Positioning Organic Ethics - Re-Thinking Organic Food and Farming in a Changing World - page 309

14.3.1 Steps Forward

To secure a value driven organic movement, we see three areas in which organic
actors could influence the future development of the movement.
Bringing values into the standards: The ethical foundations of organic agricul-
ture should be promoted as a key orientation for (organic) agriculture and food
legislation in national and international trade and governmental organizations (Padel
et al. 2007b , 2010 ; Stolze and Lampkin 2009 ). The latest invitation of the EU
for a “Consultation for the review of the European policy on organic agriculture”
is a serious step forward and an option to bring ethical concerns more into the
broader political and societal debate. 2 Also the latest activity on “Best Practice
Reference for Agriculture and its Value Chains” developed by the Sustainable
Organic Agriculture Action Network (SOAAN) 3 and approved for the global
organic movement by IFOAM, provide a guide with a more detailed translation
of the Principles into practices. The aim should be to better translate the values into
organic standards specifically in leading organic Western countrys' governmental
policies and regulations (Padel et al. 2007b , p. 29) and in international negotiations
concerning food standards (Friedmann 2005 ).
Societal collaborations: For the diffusion and extension of an organic approach,
the intensification of alliances with other societal movements with similar value
patterns is crucial (Holt-Gimenez and Shattuck 2011 ). Thus, up to this time the
future of organic lies in its ability to serve as an umbrella or a co-creator for diverse
individual and societal movements which share similar sets of values. Alrøe and
Kristensen ( 2004 ) argue that the Principles should be applied outside the organic
movement as well. That is, the organic movement should no longer be separated
from other value driven societal movements. The future of a value driven organic
movement therefore will depend on a successful mutual political acting of diverse
value communities.
Communicating and reflecting the values: If values are to play a more central
role in the organic movement, they must be continuously reviewed and studied in
all sectors of the organic agrofood chain. Specifically, those who are less subject
than producers to the organic standards, such as retailers, advisors, researchers,
certifiers, politicians and consumers, should be required to engage in discussions
of organic values and how they apply to their professional work (see the recommen-
dations in Sect. 13.2 ) . These activities also include the development of common
platforms/“value” communities with non-organic farmers who share interests and

2 IFOAM is currently (2012-2013) in an intense process of implementing new activities,—e.g. the
establishment of a global certification data base or the legislative process by consultation of “Best
Practice Reference for Agriculture and Its Value Chains”; see http://www.ifoam.org/ ; http://ec.
europa.eu/agriculture/organic/home_en