Framework for Re-thinking Ethics in the Organic Movement - Re-Thinking Organic Food and Farming in a Changing World - page 262

Local food systems can contribute to bolstering farm income and promoting
rural development (Renting et al. 2003 ). These forms attract (agro-) tourists and
increase the awareness of consumers for local and regional products that often
enhance the environment or protect the natural heritage. The income from such
value based marketing in rural areas may often be limited (Gale 1997 ); demand
for seasonal and local produced organic food from small-scale farmers does not
necessarily strengthen the income of all small-scale farmers (Jarosz 2008 ). These
insights remind us of the importance of looking critically at each type of farmer-
consumer value driven collaboration.
Within the market context it is also of interest how the input industry is linked
with values. The organic input industry receives little or no attention either in
the IFOAM Principles or in discussions of ethics in the organic movement. As
illustrated in many of the advertisements in publications such as Acres, The Voice
of Eco-Agriculture, 9 the firms that sell organic supplies do not use the Principles
in their promotional material. It is rare to find animal breeders, for example, who
incorporate organic values in their promotional materials (van Bueren et al. 2003 ;
Niggli 2007 ). Furthermore, there are no systematic studies of this industry.

13.1.4.2 Enviro/Protest

The Enviro/Protest Type operates with mainly regional products, but also uses
organic fair trade or convenience products to satisfy the consumer demand and to
attract urban middle and upper class consumer. This type includes entrepreneurs
who operate organic-only supermarkets or operate as regional organic wholesalers
for smaller supermarket chains, individual shops and restaurants. These new inno-
vators in organic retail also represent community values (Lyons 2007 ). However,
those suppliers often have to follow conventional business models (Higgins and
Lockie 2001 ), and concentrate their buying from farmers who meet their standards
and specifications.
Alternative entrepreneurs see themselves differently from large corporate big
retailers (Cody, 2005 cited in Lyons 2007 , p. 158), but they are nevertheless
embedded in a capitalist market structure, and increasingly ask for uniform products
that fulfill technical standards that can be supplied only by industrial organized
farms that produce for the mass market. As a result, they must hold larger farmers
to commercial standards and at the same time find it hard to accommodate the
lower and uneven production capacity and quality from small farmers (Burch and
Rickson 2001 ). Some large-scale farmers have the option to supply these organic
supermarkets. For these farmers, retailers offer a certain financial security.
The economies of scale weaken the position of small and medium-sized farmers
and conflicts with the ethical foundations of the IFOAM Principles. That is, the
hierarchical and profit-driven relationship even between the Enviro/Protest retailers