Framework for Re-thinking Ethics in the Organic Movement - Re-Thinking Organic Food and Farming in a Changing World - page 270

system. The question to pursue is: what makes the implementation of ethics into
standards, as well as in control and certification systems, so challenging?
In order to address this question, it is useful to recall that morals cannot be
controlled by law (Pieper 1994 , p. 20). Each person is free to act independently.
As Jean Piaget (1896-1980), argues, we can only discuss moral understanding
and behavior; ethical orientations are not subject to “compulsion from outside, but
guarantee the highest degree of freedom for all members of a community. Only a
rule, which fulfills this objective, is a moral rule” (ibid.).
Each individual has the freedom and duty to translate the ethical message of the
IFOAM Principles into concrete practices (cf. Meadows et al. 2005 , p. 289). But
this 'free decision' does not guarantee that individuals make use of the IFOAM
Principles. Even if the values defined as standards, this would not always influence
concrete practices (Busch 2011 ).
Instead there is need for individuals to be with a supportive community in order
engage in “virtue” oriented action (see Chap. 2 ) . “The paradox is that it is extremely
difficult for individuals, even the most environmentally committed, to act without
leadership, without strong social support, and without a market structure that makes
sustainable living feasible” (Isenhour 2010 , p. 151).
While farmers and consumers are relatively open to apply the instrumentalist
values of organic, participating in the organic system with respect to social and
economic values requires a mental conversion (Källander and Rundgren 2008 ,
p. 6). Such a mental conversion similar to what Hay ( 2010 , p. 168) argues, to
be sustainable and resilient in our own lives, as well as in our organizations and
communities, we need more commitment and effort—a new way of life, derived
from a view of identity in context within a network of relationships and of personal
development in service to society.
Is there a potential to implement social and economic values specifically in
private guidelines and control systems? From a philosophical (value of freedom),
ethical but also practical point of view this integration has its limits (Whyte
and Thompson 2010 ). Separate from a partly broader formalization of social and
economic ethics into private regulations, there are participatory farmer-consumer
collaborations using non-regulatory more process oriented approaches that could
strengthen ethics in these food networks (e.g., Allen 2008 ). 14 Also, Fair Trade
offers formalized practices representing “a particular type of relationship between
'ethical consumers' and low- income producer households through international
trade” (Hayes 2006 , p. 447).

13.2.2 Consumers Ethics in the Organic Agrofood Chain

The average shopper now finds a bewildering array of organic (and so-called
“natural”) food products from which to choose in most grocery stores. Not unlike