Framework for Re-thinking Ethics in the Organic Movement - Re-Thinking Organic Food and Farming in a Changing World - page 283

13.2.5.1 The Relevance of Ethics and IFOAM Principles—An Issue

of Science

There are a series of in-depth investigations about the theoretical foundations of
IFOAM Principles (e.g., Kaltoft 1999 ; Alrøe and Kristensen 2000 , 2004 ; Tybirk
et al. 2004 ; Freyer 2008 ; Padel et al. 2009 ). Additionally, there is comprehensive
research on animal welfare on organic farms that refers to the standards or EU-
Regulations, but with some exceptions, not the IFOAM Principles (Vaarst 2004 ;
Vaarst et al. 2005 ; Aerts et al. 2006 ; Sundrum 2007 ; Vaarst and Alrøe 2012 ).
In addition, there are several studies of organic ethics and values of numerous
organic actors from different perspective, as illustrated in this volume. Following
the literature, the focus in this volume has been mainly on farmers and consumers,
and less on other actors along the organic agrofood chain, e.g., certifiers, advisors,
processors or retailers ethical background. Much current research refers to ethical
issues, but there is little or no research on the knowledge of organic actors specifi-
cally of the IFOAM Principles (Padel 2005 ; Gössinger et al. 2009c ). Questionnaires
rarely ask directly about the knowledge, significance, or the role of IFOAM
Principles, rather than values and ethics more indirectly. Instead, researchers are
more focused on interpreting to what degree the answers of interviewees conform
to one of the IFOAM Principles. Do scientists assume apriori that organic actors
in general do not know the Principles and therefore they do not refer on those
in their questionnaires? If so, then there exists a communication gap between
the administrators of the Principles, their communication strategy and the organic
movement, but also between researchers and the IFOAM strategists.

13.2.5.2 The Value System of Organic Researchers

Several researchers write about ethical issues, such as animal welfare, or connecting
ethics and the IFOAM Principles (see also Browne et al. 2000 ; Darnhofer 2006 ;
Lund 2006 ; Zollitsch et al. 2007 ; Vaarst and Alrøe 2012 ) or with plants (see
Willemsen 2009 ). Many others, some of whom are cited in this volume, do research
on ethics and organic agriculture in social science or philosophy (e.g., Alrøe and
Noe 2008 ; Thompson 2010 ). But what is known about the values of “organic”
researchers? In short, little or nothing.
Furthermore, there is no information about the relevance of ethics to the
formulation of research programs. Those who do technically oriented research on
organic do not specifically identify an ethical approach in conceptualizing their
research that could be linked to the IFOAM Principles. They do not address this
issue when they formulate their research questions or collaborate with farmers or
do science. Moreover, there is no tradition in calls for organic research proposals
of asking how the proposed research contributes to ethical discourses in organic or
corresponds to the general framework of the IFOAM Principles.