Framework for Re-thinking Ethics in the Organic Movement - Re-Thinking Organic Food and Farming in a Changing World - page 264

However, there are indications of change, including serious alternative
approaches to re-balance these relationships between farmers and corporate
marketing. This re-balancing is sensitive to the values of IFOAM Principles, but
does not specifically refer to them.
To justify the organic premium, and to create trust, more distributors and retailers
are giving serious attention to health, environmental and social issues. For example
an Austrian retailer certifies organic products with an additional CO 2 -Certificate
in producing their organic products (Lindenthal et al. 2009 ; Hörtenhuber et al.
2010 , 2011 ). Others subscribe to the principles of Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR) and specifically, Corporate Social Performance (CSP). Obviously CSR/CSP
influence positively trust of consumers into organic products in the retail market
(Pivato et al. 2008 ; Perrini et al. 2010 ) and positively influence Corporate Financial
Performance (CFP). That means on the one hand that consumers are sensitive to
social issues; on the other hand, retailers develop marketing strategies to justify the
organic premium price by making more visible the values behind the label. Retailers
selling both organic and non-organic products are also aware of the conflict which
would arise if consumers realize the circumstances under which the majority of
their food is produced (Lyons 2007 ). That is, bringing organic to the shelf affects
the overall marketing strategy of non-organic products.
Additionally, it is important to consider the interests and values of the agricultural
input industries with respect to becoming part of organic development. Agricultural
supply firms are equally important and often-overlooked players that influence
the future development of organic. Organic farms do not offer important sales
opportunities for these firms. In Austria, for example in cash crop farms, the average
organic farmers' expenditure for inputs is only about 1.4 % of their total income,
whereas the average expenditure by conventional farmers represents about 27,4 %
of their total income (LBG 2010 ). 10 Thus, it is not surprising that organic farms are
of rather limited interest for the agriculture supply industry. In contrast, the food
industry actively integrates organic products in their processing, product lines and
shelves.

13.1.5 Reflections on Our Typology of Ethics in the Organic

Agrofood System

The analysis of the role and awareness of ethics and the IFOAM Principles in
the organic movement today identifies similarities in the different sectors or actor
groups that are part of, or linked with the organic agrofood chain, but also express
specific actor group characteristics.
The typology that we applied here presents a “central” or dominant tendency for
each type. Empirical data on ethics along the organic agrofood chain confirm that