Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
ships that benefit the many people engaged. In creating and revising regulations, and when
collaborating, learning will inevitably take place among those invited or encouraged to partic-
ipate. Although the nature and kind of learning taking place can vary, not all stakeholders are
always invited. The three approaches are most fruitful when working together in a dynamic
way with differences in emphasis depending on the context in which social responsibility is
developed. Regulation is seen both as an outcome and an input for (further) learning, while
regulation, or rather the process leading to regulation, is also seen as a learning process.
Regulation
Regulation is an instrumental approach depending on a hierarchy of standards, legal regula-
tions, accreditation systems and international guidelines. This approach to social responsibil-
ity depends on compliance to social standards set by stakeholders, some within the organic
sector, others beyond it such as national laws and the International Labor Organization (ILO).
Compliance to widely (internationally) recognised social standards is key to the success of this
coordination mechanism. The strength of a regulatory approach is that it is binding, more uni-
versal (within a given frame of reference, e.g. a nation), is third-party verified, and it causes
social responsibility and social justice to become entrenched in the system. Regulation is
already a reality in the organic sector (see
Chapter
9
) and as such, the regulatory framework is
outlined in the following subsection. The use of regulations and standards to set parameters
and delimit the 'playing field' is indeed valuable.
Current regulatory framework
As the organic sector developed from multistranded, diverse and geographically and culturally
distinct movements internationally, in order to assure integrity and retain value for the practices
undertaken, ideals have formalised, being articulated as principles, standards, private certifica-
tion and later as regulations/legislation and international guidelines or standards. The
Demeter
label, first used in 1924, marked the beginning of this non-linear development process (Rundgren
2002). There are about 360 private certification bodies internationally, many with their own
standards for people certifying to US, European and Japanese regulations to allow access to those
markets (IFOAM 2006). As of December 2001, 56 countries were at different stages of organic
regulatory development, 32 with fully implemented regulations (Commins and Kung Wai 2003).
The IBS were first published in 1980 and have been revised and voted on every two years (every
three years as of 2002) by IFOAM members. IFOAM is working to harmonise both private stand-
ards, encouraging mutual recognition among accredited certification bodies (ACBs), and
national regulations, to facilitate international trade in organic products. In addition
,
Codex
Ali-
mentarius
, a joint FAO/WHO intergovernmental body established in 1972, adopted organic
guidelines in 1999 and livestock standards in 2001. These private and public definitions of
'organic' set the parameters that govern producers and processors (see Chapter 9).
Compared to production aspects, the human side of organic farming has had less attention
in regulatory developments. While social responsibility was a central tenet to many organic
movements, it has been sidelined somewhat as the movements consolidated into a rapidly
growing and diversifying sector. That said, IBS include a short chapter (8) on social justice.
These 'standards for standards' apply to all ACBs accredited with IFOAM's International
Organic Accreditation Service (IOAS). ACBs accredited by the IOAS will be inspected during
their verification visit as to how they are implementing these social standards. The following
excerpt (Box 14.2) ref lects the IBS chapter on social justice (IFOAM 2002).
These social standards are basic compared to the more comprehensive standards of other
social certification and standard-setting organisations such as FairTrade Labelling Organiza-
tions International (FLO), Social Accountability International (SAI), Sustainable Agriculture
