Federal Minister of Food & Agriculture Sets the Pace for Greater Sustainability

NURNBERG, Germany, February 17, 2010 - The Dutch Minister of Food & Agriculture Gerda Verburg launched a new
comprehensive sustainability standard at the international BioFach fair
(17-20 February). The label unveiled is a pilot project by the Dutch Nature
& More Foundation. The initiative is the result of a long-term partnership
between several international organic companies, which handed the ministers a
joint declaration "from the private sector on the worldwide challenges"
facing greater sustainability in agriculture and trade, when the pilot was
launched.

(Photo:
www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100217/378036 )

"Anyone that helps combine global protection and preservation of natural
resources, while explicitly combating world hunger and poverty in developing
countries, like this project, deserves attention and respect," said the
minister at the launch. The centre of the "Sustainability Flower" stands for
social responsibility, while its petals symbolise commitment to the
environment and the preservation of ecological resources.

The Sustainability Flower was developed by the international Nature &
More Foundation, the first European organisation to create a TUV-tested CO2
product cycle assessment system back in 2006, which enabled consumers to
measure emissions per kilogramme of goods. The "stamp" displayed directly on
the products includes a simple code, which allows consumers to access online
producer specific profile pages. The website also includes detailed
information and opinions on their environmental & social working methods and
motivation. The foundation has received numerous international awards for its
unique "trace & tell system".

The basis of the new project is long-term partnership between a network
of leading international organic companies (International Association for
Partnership, IAP), which highlights the significance of social and ecological
quality standards for organic agriculture by means of a "Declaration of
Commercial Enterprises on Global Challenges".

"With the current project, we are taking another step forward," stresses
Volkert Engelsman, chief executive of the Nature & More Foundation. "The
Sustainability Flower combines the social and ecological skills of
manufacturers from around the world to create a clear and graphically
appealing overview. The information is presented strictly according to the
GRI guidelines (Global Reporting Initiative, one of the organisations closely
linked to the UN). This provides an objective framework, which enables
comparisons to be made with other companies and production processes. This
means that we are consciously entering a domain, which is not only reserved
to the classic "organic organisations", but also objectively describes
sustainability in the social domain and environment, independently of
goods/service sectors or existing certification systems."

The concept will be presented at BioFach in Nurnberg (17-20 February
2010) (Eosta/ Nature & More, Hall 7, Stand 625).

For further information, please visit:

www.eosta.com

www.natureandmore.com

Photo:
www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100217/378036

For further information, please visit: Nature & More Foundation, Transportweg 7, NL 2742 RH Waddinxveen, Tel +31-180-635505, info at natureandmore.com