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The nourishing earth: does organic food production meet the objectives for sustainable food consumption?

Georgina Holt
[History] Paper presented at the European Society for Rural Sociology, 20th Biennial Conference, Sligo, Ireland, 19-22 August 2003
January 2004

As the corporate-controlled share of the organic market continues to grow, and multiple retailers put downward pressure on organic premiums, many organic farmers and consumers are disillusioned with the direction that the organic movement has taken. At the same time, new markets are emerging that offer alternative outlets for farmers considering diversification and alternative products for consumers interested in sustainable patterns of food consumption. The growing 'environmentally friendly' food sector encompasses products from integrated and low input farming systems, but without restrictions on the scale of production and distribution. By contrast, although the local food sector encompasses products from both conventional and organic production systems the emphasis is on the means by which these arrive to consumers rather than the means by which they are produced. Further, the development of the 'environmentally friendly' market seems likely to remain within the mainstream food industry, whilst development of the local food market is currently fuelled by a myriad of grassroots initiatives. The purpose of this paper therefore is to explore the extent to which each of these markets (organic, environmentally friendly and local) has the potential to deliver social and environmental capital benefits to society. The paper presents findings from a series of interviews with stakeholders in the development of the markets, including key organisations involved in food policy and marketing and consumers. The paper reviews the different perspectives on drivers and barriers for development of the markets and identifies the issues that underlie the debate regarding sustainable food consumption.