Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 9
Engaging the Organic Conventionalization
Debate
Douglas H. Constance, Jin Young Choi, and Damian Lara
Organics without a social vision is dangerously incomplete
(DeLind
2000
, p. 24).
9.1
Introduction
Organic agriculture in the US emerged in California in the 1960s as part of the envi-
ronmental social movement response to the negative externalities of industrialism
(Belasco
1989
). The first organic standard developed in California in 1990 is the
model for the US standard (Guthman
2004a
). Although opposed by conventional
agriculture, organics is now part of the mainstream, available in the majority of
supermarkets. The success of organics is a great victory for the environmental
movement and other critics of conventional agriculture. Sociologically, the success
is problematic due to conventionalization, or the process whereby organics takes on
many of the characteristics of mainstream agriculture regarding scale and structure.
The scholarly discussion regarding the extent and implications of conventionaliza-
tion has generated a substantial literature in agrifood studies.
In this chapter we engage the conventionalization debate, informed by empirical
evidence from Texas and a political economy of agrifood studies framework. The
remainder of this introduction provides a brief overview of organic agriculture,
ending with a discussion of the role of government policies in organic adoption.
Then we present our review of the literature on the conventionalization of organics,
which critically investigates the transformative potential of organics. Next, we
present the research from Texas, focusing on “pragmatic conventional” producers,
with analysis informed by the conventionalization debate. Finally, we discuss the
debate within the context of a sociology of agrifood interpretative framework.
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