what’s happening to this former capital of salt, fat, and food additives?

At one time in Prague, tubes of pinkish-grey bologna dominated all the meat trays in the supermarket, while healthfood shoppers had to hunt diligently for the elusive and rarely seen tofu. Now, however, the word “bio” is appearing on foods in major chain stores as well as hole-in-the-wall potravinys, and not just in Prague. Organic products are on proud display in shop windows across the land, and fair-trade offerings can occasionally be spotted there, too. Organic bread mixes, and gluten-free merchandise for those who can’t tolerate wheat, are taking their places on many independent bakers’ shelves.

Quietly growing

Actually, Czech organic farming dates back to the mid- 1980s. Unified inspection was introduced in 1993, at which time organic food began to be labeled “bio.” In 1999, an organization titled KEZ (Kontrola Ekologického Zemĕdĕlství) was authorized to inspect all organic farms, and in 2000, Czech organic standards were officially harmonized with those of the EU. Currently, for a food product to be certified organic, it must be grown without synthetic pesticides, herbicides, or chemical fertilizers; no growth hormones can be used; and genetically modified organisms are not permitted. Farms are inspected every year, and detailed records must be kept.

Husband-and-wife team Jan Hradecký and Dana Hradecká founded the firm Botanicus, which “went organic” in 1999; after some training in Britain, the owners, and a British partner, expanded the retail shop to the multiple locations in Prague today. When asked why they made the decision to go organic, Jan (who, along with his wife, was an agricultural student) replies, “You must respect the environment and the soil.” Dana adds, “Organic farming is about caring how much you can protect the environment.” Dana readily admits that organic growing is more expensive, and explains why: “The crops must be weeded by hand. It’s very labor-intensive.”

Further, she explains, the yields from organic farming are lower, and the produce is smaller. And then there’s the paper work. Extensive documentation is required on the farm’s operations and spraying. The farm is inspected twice a year by KEZ – once to ensure compliance with the legislation on organic growing, once to ensure product compliance.
For all these reasons, in the Czech Republic the array of items within the average store is mostly of non-perishable items; fresh organic produce, though increasing in scope, is not yet as extensive as the “normal” produce found in the average supermarket.

On the other hand, the market is quietly growing. Although as of the end of 2005, only 5.98% of all Czech farmland was organic, the market for organics from 2006-2007 grew by 49 percent, according to the Czech branch of Friends of the Earth. Hradecká states that the younger generation is more interested in buying organic, “especially,” she notes, “young mothers.”

The Czech branch of Friends of the Earth would like to see more Czech farmers concentrating on organic growing. They want to see a reduction in the use of the chemicals commonly used in farming, plus a decrease in the carbon emissions that are an inevitable result of importing products. The cost of going organic, however, puts many farmers off the idea, despite some subsidies available from the government. Farmers also often find little interest in organic produce on the part of large wholesale buyers.

Who’s who in bio CZ

Pro-Bio, established in 1992 in the town of Staré Město pod Sněžníkem, is the Czech Republic’s largest processor of organic products. Its assortment includes flour, dried fruit, beverages, grains, sweeteners, and oils. Pro-Bio merchandise can be found in most health-food stores in Prague.

Country Life was founded in 1991, with the mission to promote a healthy lifestyle. Its organic farming began in Nenačovice, a center 20 kilometers from Prague, in 1992. Currently, it farms almost 200 acres. Not only are its products sold throughout the Czech Republic, the company even exports to nearby countries. It also runs a restaurant next to its Melantrichova street store, and the company is building a bistro to add to its store near Vitĕzné Námĕstí in Prague 6.
The company website states that of the approximately 2,000 items it has on offer, more than half are organic. Country Life offers their own line of baked goods, mostly bread and rolls, plus foods for special diets.

Organic beef from an association of growers under the BioBeef label is marketed throughout the Czech Republic in major supermarkets. Curious consumers can even discover the origin and identity of their bio burger by clicking on the appropriate button on the biohovezi.cz website.

Botanicus offers teas, syrups, vinegar, cooking and salad oil, soap, shampoo, massage oil, essential oils, and various other products. The husband-and-wife team started with herbs, then increased their variety to apples, cherries, pears, plums, and sea buckthorn. They also own an entire “hamlet” – a living history museum in the town of Ostra – where you can see the way people lived at the end of the 15th century. (Have no doubts, these folks are committed to a healthy lifestyle: the entire property is a non-smoking place, and they make it clear that anyone smoking will be removed.)

Albio offers its own baked goods and a restaurant in the center of Prague, and the firm has opened several stores, as well as operating an organic catering service. The firm carries Czech, German, Italian, and French organic products, and also offers its own breads, desserts, and foods for special diets.

British chains Tesco, and Marks and Spencer, offer their own line of organic products, with a decidedly British flavor.

More product choices

Not only has the number of stores increased, the number of products has risen. Czech-owned businesses are importing more than half the organic products available here from countries such as Germany, Italy, and France, along with a much wider range of fresh produce, including citrus fruit, available at Albio and Country Life.

Even the elderly are beginning to join in; the discount store Plus has been running a “bio-bio” campaign, offering organic yogurt, cheese, and butter. These products, and the price of them, appeal to elderly shoppers. Yes, they’re still more expensive than ordinary products, but this chain specializes in discount prices on everything.

Alternatives to the alternatives

As far as fresh produce is concerned, there’s another alternative to scouring shops for limited supplies. The organization called “Prague Co-op” offers organic and “almost” organic food direct from local farmers. To join the co-op, members make a down payment of 900 crowns. This buys a three-month-supply “veggie” box of root vegetables, squash, green leafy vegetables, and more. The boxes weigh 15 to 20 kilos. Dairy products (cow and goat), honey, and other items are also available. Boxes are delivered every three weeks to an address in Prague 10, where the members pick them up, and the down payment is replenished every few orders.

But the word “organic” isn’t limited to food. Marks and Spencer has a line of organic cotton clothing, a very new item in this country of mostly synthetic wear. Botanicus plans to start a new cosmetics line soon; among the products offered will be soap, shampoo, and bath items. These products will be certified natural cosmetics (certifikovaná přírodní kosmetika), which means that they will contain no sodium laureth sulfate, no synthetic perfumes, and no parabens.

Country Life offers natural cosmetics from companies such as Jason, Lavera, and Durance. Albio carries Weleda products, as do other, smaller stores around the country. So the trend is obvious. “Bio” in Bohemia? It’s a natural.