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Public awareness of organic agriculture: creation of the 1st MOOC on organic farming in Europe

Marliac G., Bellon S., Nesme T., Peigne J., David G., Deguine J.P., Sautereau N., Balard E.. 2021. In : Culture, philosophy, spirituality and education forum: book of abstracts. Rennes : IFOAM, p. 109-111. Organic World Congress 2021. 20, 2021-09-08/2021-09-10, Rennes (France).

Given the many sources of information available on organic agriculture (OA), it is difficult for the public to build an opinion. The first, francophone MOOC on organic farming and food (MOOC BIO) was built to provide updated information on the development status and challenges of OA and to allow as many people as possible to build an objective and informed opinion on OA. For 8 weeks, a broad range of themes (regulation, stakeholders, history, production techniques, marketing systems and territorial development) were addressed. Almost 20,000 students have participated to the MOOC, with large international coverage, illustrating the great interest paid to OA. In addition, the organization of events around the MOOC has broadened the target audience. Through a partnership with OA stakeholders in Senegal we even reached an international dimension. For wider dissemination, translation into others languages is a perspective. Background: The development and media coverage of organic farming has resulted in the wide dissemination of information on organic farming and food. Anyone can learn about organic farming by browsing the wide internet. However, the diversity in nature and quality related to this information and also controversies between researchers (See for instance the debate after the publication In Nature Searchinger et al., 2018) may lead to some confusion and misinformation for the general public. Organic farming stakeholders, citizens and consumers need to form a critical opinion on some of the issues raised by the OA: what is the right price for organic products? Are organic products better for human and environmental health? In the digital age, the MOOC BIO (Massive Open Online Course on OA) aims to support this public in building informed opinion on organic agriculture. To our knowledge, this is the first MOOC dedicated to organic agriculture, started in 2018. Core messages and conclusions: The main messages are: - Two MOOC sessions have already unfolded in 2

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