],"class_list":["post-137833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-greenlifestyle"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mounthagen.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137833","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mounthagen.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mounthagen.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mounthagen.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3499"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mounthagen.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=137833"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.mounthagen.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137833\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mounthagen.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/136202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mounthagen.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=137833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mounthagen.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=137833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mounthagen.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=137833"},{"taxonomy":"custom_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mounthagen.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/custom_tag?post=137833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}