Organic Certification and the Rationalization of Alternative Food and Agriculture: Sustainable Shrimp Farming in Indonesia - Re-Thinking Organic Food and Farming in a Changing World - page 44

The remaining sections of this chapter are organized as follows. First, research
on alternative food and agriculture is reviewed. Particular attention is given to the
proliferation of certification as a governance mechanism in alternative agrifood
initiatives. Second, the sustainable shrimp project in Indonesia is briefly outlined.
Third is an analysis of the changes that occurred in the sustainable shrimp project
with organic certification. Specifically, the focus is on the introduction of formal
standards, measures, and audits that have affected the principles and practices of
the project. In concluding, this chapter discusses the implications of the findings for
alternative food and agriculture more generally. Specifically, I argue that certifica-
tion may be producing alternative agrifood initiatives that are highly rationalized,
but embody shallow forms of social justice and environmental sustainability.

3.2 Alternative Food, Agriculture, and Governance

Alternative forms of food and agriculture have proliferated in response to food
safety and quality, environmental, and labor problems associated with corporate-
driven, industrial agrifood production. They tend to share the view that industrial-
ized agriculture is unethical and unsustainable, as it prioritizes the maximization
of corporate profits at the expense of food safety and quality, small-farmers'
livelihoods, and cultural and ecological diversity (Freidberg 2004 ; DeLind and
Howard 2008 ). In general, alternative agrifood initiatives are outcomes of efforts by
farmers, social movement organizations (SMOs), states, and business to reorganize
the production, distribution, and consumption of food with the aim of advancing
high quality, socially just, and environmentally sustainable food.
While alternative food and agriculture is characterized by significant diversity
and embodies a plethora of causes (e.g., the improvement of workers' and farmers'
rights, environmental protection, and animal welfare), it shares the common goal of
embedding food and agriculture in networks where social, economic, and ecological
relations are fair, just, and democratic (Goodman 2003 ; Renard 2003 ). In the
language of conventions theory, this means that alternative forms of food and
agriculture are ideally based on trust (domestic conventions) and seek to balance
social and environmental responsibility (civic conventions) with price (commercial
conventions), and efficiency and reliability (industrial conventions) (Reardon and
Berdegue 2002 ). Thus, a key characteristic of alternative food and agriculture is its
democratic and participatory practices that enable producers and consumers to have
voice in the kinds of food produced and how it is produced (Patel et al. 2007 ).
One mechanism for increasing consumer participation in food and agriculture
used by many alternative agrifood initiatives is to de-fetishize food by making
transparent where, how, and by whom it is produced (Barham 2002 ; Hudson and
Hudson 2003 ). In doing so, the idea is to empower consumers to make informed
choices about the food they eat and how it is produced. Thus, in alternative food
and agriculture, consumption is a key site where individuals can exercise freedom
and responsibility (Barnett et al. 2005 ). Hence, advertising, product labeling, and