Farmers’ Attitudes Towards Organic and Conventional Agriculture: A Behavioural Perspective - Organic Food and Agriculture: New Trends and Developments in the Social Sciences - page 161

attitude and a very different cognition of, and relationship with, the farm environment and
food production, exemplified by the use of terms such as 'loving hay meadows'.
5. Conclusion
This chapter aimed to compare the cognition, attitudes and behaviours of farmers loosely
labelled 'organic' and 'conventional', in central southern England, especially in relation to
farming, the environment and five key themes related to the concept of food security. Using
a modified behavioural conceptual framework revealed a spectrum of agri-environmental
perceptions, attitudes and behaviours among farmers in relation to five key food security
themes. However, farmers' behaviours cannot be directly explained by their attitudes
because it is possible to arrive at an attitude in a number of different ways and from
different experiences. Attitudes are highly complex and therefore such a direct link is
unrealistic.
The differences detected between the survey populations were epitomised by some
conventional farmers' high levels of pesticide usage, concern with keeping the land in
suitable condition for growing crops, their belief in the necessity of conventional farming
methods to feed a growing world population, an anthropocentric acceptance of GM crops
and the belief that changes in weather patterns are part of the normal course of events. This
contrasted significantly with many organic farmers' more ecocentric approach to agri-
environmental issues and belief in the need for a biodiverse and sustainable countryside
whilst, at the same time, producing locally grown and consumed healthy foods which
should be able to accommodate population increases. The organic respondents also had
concerns about the potential health risks associated with GM crops and the belief that global
climate change is principally caused by burning fossil fuels. Unsurprisingly, more organic
than conventional farmers said that organic agriculture is a sustainable form of food
production which, if correct, will help mitigate food security problems. Other researchers
also describe organic farming as a more sustainable method of agricultural food production
than most conventional farming systems (Lampkin et al., 1999; Grey, 2000; Edwards-Jones &
Howells, 2001; Michelsen, 2001; Mader et al., 2002). In contrast, some writers have raised
concerns that organic farming is itself becoming conventionalised (Buck et al., 1997; Tovey,
1997). But, there are different types of organic farming systems; for example, commercial
organic food production has less environmental benefit than organic farming methods
practised on a small scale by philosophically committed farmers. Although organic
production methods are considered a useful way of reducing the current impact of agri-food
production systems (Lockie et al., 2006; Schahczenski & Hill, 2009; Scherr & Sthapit, 2009), it
seems unlikely that peak oil prices, combined with the need to reduce dependency on fossil
fuels, will be helped greatly by organic methods of food production. Some researchers claim
that organic production methods have out-performed productivist approaches by providing
environmental benefits such as water retention and improved soil fertility, thereby reducing
the impact of agri-food production systems on the environment (Altieri, 1998;
Environmental News Service, 2009). In contrast, it has been argued that abandoning
productivist methods of food production will increase global food insecurity, resulting in
millions of people dying of starvation (Avery, 1995).
In common, all respondents said that they may have to grow a different variety of crops if
the climate gets warmer and some referred to the expansion of growing maize in the UK as
evidence of global warming taking place. However, maize is not the greenest biofuel in