People who grew up in the generation of the 90s of the last century, and even the early 2000s of this century, probably remember their childhood - a time that many now call happy. Communication on the Internet and mobile phones replaced letters sent by mail, computers replaced books and yard games, berries were eaten straight from the garden, and fruits from the tree, without worrying about washing them first. However, unwashed berries, as it turned out later, are not the worst thing that a child (and an adult too!) can eat today, because then food products were not “stuffed” with continuous chemicals, and berries and fruits ripened on their own , and not under the influence of nitrates and pesticides.

Did you know that the average life expectancy of a person in Russia has increased by 3 and a half years over the past 30 years? Of course, this was largely due to advances in medicine, but people themselves began to take more care of their health, preferring to lead an active, healthy lifestyle and eat organic foods. It is on the topic of natural nutrition that there has been real “hysteria” lately: buyers prefer to visit an organic food store and overpay 1-2 tens of rubles for quality, rather than purchase dubious products on the market and people of unknown nationality.

Brief business analysis:
Costs of setting up a business:800,000-1,500,000 rubles
Relevant for cities with the population: from 50 000
Industry situation:supply market is unsaturated
Difficulty of organizing a business: 3/5
Payback: from 1 to 2 years

What are environmentally friendly products

And since the topic is in demand, I couldn’t ignore it and not tell my readers about this profitable business idea. But first, let's try to determine the criteria by which a product can be classified as environmentally friendly. To begin with, it must be said that almost all of these products are plant or animal semi-finished products grown in natural conditions - in beds or in farm barns. However, they can also be manufactured using special technologies.

• Firstly, such products must not contain GMOs– genetically modified organisms.
• Secondly, when growing them no artificial fertilizers, nitrates, growth accelerators were used, and other chemical “filling”.
• Such products do not contain food colorings, various flavoring additives, or preservatives.
must have special license marks on the packaging“Organic”, or accompanied by relevant quality and control documents.

Once you have a clear idea of ​​what environmentally friendly products are, you can proceed directly to describing the organization of such a business.

Premises and staff

As for the store personnel, in addition to sellers and consultants on products and healthy eating, the staff will require a technical worker, a driver, an accountant - the usual personnel for a regular store, except that this store will sell not quite ordinary products, which will be discussed in the next section.

Approximate range of products

Let's try to sketch out a rough list of categories of goods that can be sold in such a store:

• Fresh fruits, vegetables, berries
• Jams, jams, marmalade
• Meat and meat products
• Fresh fish
• Various types of tea, herbal infusions
• Natural vegetable oils
• Pastry products, flour
• Canned foods
• Nuts, dried fruits
• Etc.

Of course, all products and semi-finished products must meet all the necessary requirements for environmentally friendly products. We have already clarified the content of these criteria.

Where and how to find product suppliers

You've probably already guessed that most products should reach the counter directly, as they say, “from the garden,” i.e. from farms, village gardens, etc. This is where you should first look for suppliers of products for your store.

To this we can add that it will be better if the suppliers are located in the same region. The shelf life of fresh environmentally friendly products is a maximum of several days (3-4), and the time spent on transportation, storage, and other logistics operations will inexorably reduce the period of sale of the product.

By the way, I’ll tell you a little secret: product suppliers are looking for distribution channels just as diligently as sellers are supply channels, so it’s worth trying to publish advertisements in local newspapers, city Internet portals, and simply put up leaflets in high-traffic areas. Among those who responded, it will be necessary to hold a kind of competition to see whose products best meet the necessary conditions - compliance with the rules, for example, of growing cucumbers and tomatoes.

Also, in the supply contracts that you will enter into with farmers. The conditions for natural cultivation or production of food must be specified.

To control the quality of products sold, you can organize your own laboratory to conduct all the necessary research, but this will be somewhat more expensive than concluding an agreement for the provision of such services with independent laboratories, for example, SES.

Natural cosmetics, household goods, etc.

How to organize an online store of environmentally friendly products

Another option to increase your sales and make your store more famous is to create its “Internet twin.” Actually, about how to open an online store, what form of taxation is best suited for running a virtual retail outlet, about

A striking example of eating low-quality foods is antibiotic resistance, which arose due to the frequent consumption of meat and milk from animals in the treatment of which antibiotics were used.
With a sedentary lifestyle, constant stress, overeating and inhaling dirty air, the conditional ecological purity of food may not have any effect on your health.

What are the dangers of ordinary products?

In pursuit of economic profit, the global food industry cares least about the health of its end consumer. Its main goal is to feed the maximum number of people at the minimum price. To achieve this, food producers are taking a whole range of measures, starting with genetic engineering and ending with the use of completely useless and even harmful chemicals.

The main methods used by modern manufacturers to achieve economic benefits:

• reduction of production costs;
• reducing the cost of manufacturing processes;
• increasing the shelf life of food products;
• reducing the rate of damage and loss of resources by increasing their resistance to pests and negative external factors.

As a result, the shelves of modern supermarkets, grocery stores, markets and trade stalls in all cities of the world are filled with bright, beautiful, appetizing products that can be stored in the refrigerator for months. And few people think, plunging into all this illusory abundance, about the gigantic size of the chicken and the unnatural shine of the bell pepper, about the village milk that does not turn sour for weeks, and about the clearly distorted taste of many familiar products. [box#1]

By eating such “modified” foods, a person unknowingly causes serious harm to his body in the form of chronic diseases, decreased immunity, intoxication, metabolic disorders, allergies, fatigue, disorders of various systems and internal organs. And it is still somehow not accepted to connect all these problems with food, although many do not even realize how healthy eating and organic products can transform their lives.

Can organic food help improve your health?

Replace unhealthy foods with natural foods

Healthy nutrition is the key to normal human life and even one of the surest ways to increase life expectancy. Recovering from long-term consumption of low-quality foods is not easy, and this can only be done through a complete transition to environmentally friendly and natural food.

Replacing unhealthy foods with healthy foods leads to a gradual improvement in well-being and mood, increased performance and disappearance of depression, a reduction in the manifestations of chronic ailments and restoration of vitality in general.

When switching to organic food, it is important to understand that a natural diet is not a panacea, and deviations from it are quite acceptable. You should not expect cardiac changes and total healing of the body from organic food, much less hope that they will help cure any serious diseases. [box#2]

The opposite effect can be caused by an incorrect combination of foods or attempts to over-saturate the body with useful substances through uncontrolled consumption of food that is unusual for the body.

What products are environmentally friendly?

Despite the desire of a significant part of the food business to obtain maximum profit from the sale of low-quality products, modern market law also applies to healthy food.

Demand gives rise to supply, and every year more and more food products appear on the market, which do not harm the body at all, and even on the contrary, saturate it with the vitamins and microelements necessary for optimal functioning. And the main task of a person who decides to switch to healthy food is to learn to recognize such products on supermarket shelves.

Environmentally friendly products do not contain genetically modified organisms, synthetic preservatives, artificial flavor enhancers, dyes and flavors. The raw materials used in the production of eco-products are grown without the use of hormones, antibiotics, artificial fertilizers, toxic chemicals and pesticides.

Products grown on organic materials are much tastier and healthier than those obtained by using growth regulators, chemical enzymes and other artificial additives. Realizing this, many farms try to minimize human intervention in the natural development of plants and animals.

Advantages of eco-products over conventional ones

Natural products are the best health aid

In addition to the fact that organic food is completely safe for humans, it also has other important advantages.

1. High content of vitamins and microelements (in eco-products there are approximately 50% more useful substances than in ordinary food).
2. Improved taste, pleasant aroma, juiciness and appetizing (the taste of environmentally friendly food does not have chemical impurities).
3. Safety not only inside, but also outside. Fruits and vegetables are often coated with wax to prevent them from spoiling quickly and to give them an attractive appearance. Environmentally friendly products do not need such processing. They can be eaten with the peel, which means you get even more nutrients.
4. Benefits for children and pregnant women (the absence of chemical additives completely eliminates their penetration and sedimentation in the body).

What are environmental products?

Despite the fact that most often fruits and vegetables are considered natural products, there is a huge list of products that can rightfully bear the proud title of “ecological”. Thus, on the shelves of modern stores you can find environmentally friendly pasta and vegetable oils, nuts and dried fruits, natural canned food, dairy products, candies and chocolate.

Eco-products of animal origin are also known, prepared using special technologies that involve the elimination of growth hormones, chemicals, antibiotics and low-quality feed in the process of raising birds and animals. Some manufacturers show concern not only for people, but also for their pets, launching ecologically clean food for cats and dogs on the market. All these delicacies are united by the absence of harmful components in the composition and the presence of a special sign on the packaging.

Requirements for environmentally friendly products

In order to bring truly safe, healthy and high-quality environmentally friendly products to the market, manufacturers must comply with certain requirements.

1. When growing crops, the use of mineral fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, chemicals and any unnatural irradiation is not allowed. Animals can only be raised on environmentally friendly feed, and their diet should not contain hormonal drugs or feed antibiotics.
2. When producing organic food, it is prohibited to use artificial preservatives, genetically modified organisms, synthetic flavors, substitutes and taste regulators. The use of aggressive processing methods and changes in the original properties of products is not allowed.
3. Environmentally friendly products are characterized by minimal external processing. Wax and exposure to chemical factors are a sign of artificially increasing the shelf life of products and improving their appearance.

Where to buy organic products

It is better to buy eco-products in specialized stores.

Every year, the world market is replenished with new producers of environmentally friendly products, and healthy nutrition itself is becoming increasingly in demand. Many companies from Russia and other countries open retail and wholesale sales points, participate in international fairs, and display their products at exhibitions.

Unscrupulous entrepreneurs are also becoming more active, passing off cheap, low-quality goods as environmentally friendly products. That is why it is better to purchase eco-products in specialized stores and centers that have licenses and certificates confirming the naturalness of the products offered. Before reaching the shelves of eco-markets, real organic food undergoes mandatory certification and receives a label certifying its naturalness. In Russia, a law has not yet been issued that would regulate agriculture and control the work of producers of organic products, but a draft of such a document has already been submitted to the State Duma.

Agricultural fairs are regularly held in different cities of the country, presenting buyers with a wide selection of products grown by farmers on their own farms. And despite the fact that all the fruits, vegetables, berries, meat and dairy products they sell look very natural and natural, there is no guarantee that no chemicals were used when growing plants, or harmful additives and stimulants were used when feeding animals. That is why it is better to buy environmentally friendly products in places where an official and 100% guarantee of their naturalness and safety is provided. A bright sign and original presentation of organic products are not an indicator of their naturalness and safety.

A modern buyer can recognize an environmentally friendly product by the signs “BIO”, “ECO”, “ORGANIC”. Such badges indicate strict adherence to the principles of organic agriculture in the process of preparing products. The products themselves can be called differently: bioproducts, environmentally friendly products, organic food. Purchasing goods marked with an eco-certification mark is much more profitable and safer than buying products from private farmers, whose product quality can be almost impossible to control.

In accordance with standards established in America and Europe, the labels indicate that the product is 95% natural. Environmentally friendly products may contain about 70% organic matter or even a little less, but an inscription about these indicators must be present on their packaging.

Despite the fact that the cost of organic products is usually 20-50% higher than conventional food, a safe organic diet is an invaluable investment in your own health.

If you set out to find out what environmentally friendly products are, then the Internet will give you a lot of offers of the products themselves, but nowhere will you find a definition of the phrase itself.

The absurdity of this phrase is that a product cannot be “non-ecological”; it must fit into the environment, not cause harm to it, and be safe.

"Eco" translated from Greek means house, dwelling, habitat.
Ecology – the science of the interaction of all living organisms with the environment.

Which leads to two conclusions:

1. It turns out that environmentally friendly products is a product that is in harmony with the environment and is safe for all living beings.
2. It turns out that man is not the king of nature, but only a part of it that imagines itself as the “crown.”

In fact, we all know what is happening to the environment on our planet... And this absurdity with ecology is even greater than with the concept of “ecological product” itself.

**In our absurd reality, a person has a choice between harmful and dangerous products and environmentally friendly ones.

It can be , building materials and interior items, and children's products, and household chemicals (in this case, less harmful), gadgets and cars (solar-powered or electric).

The technocratic path of development has crushed the environment, and the only way out of this can be an environmental disaster, which is inexorably approaching us and our children.

In general, we live in a society that does not think about safety and the environment. But there are individuals who think about this and invent environmentally friendly things for those who care a little about themselves.

Why not much, you ask? But because next to your eco-friendly home there will be a non-ecological house that emits harmful fumes. In a traffic jam, next to your environmentally friendly car, there will be a car that pollutes the environment. Even your eco-friendly land for agricultural organic vegetables will absorb groundwater from an unecological neighboring field.

That a few will bring hundreds and thousands to their senses... We express the hope that a good example is contagious, and each of us will one day wake up with "ecological consciousness".

Let's talk about those who are trying to do something for the environment. Today we will talk about stores in our country and abroad.

Supermarkets "Slata". Irkutsk

This chain of stores has been using packaging made from biodegradable materials for 5 years, actively participates in tree planting, and recycles cardboard containers.

Management has introduced energy-saving technologies in all Slata buildings. There is an energy consumption metering system, and all lamps in offices and stores are LED. All supermarkets have glass modules installed on refrigerators, which reduces energy consumption by 50%.

Hypermarket "Auchan". Saint Petersburg.

Offers recycled bags as well as reusable shopping bags. Takes care of waste sorting. There is even a stationary waste collection point (cardboard and paper, glass, plastic, aluminum) on the territory of the store, which is provided with free electricity from Auchan.

Grocery store "Krasny Yar". Krasnoyarsk

For the last five years, Krasny Yar grocery stores have been offering customers a choice of several types of environmentally friendly packaging: biobags (contain an additive that reduces the decomposition of plastic by 30 times), paper bags and rag bags.

Plastic bags with an oxo-biodegradable additive break down in the sun into separate fragments, which can be processed in the soil into water, carbon dioxide or humus. This additive decomposes the bag in 6-18 months.

Hypermarkets «SPAR". Austria.

Austrian SPAR supermarkets are built from natural materials. Trading areas are made of wood, stone and materials that do not release harmful compounds into the atmosphere.

The lighting system is unified; LED lamps are individually selected for each area of ​​the store. An intelligent lighting system regulates the temperature of the light radiation. And this provides 40% energy savings and a reduction in CO 2 emissions into the atmosphere by 80 tons per year.

Commercial network "Sainsbury'ss". England.

A West Midlands retail chain is making good use of food that has passed its sell-by date. In addition, the owners of a retail chain know several ways to sell goods before they become expired. Products are discounted or donated to charitable organizations.

The company's engineers took advantage of the experience of local waste recycling company Biffa. And they introduced a special technology that makes it possible to obtain... electricity from food.

Well, yes, at a special industrial site there are tanks where products become biogas. Biogas goes through a purification system and is then supplied to an electric generator. The current from the station to the supermarket is supplied through a cable one and a half kilometers long. So, Sainsbury's annually supplies electricity to 2,500 homes in the area and its supermarket thanks to recycling.

Supermarket chain "Original Unverpackt". Germany.

Two students from Germany came up with an idea for their own supermarket. For two years they raised money for this project using crowdfunding.

This is a special platform on the Internet where people share their ideas; it can be a personal business or an altruistic idea, a process useful to society. People watch, choose the project they like and send money.

Why did these students help raise money? The fact is that this market has the slogan “Zero waste!” A wide selection of groceries - nuts, legumes and cereals, spices, teas and coffee, packaged in containers with dispensers. Customers can fill their own containers or pick up a recycled paper bag from the store.

Considering the fact that many Germans have recently abandoned plastic and prefer to bring their own glass containers, this is a very profitable deal. In addition, the store sells products from local producers, so there are no transportation costs.

Eco-friendly products contain a huge layer of concepts:

• This is the first step towards the opportunity to increase the level of awareness and responsibility, to the cleanliness of the planet.
• This is a love of nature and animals, careful attitude towards resources, starting from and ending with electricity.
• This includes sorting garbage, handing over waste paper, and refusing chemical detergents.
• This is the maximum reduction of waste from civilized life.
• This is a vote of no confidence in circuses and zoos, dolphinariums.
• This is a rejection of the fashion for technical innovations. For what? After all, the old “morally” outdated ones still work.
• This is an aversion to fur and leather.

Are you interested in environmentally friendly products? You are on the right track.

Dairy products from the "Ugrin Eco-farm", located in the conservation area of ​​the Ugra National Park (which is not far from Moscow), the cows graze on private land that belongs to a family of 4 people, they are the ones who care for the cows without outside help, including milking the cows by hand! The cows there are fed with natural hay... Self-call from the center of Moscow is possible.
-govinda-garden.ru- in my opinion, a super kind store, it seems that the principles of eco-management and good treatment of animals are more important there, and the prices are reasonable. Pickup is possible on Saturday from the Rizhskaya metro station (5 minutes walk to the store). There is positive feedback in the comment.
-domnz.ru- some products there are from the monastery. See positive feedback in the comments.
-moolookoo.ru- eat products from the nunnery. More details about this store.
-iorganic.ru- dairy, groceries, vegetables and fruits, household goods, etc.
-lavkalavka.com- expensive
-naturoed.ru- expensive due to logistics costs and average volumes
-sferm.ru- some say that the taste of the products there, including vegetables, is the same as in the store, although their website looks respectable. But in this comment they say that the butter there is good, but the cheese and milk quickly sour (I think this is not an indicator of poor quality) and sometimes even mold on the 3rd day (but this is already suspicious), and the money is returned.
-a-moloko.ru
-gor-polyana.ru
-efimsybbota.ru- there is a positive comment, but it’s really not clear from whom.
-ecocitylife.ru - Free delivery in Zelenograd when purchasing over 1000 rubles

IMPORTANT- when drinking raw milk, beware of brucellosis and E. coli, consume raw milk only from cows that were not fed mainly grains and corn, but were fed grass in the summer and hay + sometimes vegetables in the winter, grass/hay for cows is just ideal, also cows must graze on pasture at least in summer.

Organic cereals, locally grown fruits and vegetables, Eco cosmetics, hygiene products, organic spices, dried berries, cereals:
-i-mne.com - branch offices throughout Russia, pickup possible
-syroeshka.ru - Pickup possible from Airport metro station
-lifeway.su - (Altai region)- local crops growing in ecologically clean areas, here is their magazine - vedlife.
-Nuts and dried fruits wholesale in Moscow
-hunnyshop.ru- (Moscow region)- a store of natural soap and cosmetics, there is also natural food - sprouts, flour, bee products, nutritional yeast (not baker's yeast), it is run by a girl (a vegetarian and mother of two children), who, by the way, is the moderator of this community
-iherb.com - (American store)- with a rich assortment of natural products, you can order to Russia and Ukraine, parcels arrive in about 3-5 weeks on average. Shipping costs from 4 bucks. I write some things about this site.
-shop.wantbaby.ru- (self-call in Moscow, Zelenograd and Klin)- a guide to raw food products, relevant for expectant/real mothers.
-dziwa.ru - (Moscow region)- a store of eco-products, natural soaps from scratch, natural handmade cosmetics and healthy food
-Dried persimmons and other dried fruits from Sochi and Abkhazia, Look .
-bezhimii.ru
-sver4ok.ru

List of physical shops and markets in Moscow:
-"Farmer's Bazaar"- a store that looks like a farmers market. Located on Tsvetnoy Boulevard in Moscow. Prices are more expensive, however, than in Auchan, but it’s worth it and on Mondays from 10 am to 1 pm there is a 20% discount on everything :)
-eko-magazin.ru- sells both foreign and domestic eco-products located on Sokolnicheskaya Square
-ekush.ru vacuum-dried berries, fruits and vegetables, natural sweets, teas, etc., Alekseevskaya metro station (Malomoskovskaya st.)
-White clouds- vegetarian food store, metro Kitay-Gorod, metro Chistye Prudy, st. Pokrovka, 4
- jagannath.ru- an assortment of healthy food products for vegetarians, vegans, macrobiots. We have a selection of soy products (miso paste, organic tofu), natural sweeteners (stevia, palm sugar, maple syrup and Jerusalem artichoke syrup, etc.), sweets and confectionery for diabetics, seaweed, spices, vegetable oils, honey, whole grains from ecologically clean areas, tea and herbal drinks, natural cosmetics, aromatic oils, incense, natural soap. There are 2 branches in Moscow ( on Kurskaya and Taganka), in Tomsk, in Novosibirsk.
-cow-boys.ru- 5th Donskoy proezd, 21, bldg. 14. The list of farms and their owners on this site is more or less credible, although I would like more details with videos and blogs of the farmers themselves, because 1-3 photographs do not quite plausibly describe reality, but in general there are chances for quality products.
-indianspices.ru- spices, groceries, soy products, many real stores (Sukharevskaya, Kyiv, etc.). The store is suspicious, read all the ingredients carefully. There is a negative comment about their ghee.
-izbenka.msk.ru- I sell dairy products, there are many branches in Moscow and the Moscow region. There are doubts about the naturalness of their products, they are similar to industrial production (see comment).
Ideally, cows should graze on pasture rather than stand in a stall all the time, as shown in their view. Walking on pastures improves milk quality and makes cows healthier. Imagine yourself working all the time in your apartment with breaks for soup, without going anywhere at all, because you will quickly wither away under such conditions. You can even drink milk from cows grazing in the wild raw, which is much healthier for many reasons - firstly, raw milk is alkaline, unlike pasteurized milk, which has an acidic PH level, and secondly, raw milk has more different benefits. I would like to add that where I live, you can often see cows grazing on the lawn if you go outside a large metropolis. It would be interesting to know - how often do you observe a similar landscape?

Recommendations when purchasing goods:
Pay attention to preservatives and food additives. And elements like modified starch or GM soy components, potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate etc (see Exxx labeling on food products). This crap can also be found in health food stores. I absolutely do not recommend buying products made from soy or corn, since 99% of these products are GMO, unless otherwise stated.

Palm oil- another trend for consumers, especially among vegans. Palm oil is the cheapest and very unhealthy. Coconut oil is best, but you can buy organic, unrefined, and raw coconut oil. (Good for baking any vegetables, even potatoes, but I always cook on low heat.) The dangers of other vegetable oils have been well written.

Agave syrup is harmful, you can read about this.

It is advisable to know about essential oils how the product was obtained and processed, because if, for example, you inhale with artificial essential oils, you can only harm the body. Although for aromatizing rooms it is much better than ordinary chemicals from ordinary grocery stores.

Preference, of course, should fall on those stores that can be reached, rather than ordering products far away. Firstly, if we buy our Russian goods, then the money goes into the domestic economy. Secondly, this way we don’t use cardboard and gasoline for shipping and delivery, which means it’s more environmentally friendly.
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P.S. I would love your feedback on any experiences with these stores or additions to the list!

UPD: thank you all for the tip on additional stores, thanks to them we can safely say that it is possible to lead a healthy lifestyle in Moscow, although I would like there to be more physical stores, because buying in person, in my opinion, is easier and more enjoyable.

Excessive consumerism:
- Blue China (why having cheap jeans is not environmentally friendly)

DIY cleaning products:
- Eco-friendly detergents (why buy if you can make your own detergents, which is much simpler and more economical?)

- these are products that are grown on pristine clean land without the use of chemical fertilizers, man-made influences, including the processing process. When sold, such products are marked with the “eco” emblem and cost an order of magnitude more expensive (about 3-5 times, which is 60-70% of the cost of conventional food products)

Why? Eco-products are positioned in the premium segment and their production requires more costs, manual labor, certification, veterinary control, laboratory research, packaging, etc.

Organic vegetables and fruits contain 40% more antioxidants, which reduces the incidence of cancer and cardiovascular diseases, and the level of antioxidants in the milk of animals raised using biotechnology is 90% higher. Eco-products contain more minerals, vitamins, and microelements, which are so necessary for people living in a metropolis.

Around the world, according to experts, interest in consuming environmentally friendly products is growing every year. So, the demand for eco products increased from $20 billion in 2000 to $60 billion in 2012 - more than 3 times! It is expected that by 2020 the demand will increase to 200 - 250 billion dollars! The leaders in the production of eco-products are the USA, Germany, France, Great Britain, New Zealand, and Switzerland. Russia lags behind European producers in technology for the production of eco-products by 15-20 years...

Signs of environmentally friendly products in Europe and requirements for their production.

All products marked with such marks are subject to careful control at all stages of production and sale. Production quality control implies:

— production of eco-products in isolated places to prevent mixing of products

— control organizations carry out annual inspections of production sites products, in addition, have the right to unannounced inspections and controls. After each inspection, a report is drawn up by the inspecting organization.

— enterprises must document the origin, quantity and type of all fertilizers, feed, plant and animal protection products, including their use.

— accounting must reflect on a daily basis the quantity of products sold, their type, as well as information about the buyer who sells the products. And, of course, accounting for products sold to the end customer.

— only those products that undergo control by inspection organizations can be labeled as environmentally friendly products.

These requirements are stated in the “Regulation on organic farming and corresponding labeling of agricultural food products” No. 2092/91 dated June 24, 1991. and include all EEC countries.

American standards for the production of eco-products.

In order to obtain the “Demeter” or “Biodyne” brand, a farmer must use the biodynamic production method for two years under the supervision of a representative of the Demeter Association or the Biodyne Association, and also enter into a contract with these organizations. Farmers' performance is assessed every year.

The entire process of producing organic products must be carried out in accordance with the “Lecture Course on Agriculture” described by Rudolf Steiner. The lectures dictate that pets and pet food should be produced and raised on a farm to the maximum extent possible. The basis of soil fertility is organic fertilizers, compost from plant residues, and biodynamic compost preparations. If the import of feed and fertilizers is necessary, then a thorough check should be made to ensure compliance with Demeter requirements.

It is prohibited to use nitrogen and phosphorus synthetic fertilizers, potassium salts containing chlorine, and lime, phosphorite, and ground rocks are allowed to be used depending on local conditions. It is also prohibited to use wastewater, garbage, composted industrial waste, due to the high content of lead, mercury, chromium, zinc, etc. It is strictly prohibited to use synthetic and toxic plant protection products (herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, chemical growth regulators, etc.)

Farmers must strictly follow the prescribed instructions, including the prescribed diet for domestic animals and poultry. Feed for them should not contain antibiotics or synthetic additives. And when processing farm products, it is unacceptable to use nitrites, artificial fillers, etc.

All activities of the farmer, his planned activities for fertilizing the site, using feed for animals and birds must be declared in writing and receive approval from representatives of the Demeter Association or the Biodynamic Association or a local farmer group. In addition, the annual confirmation of the quality of the Demeter Association.

Russian market of eco-products.

Law GOST R 51074-2003 “National Standard of the Russian Federation. Food products. Information for Consumers” imposes a ban on the unproven use of “environmentally friendly product”, “grown without the use of pesticides”, “grown without the use of mineral fertilizers”, etc. on product labels, and also requires reporting the general composition of ingredients, food additives, flavorings, dietary supplements, etc...

Thus, the law contains general requirements and regulations for consumer information. There is no regulatory framework for determining the environmental friendliness of products in the country. And the consumption market eco-products constitutes only 0.1% of sales of all food products.

Why is the demand for environmentally friendly products so low in Russia? Are there not enough people in Russia who think about a healthy lifestyle, about quality and safe nutrition? There are several reasons:

- sometimes the “eco” label is a marketing ploy and products marked with this sign are no different from ordinary ones.

— the solvency of the population in Russia is lower than in Western European countries, not every Russian buyer can pay 190-200 rubles for a dozen eggs, 100 rubles for 1 liter of milk, 200 rubles for 500 g of sour cream, and 700 rubles for a village chicken per kg.

— in Russia today there is no integrated system for the production of environmentally friendly products at the state level, so the demand market for eco-products has not been created. Thus, in Europe, when producing organic milk, meat of pets and poultry, a certificate is issued for the land on which organic food for pets and birds is grown. There are certain production standards and norms.

— lack of information about production and the quality of eco-products.

However, there are Russian producers who supply organic food products to the market. Created in Russia, the “Professional Association of Manufacturers and Suppliers of Eco-Products and Eco-Services” unites manufacturers from different regions of the country - from St. Petersburg and Moscow to the Urals and Siberia. They voluntarily certify the products they produce.

What are the difficulties in forming the Russian market for eco-products and what are its prospects?

1. The productivity of eco-farm products is much lower than that of conventional agricultural farms. Manufacturers do not use chemical fertilizers, GMOs, antibiotics, growth accelerators, etc. If the average wheat yield per hectare in Russia in 2011 was 30-40 tons, then on the eco-farm it was 4-5 tons.

2. The shelf life of eco-products is very short - from 36 hours and no more than 72 hours. Difficulties in organizing deliveries to the consumer. Manufacturers cannot afford to oversupply their products to meet storage standards.

3. In Russia there is no national system for confirming standards and quality control of eco-products. When this is created, then the market for organic products will take on civilized forms - farmers will have access to retail chains, educational institutions, food outlets, and a supply system will be established.

The Ministry of Agriculture is currently developing a law “On Ecological Agriculture”. The Public Chamber held hearings on the problems of developing the market for ecological agricultural production. It has now become obvious that we need to support this sector of the economy.

According to the Ministry of Health, economic losses from diseases associated with disorders of the digestive system amount annually to 1,512.74 billion rubles. With government support, it is possible to reduce production costs, expand the market for eco-products, and improve people's health in general.