Organic Agriculture as Environmental Reform: A Cross-National Investigation

Abstract

Organic agriculture is a prime case for studying social processes of environmental reform. We empirically assess the environmental consequences of organic agriculture using cross-national data and find that greater area of organic agriculture land is associated with lower fertilizer consumption while larger average organic farm size is associated with higher fertilizer consumption. Then we investigate the cross-national factors influencing organic land area and average farm size. We test hypotheses derived from three theoretical perspectives: neoliberal modernization (NLM) theories, international political economy (IPE) theories, and world polity theory. In support of NLM theories, we find that agricultural export intensity is positively associated with organic agriculture land area. In support of IPE theories, we find that both economic development and agricultural export intensity have significant, positive effects on average organic farm size. World polity theory is supported with a positive association between number of environmental international nongovernmental organizations and organic land.