Journal ArticleDOI
The Trouble with ‘Organic Lite’ in California: a Rejoinder to the ‘Conventionalisation’ Debate
TLDR
In this paper, a comprehensive study of the California organic sector is presented, where the authors argue that agribusiness involvement does more than create a soft path of sustainability - or "organic lite"; the conditions set by processes of agro-industrialization undermine the ability of even the most committed producers to practice a truly alternative form of organic farming.Abstract:
Based on a comprehensive study of the California organic sector, this article responds to the conventionalization debate on organic farming that surfaced after the publication of Buck et al. in 1997 in this journal. First, it addresses the place of California within the international organic sector, justifying its importance as a case study. As an empirical point, it documents the form and extent of agribusiness involvement in California's organic sector and provides place-specific explanations as to how it articulated with the previously existing organic sector. It also considers how agribusiness has influenced organic production, in rule-setting, inter-sectoral dynamics, and agronomic practices. The argument is that agribusiness involvement does more than create a soft path of sustainability - or ‘organic lite’; the conditions set by processes of agro-industrialization undermine the ability of even the most committed producers to practice a truly alternative form of organic farming. This trajectory is not inevitable, however, and largely turns on the sort of state support given to organic farming.read more
Citations
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The place of food: mapping out the ‘local’ in local food systems
TL;DR: The authors identify issues of "place", which are variously described as the "local" and "community" in the local food systems literature, and do so in conjunction with the geographic discussion focused on questions and meanings around these spatial concepts.
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Beyond the divide: rethinking relationships between alternative and conventional food networks in Europe
Roberta Sonnino,Terry Marsden +1 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue for a much morenuanced and complex understanding of the relationships between conventional and alternative food chains and their implications for rural development, and highlight the need to explore the competitive relationships that alternative food networks have with the conventional sector to expose power imbalance.
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Neoliberalism and the making of food politics in California
TL;DR: The authors argue that agrofood politics as well as the scholarship that supports it have contributed to neoliberal subject formation, as demonstrated by four recurring themes in contemporary food activism as they intersect with neoliberal rationalities: consumer choice, localism, entrepreneurialism, and self-improvement.
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The Polanyian Way? Voluntary Food Labels as Neoliberal Governance
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine how these labels are operationalized and note important differences in the sort of barriers to entry they erect, which in turn have quite different distributional consequences.
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Conventionalisation of organic farming practices: from structural criteria towards an assessment based on organic principles. A review.
TL;DR: It is argued that to strengthen organic farming’s transformative potential, the debate must move beyond its focus on the bifurcation between artisanal and conventionalised organic farms, so as to capture the full range of empirical heterogeneity.
References
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Book
Agrarian Dreams: The Paradox of Organic Farming in California
TL;DR: The second edition of the Second Edition of Agrarian dreams as mentioned in this paper is a collection of essays about the history of organic farming in California, focusing on ideal practices and practical ideals.
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Conversion to Organic Farming: A Typical Example of the Diffusion of an Innovation?
TL;DR: Padel, S. et al. as mentioned in this paper described conversion to organic farming as a typical example of the diffusion of an innovation, and showed that it can be traced back to the early 1990s.
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From Farm to Table: The Organic Vegetable Commodity Chain of Northern California
TL;DR: In this article, the AA. montrent que le capital agro-alimentaire is en train de penetrer le segment de plus forte plus-value de la chaine de production des legumes biologiques, malgre l'existence of pratiques et d'idees allant a contrecourant du secteur conventionnel de production.
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World Market, State, and Family Farm: Social Bases of Household Production in the Era of Wage Labor
TL;DR: For example, between 1873 and 1935 dramatic changes took place in the character of production in the industrial nations of the world as discussed by the authors and the new social importance of wage laborers, while certainly not the only features of the era, are often viewed as its central, interrelated, and dynamic basis.
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The capitalist composition of organic: The potential of markets in fulfilling the promise of organic agriculture
Patricia Allen,Martin Kovach +1 more
TL;DR: The organic market is a powerful engine for positive change because it promotes greater environmental awareness andresponsibility among producers and consumers alike as mentioned in this paper, but there are contradictions between organic ideals and practice, e.g., the reductionism of organic standards, the limitations of private organiccertification, and the widespread practice ofinput-substitution.