Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 1.7
IFOAM's draft revised principles of organic agriculture
Principle of Health
Organic agriculture should sustain and enhance the health of soil, plant, animal and human as
one and indivisible.
Ecological Principle
Organic agriculture should be based on and work with living ecological systems and cycles,
emulate them and help sustain them.
Principle of Fairness
Organic agriculture should be built upon relationships that ensure fairness with regard to the
common environment and life opportunities.
Principle of Care
Organic agriculture should be managed in a precautionary and responsible manner to protect the
health and well being of current and future generations and the environment.
expanded vision states that organic agriculture should function in the same way as natural
ecological systems. Ecological systems are viewed as being self contained, self maintaining and
self sufficient; for example, most plant nutrients are continuously cycled within the ecosystem
and the systems are self-regulating, in that plant and animal populations are kept within
certain limits by a multitude of both positive and negative feedback mechanisms. For farms,
this means they should work within a closed system for nutrients, avoid fossil fuels, and design
farming systems that are self regulating, such as growing plants that increase biological control
agent populations so that they control pests, rather than using interventional techniques such
as pesticides derived from natural sources.
The fairness principle is concerned with the relationships between the different groups of
people involved in agriculture, such as landowners, workers and consumers, and ensuring the
humane treatment of animals. Organic agriculture has always had a strong social equality
dimension, and while this has had less prominence during the 1980s and 1990s, there are
increasing calls for greater emphasis to be given to it. This means that workers should not be
exploited and should be paid a fair wage for their work that allows them to live in a dignified
manner; for farmers to be paid a fair amount for their product and for consumers to get a
quality product at a reasonable price. These are issues that are also at the heart of the 'fair
trade' movement, and which the organic and fair trade movements are now working closely
together to implement. The principle also extends beyond the present, to include future gener-
ations, wherein the activities of the current generation should not be detrimental for future
generations. Concerning livestock, the principle requires producers to treat animals in a
humane and ethical manner. This is a complex and controversial area as people's views on the
treatment of animals has changed considerably over recent times and differs noticeably
between cultures. There is, therefore, continued discussion within the organic movement on
animal rights, humane treatment of animals and even the need for livestock within organic
systems. Within this debate, the focus is on ensuring that livestock are healthy, that they are
kept in living conditions compatible with their physiology and natural behaviour, and that
minimises stress and pain. This leads to certification standards on livestock housing design,
stocking densities, avoiding feeds that an animal would not naturally eat and not breeding
animals so that they have inherent problems, such as insufficient leg strength in turkeys.
The principle of care is an incarnation of the 'Precautionary Principle' based on the defini-
tion made at the Wingspread Conference Centre, Wisconsin, January 1998 (Montague 1998),
'When an activity raises threats of harm to human health or the environment, precautionary
measures should be taken even if some cause and effect relationships are not fully established
scientifically'. In practice the precautionary and care principles reverse the logic of risk
