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UC San Diego UC San Diego Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Adapting to contradiction : competing models of organization in the United States organic foods industry Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0w7153nr Author Haedicke, Michael Anthony Publication Date 2008 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO Adapting to Contradiction: Competing Models of Organization in the United States Organic Foods Industry A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology by Michael Anthony Haedicke Committee in charge: Professor Richard Biernacki, Chair Professor Amy Binder Professor Maria Charles Professor David Serlin Professor Kathryn Woolard 2008 Copyright Michael Anthony Haedicke, 2008 All rights reserved. The dissertation of Michael Anthony Haedicke is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication on microfilm: Chair University of California, San Diego 2008 iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Signature Page …….………..……………………………………………………. iii Table of Contents …………..……………………………………………………. iv List of Tables ..……………...……………………………………………………. v List of Figures …………………………………………………………………… vi Acknowledgements ………...……………………………………………………. vii Vita ………………………………………………………………………………. x Abstract of the Dissertation ...……………………………………………………. xiii Chapter 1: Cultural Contradictions in the Organic Industry ………………… 1 Chapter 2: Cargill and Goji Berries: Uneven Rationalization in the Organic Industry ………………… 47 Chapter 3: Creating Alternative Economies: Industry Change and Collective Identity in Organic Foods Co-ops …………………………………………… 105 Chapter 4: Converting Acres and Changing Culture: Vocabularies of Motive and Symbolic Boundaries in the Organic Industry ……………………………..…………… 149 Chapter 5: Framing Motivations and Involving Consumers …...…………… 199 Chapter 6: Conclusion ….…………………………………………………… 251 Methodological Appendix ….…………………………………………………… 264 References ………………….…………………………………………………… 293 iv LIST OF TABLES Table 1.1: Growth in the United States organic foods market ……………… 9 Table 1.2: Characteristics of rationalized and humanistic models of organization ……………………………..…………… 35 Table 4.1: Environmentalist frames ………………………………………… 169 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1: NOP marketing denominations …………………….…………… 67 vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In his book The Diversity of Life, the biologist Edward O. Wilson describes a moment during a trip to the Amazon when the rain forest itself seems to sing. Of course, it is an illusion: the sounds of diverse species, each in their own walks of life, blend together and create the “voice” of nature. So it is with a dissertation. The polished authorial voice conceals the fact that much of the work of authorship involves harmonizing the contributions of diverse others. Without their growls, howls and bellows, the voice of the author would be puny indeed. First in the chorus, I wish to thank the members of the organic foods industry and the other individuals who generously set aside time to participate in my research. I learned more than I ever thought possible about food politics, the grocery industry and organic agriculture from my formal interviews and my conversations with these people. Although I often felt unsure about what questions to ask, these respondents always responded patiently and in great detail. They also encouraged my interest in the organic industry. I would especially like to thank the members of the organic foods co-op who welcomed me into board meetings during my research. From my research, I developed a deep respect for the work of these industry members and for the diverse visions that they have of a cleaner, safer and more humane world. I benefited from the encouragement and intellectual support of a fabulous dissertation committee during my work. Rick Biernacki, my advisor, provoked my interest in culture and economic life by inviting me to attend a special seminar in the vii summer before my first year of graduate school and has guided my explorations in this area since that time. As committee chair, he provided unwavering support and gently prompted me to strengthen the argument in innumerable ways. I have also benefited from many conversations with Maria Charles, whose careful reading and rigorous logic not only improved my drafts, but also provided a model of professorship that has influenced my own aspirations as a teacher and a scholar. I first met Amy Binder through her book Contentious Curricula and found her even more inspirational in person. Amy was my guide through the rough and wild terrain that lies between social movements research and organizational theory and offered valuable advice on how to write a dissertation and what to do with it once it was finished. Kit Woolard helped me understand connections between the sociology of culture and anthropology and pointed out dissonant parts of the dissertation so that I could resolve them before they disrupted the work. David Serlin provided thoughtful commentary about cultural capital, useful information about natural foods co-ops, and much-appreciated kindness throughout the research and writing. My friends and colleagues in the Sociology Department at UCSD also helped me bring this work to completion without losing my sanity or my sense of humor. Among the graduate students, I would especially like to thank Moira Mackinnon, Miriam Padolsky, Daniela Carpano, Melody Chiong, Rika Yonemura Fabian, Jas He, Charlene Bredder, Caroline Lee, Paula Gutierrez, Nadav Gabay, Shehzad Nadeem and Devon Smith. Faculty members who offered advice about research, writing, job seeking, and the academic life include April Linton, Jeff Haydu, Mary Blair-Loy, viii Steven Epstein, John Evans, Andy Lakoff, Isaac Martin, Tomás Jiménez and Kwai Ng. I also benefited from the support of the wonderful Sociology Department staff, including graduate coordinators Jo Rudolph, Rafael Acevedo and Manny de la Paz. In addition, I would like to thank Carrie Wastal, Sara Safdie, Nancy Hesketh and Nicolette Cook at the Muir College Writing Program for their flexibility and encouragement during my final year at UCSD. I could never have written this dissertation without my family’s support. My parents, David and Susan Haedicke, helped me navigate the many pitfalls of graduate school and taught me the value of knowledge and hard work. Their visits to San Diego helped keep me going during difficult times. My brothers, Daniel Haedicke and Stephen Oshyn, my sister-in-law Kris Oshyn, and Monica Lira always reminded me that interesting things exist outside of academia (like rock climbing and Mexican cooking) and never failed to at least act interested in my research. And no one in my family ever asked me the dreaded question: So, when will you be finished? For this and everything else, they deserve thanks. Finally, I would like to thank Ruth Kleast. Ruth has shared this experience with me from the very beginning and her love, creativity and encouragement have shaped this work in more ways than I can count. In the chorus of life, her voice always stands out. ix VITA Education 2008 Ph.D. in Sociology, University of California, San Diego. 2003 M.A. in Sociology, University of California, San Diego. 1999 B.A. in Sociology, cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, Kalamazoo College. Academic Positions 2008 Assistant Professor of Sociology, Drake University, Department for the Study of Culture and Society Conference Presentations 2008 The Contested Terrain of Consumption Studies Annual Meeting Consumer Citizenship in the Organic Foods Industry 2008 The American Sociological Association Annual Meeting Neither Convergence nor Inertia: Strategic Agency in Cooperative Natural Foods Retailers 2007 American Sociological Association Annual Meeting Production Standards and Moral Exchanges: Building Symbolic Bridges in the Organic Foods Industry 2007 ASA Collective Behavior and Social Movements Section Meeting “Food For People Not For Profit”: Culture and Professionalization in Second Wave Food Cooperatives 2007 Southwest/Texas Popular Culture Association Annual Meeting The End of Organic as We Know It? Market Growth and Moral Boundaries in the Organic Foods Industry 2006 American Sociological Association Annual Meeting Corporate Social Responsibility as a Managerial Ideology x 2005 Pacific Sociological Association Annual Meeting Organic Foods in France: Moral Panic or Unique Response? 2003 American Sociological Association Annual Meeting Language Shift and Purism: A Comparative Analysis 2003 UCLA Graduate Student Qualitative Research Conference and Institute for Labor and Employment Graduate Student Conference Land, Labor, and Nativist Ideologies in California Independently-taught Courses 2007 SOCA104: Methods of Participant Observation Teaching Assistantships 2007-8 MCWP40: Muir College Analytic Writing Program 2006 SOC20: Social Change in the Modern World 2006 USP2: Urban World Systems 2005 SOCL50: Introduction to Law and Society 2004, 2005 MMW2 and MMW3: Making of the Modern World: College Level Writing Instruction Program 2002, 2003, 2006 SOCA100: Classical Sociological Theory 2002 SOCL20: American Society 2001 SOC1A: Introduction to Sociology: The Study of Society Research Assistantships 2007 “Immigration and the Health Care System: An Institutional Analysis” by Dr. Alejandro Portes, Princeton University 2003 “Equal Employment Opportunity Lawsuits and the United Auto Workers” by Dr. Paul Frymer, University of California,

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