chemistry

IFOAM

IFOAM is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand IFOAM rather than just read about it. In short: IFOAM – Organics International (formerly known as the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements) is a worldwide organization advocating for organics, with over 700 affiliates in more than 100 countries and territories. History IFOAM – Organics International was started by the president of the French farmer organization Nature et Progrès, Roland Chevriot.

Key takeaways

IFOAM belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect IFOAM to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of IFOAM from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

IFOAM – Organics International (formerly known as the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements) is a worldwide organization advocating for organics, with over 700 affiliates in more than 100 countries and territories.

History

IFOAM – Organics International was started by the president of the French farmer organization Nature et Progrès, Roland Chevriot. The process began on 05 November 1972, in Versailles, France, during an international organic agriculture congress organized by Nature et Progrès. There were five members at the congress representing different organizations including Lady Eve Balfour of the Soil Association of the United Kingdom, Kjell Arman of the Swedish Biodynamic Association, Pauline Raphaely of the Soil Association of South Africa, Jerome Goldstein of Rodale Press of the United States, and Roland Chevriot of Nature et Progrès of France. In the beginning, the name of the organization was the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements. The founders envisioned that the federation would meet what they saw as a major need: a unified, organized voice for organic food and the diffusion and exchange of information on the principles and practices of organic agriculture across national and geographical boundaries. In 2015, the name changed to IFOAM - Organics International. On 19 October 1998, participants at the 12th Scientific Conference of IFOAM - Organics International issued the Mar del Plata Declaration, where more than 600 delegates from over 60 countries voted unanimously to exclude the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food production and agriculture. From that point onwards, GMOs have been categorically excluded from organic farming and denounced by the organic movement.

Structure

The GA of IFOAM – Organics International serves as the highest authority of the organization, and it elects the world board of the organization for a three-year term. The world board is a group of 10 people working voluntarily to guide the organization. In September 2021, Karen Mapusua from Fiji was elected as the president of the organization’s world board. The 2021 world board was elected by the GA of IFOAM - Organics International in September 2021, the first-ever digital one. The Intercontinental Network of Organic Farmers Organizations (INOFO) is an autonomous self-organized structure within IFOAM - Organics International for organic farming organizations. The board appoints members to official committees, working groups, and task forces based on the recommendation of the membership of the organization. Member organizations have established regional bodies including IFOAM Organics Asia, IFOAM Organics Europe, IFOAM AgriBioMediterraneo, IFOAM Southern African Network, IFOAM America Latina, IFOAM North America, IFOAM Euro-Asia, national groups including IFOAM France, IFOAM Iran and IFOAM Japan. Furthermore, IFOAM has established sectoral platforms that include the IFOAM Organic Husbandry Alliance, IFOAM Apiculture Forum, IFOAM Aquaculture, Technology Innovation Platform of IFOAM and IFOAM Seeds Platform.

See also Association Kokopelli – French non-profit organization Environmental justice – Social movement EU-Eco-regulation Global Ecolabelling Network – Non-profit network Heirloom plant – Historic food crop cultivar Research Institute of Organic Agriculture UTZ Certified – Program and label for sustainable farming

References

Paull, John (2010). "From France to the World: The International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM)". Journal of Social Research & Policy. 1 (2): 93–102. Archived from the original on 2020-04-19. Retrieved 2011-04-13.

External links Official Web site of IFOAM ISEAL Alliance One World Trust: Global Accountability Report 2008 International Organic Accreditation Service Movimiento Agroecológico Latinoamericano A Latin and Caribbean equivalent IFOAM EU

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with IFOAM

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what IFOAM claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to IFOAM before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about IFOAM ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of IFOAM

In research: IFOAM appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses IFOAM in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: IFOAM is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1972 establishments in France, Agricultural marketing organizations, Agricultural organisations based in Germany, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for IFOAM outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study IFOAM in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what IFOAM means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain IFOAM out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is IFOAM in simple terms?

Why does IFOAM matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study IFOAM?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on IFOAM.