Friend of the Earth is an international certification program for products from sustainable agriculture and farming. FAO definition of sustainable agricultural development is "the management and conservation of the natural resource base, and the orientation of technological and institutional change in such a manner as to ensure the attainment and continued satisfaction of human needs for present a
nd future generations. Such development... conserves land, water, plant and animal genetic resources, is environmentally non-degrading, technically appropriate, economically viable and socially acceptable." Friend of the Earth’s mission is to promote sustainable agricultural practices by means of certification and consumers awareness. Following the tangible results obtained with Friend of the Sea - the international certification program for products from sustainable fisheries and aquaculture (www.friendofthesea.org) - Friend of the Earth was founded in 2013. The certification standard has been developed based on FAO's SAFA (Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture systems) guide lines. Its principles are based on:
- the preservation and protection of the ecosystem,
- use of integrated pest management practices,
- improved energy efficiency,
- resources optimization,
- regulatory compliance,
- corporate social responsibility,
- chain of custody. Audits are run by independent certification bodies, according to the strict sustainability criteria established by Friend of the Earth. Friend of the Earth is growing rapidly, and aims to become the main international certification program for sustainable agricultural production.
