Engaging the Organic Conventionalization Debate - Re-Thinking Organic Food and Farming in a Changing World - page 164

In their criticism of the linearity of the conventionalization thesis, they noted that
the meaning of organics changed over time as different actors entered the policy
arena. They maintained that these shifts show “clearly that the local industry is
not engaged in a linear trajectory towards 'conventionalization' or the uncontested
assumption of industrial agricultural forms” (Campbell and Liepins 2001 , p. 36).
They concluded that contrary to Guthman's view, organics in New Zealand reveals
a “peculiar quality” about organics that enabled it to continue as a counter-point
to a globalizing food system. They called for more empirical studies before the
construction of prescriptive theories.
In 2001 research expanded on the early work from California and Ireland
(Tovey 1997 ) that argued that organics was losing its alternative characteristic.
(Michelsen 2001 ) used the term “institutionalization” to describe the quantitative
changes in the social organization of organic production. He also criticized the
conclusions of the early studies for generalizing from too limited data. Research
in Denmark and Belgium (Lynggaard 2001 ) reported that variations in institutional
factors produced very different institutional arrangements, which casts doubts
on universalistic interpretations of the trajectory of organics and highlights the
importance of national/regional contexts. Further research from Denmark revealed
that the process of the organic institutionalization through government adoption of
certification standards and incentives for organic conversion reduced the broader,
value-laden, and ideological formulations to technical and quantitative definitions
and rules (Kaltoft 2002 ). With institutionalization, secondary production, pro-
cessing, distribution and retailing through conventional venues developed rapidly.
Kaltoft concluded that organics stopped being a social movement once it became
institutionalized and integrated into the global food system. While certain organic
producers might have strong ideological orientation and would resist corporate
penetration of organics, for the government and industry organic farming becomes
a technical solution to environmental problems (see Tovey 1997 ).
Research from Ontario, Canada (Hall and Mogyorody 2002 ) reported mixed
support for the conventionalization thesis. While new entrants to organics tended
to be larger and have a more economic philosophy, those operations did not fit
the pattern of specialized monoculture for indirect markets. Migrant labor patterns
did not support conventionalization. They noted different patterns of destination
markets by commodity, but no evidence of a bifurcation between large and small
growers targeted to different markets. They attributed these results to the particular
institutional and bio-physical arrangement of organics in Ontario and Canada, but
noted that the situation could change quickly.
In addressing the critics of conventionalization, Guthman ( 2004c ) argued that
the situation in California provided further support for her thesis (Guthman 2004a ).
Through mergers, acquisitions, and contracting agribusiness had rapidly increased
their organic operations in California, as well as New Zealand and Australia,
with most of the growth from converted conventional operations. These highly
capitalized operations out-competed smaller producers via economies of scale.
Industry entry produced increased price competition, a drop in price premiums, a