Organic Food and Agriculture

John Paull

doi:10.1007/978-94-007-6167-4_632-1

Abstract

Organic food is produced without the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Four further exclusions in organic production are: genetically modified organisms (GMOs), irradiation, prophylactic antibiotics, and engineered nanoparticles. These six exclusions differentiate organic agriculture from chemical agriculture. Agriculture and food harvesting and production date back millennia, and until about a century ago that history is de facto organic. The Industrial Revolution ushered in an era of novel production strategies. Agriculture was not immune to new views of industrialization and reductionism. Advances in chemistry enabled some implementation of such views. Early in the diffusion of chemical farming practices, the Austrian mystic Rudolf Steiner (1865–1924) called for a differentiated agriculture free of these new synthetic chemical inputs. The terminology, theory, and practices of biodynamic agriculture evolved (in the 1920s and 1930s) from Steiner’s Agriculture Course of 1924. It was a guided evolution, coordinated by Ehrenfried Pfeiffer (1899–1961) in Switzerland. The UK agriculturist, Lord Northbourne (1896–1982), invited Pfeiffer to lead a conference on biodynamics at his farm in Kent (in 1939). The following year Northbourne published his manifesto of organic farming, “Look to the Land.” In that book, he coined the term “organic farming” and wrote of a contest of “organic versus chemical farming”.The ideas and ideals of organic farming quickly proliferated internationally off the back of Northbourne’s 1940 book. Organic farming is now practiced in at least 179 countries, accounts for 50.9 million agricultural hectares, and a market value of US$ 81.6 billion (€75 billion).

Highlights

Consumers choose to purchase organic foods for a variety of reasons
Some of the commonly cited perceptions among consumers are that a) organic foods are grown without pesticides or other toxic chemicals and so they are healthier for them and their families, b) organic farming relies on more sustainable natural biological systems, which are better for the environment, c) practices and standards have evolved in the U.S to improve the treatment of organically raised livestock
When we look at loyalty with respect changes across the two time periods, there is a general pattern of increased organic purchasing in formats that have increased their organic offerings

Summary

Introduction

Consumers choose to purchase organic foods for a variety of reasons. Some of the commonly cited perceptions among consumers are that a) organic foods are grown without pesticides or other toxic chemicals and so they are healthier for them and their families, b) organic farming relies on more sustainable natural biological systems, which are better for the environment, c) practices and standards have evolved in the U.S to improve the treatment of organically raised livestock. Wal-Mart in 2006 launched an aggressive "going green and organic" campaign that would greatly increase the number of organic products they offered with a price target of only 10% above the price for conventional counterparts. This market expansion and low pricing strategy has enhanced competition among food retailers in the United States and encouraged consumers to rethink whether and where to buy organic foods: i.e. the choice of product type, organic or conventional, and the format of store in which the products were purchased. By 2005, the market share of natural food channels had dropped to 47% of sales

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