Organic News Issue 2

ow seeds and
“Ssee them grow“
a large-scale banner (picture)
with an image of Victor Ananias
and this quotation is the
first thing you notice when you
enter the biggest and oldest of
the weekly organic markets.
The Turkish organic pioneer
Ananias, who had the idea of
weekly organic markets, sadly
died in March 2011 at the age
of 40. However, his work lives
on more vigorously than ever
and continues to develop both
within and beyond the Bugday
group. In Istanbul,
Bugday has now set
up four markets,
and other organizers are behind
the establishment of another
three. Bugday similarly
created a market in Samsun
in 2008, and another is to follow
this summer in Konya.
In the capital Ankara and the
university town Eskisehir, the
local authorities have launched
weekly organic markets, and
in Izmir the driving force was
the Turkish organic association
ETO. Bugday has recently
increased its membership
and is pleased to have 2,200
people committed to the ecolifestyle
of “Wheat“, which is
what Bugday means.
The great success of
the markets can be
explained not just by the unsurpassed
freshness of the fruit
and vegetables but above all by
the fact that the prices are only
minimally above those for
conventional products. And
their trump card is the unbeatable
wide product range: as
well as a big variety of seasonal
vegetables, the 65 stands reflect
the whole offer of organic
products from all over Turkey.
A number of them offer ecotextiles,
imported household
and cleaning materials and
environmentally friendly and
attractive shopping bags.
ISSUE II 15