Organic Flour in France

Summary

In this chapter, the sustainability of organic products (soft wheat, flour and bread) is compared to that of conventional products in France. The organic supply chain is separated into four levels. Farmers (7328) produce 90,300 tons of soft wheat per year for the milling industry. Forty-eight cooperatives collect half of the grains produced. Millers (93 mills) produce 110,000 tons of flour (from both national wheat production and imports of wheat), which is then used in industrial or traditional bakery (3049 and 1948 employees respectively) to produce bread. The production of organic soft wheat represents 0.26% of the soft wheat production in France. Supply of French organic soft wheat falls short of demand and imports bridge the gap. A major challenge faced by the organic chain is the much lower yields of soft wheat compared to conventional farming. Both these challenges impact the sustainability of the organic supply chain. The results show that the organic chain is globally more sustainable than its reference with regards the economic, social and environmental aspects investigated here. Indeed, results indicate that the organic chain is more profitable at all levels of the value chain and creates more jobs at both farm and processing levels. The organic flour and bread have a lower carbon footprint and travel shorter distances than their reference. Their water footprint is also better on a per hectare basis although the higher yields of conventional wheat reverse this result on a per ton basis.