ORGANIC FARMING An International History In memory of Ben Stinner His insightful intelligence, quick wit and engaging geniality delighted and inspired all who knew him Organic Farming An International History Edited by William Lockeretz Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. CABI is a trading name of CAB International CABI Head Office CABI North American Office Nosworthy Way 875 Massachusetts Avenue Wallingford 7th Floor Oxfordshire OX10 8DE Cambridge, MA 02139 UK USA Tel: +44 (0)1491 832111 Tel: +1 617 395 4056 Fax: +44 (0)1491 833508 Fax: +1 617 354 6875 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.cabi.org ©CAB International 2007. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronically, mechanically, by photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owners. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library, London, UK. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Organic farming: an international history / William Lockeretz, editor. p. cm. ISBN 978-0-85199-833-6 (alk. paper) -- ISBN 978-1-84593-289-3 (ebook) 1. Organic farming--History. 2. Organic farming--Societies, etc. I. Lockeretz, William. II. Title. S605.5.0667 2007 631.5'84--dc22 2007012464 ISBN-13: 978 0 85199 833 6 Typeset by SPi, Pondicherry, India. Printed and bound in the UK by Cromwell Press, Trowbridge. The paper used for the text pages of this book is FSC certified. The FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) is an international network to promote responsible management of the world’s forests. Contents Contributors vii Foreword ix Nadia El-Hage Scialabba I: Origins and Principles 1. What Explains the Rise of Organic Farming? 1 W. Lockeretz 2. The Origins of Organic Farming 9 G. Vogt 3. Organic Values 30 M. Sligh and T. Cierpka 4. The Science of Organic Farming 40 D.H. Stinner 5. The Evolution of Organic Practice 73 U. Niggli II: Policies and Markets 6. The Development of Governmental Support for Organic Farming in Europe 93 S. Padel and N. Lampkin v vi Contents 7. The Organic Market 123 J. Aschemann, U. Hamm, S. Naspetti and R. Zanoli 8. Development of Standards for Organic Farming 152 O. Schmid III: Organizations and Institutions 9. IFOAM and the History of the International Organic Movement 175 B. Geier 10. The Soil Association 187 P. Conford and P. Holden 11. Ecological Farmers Association and the Success of Swedish Organic Agriculture 201 I. Källander 12. MAPO and the Argentinian Organic Movement 217 D. Foguelman 13. NASAA and Organic Agriculture in Australia 225 E. Wynen and S. Fritz 14. FiBL and Organic Research in Switzerland 242 U. Niggli 15. The Organic Trade Association 253 K. DiMatteo and G. Gershuny IV: Challenges 16. A Look Towards the Future 264 B. Geier, I. Källander, N. Lampkin, S. Padel, M. Sligh, U. Niggli, G. Vogt and W. Lockeretz Index 275 Contributors Aschemann, Jessica, Department of Agricultural and Food Marketing, Faculty of Organic Agricultural Sciences, University of Kassel, Stein- strasse 19, 37213 Witzenhausen, Germany. E-mail: j.aschemann@ uni-kassel.de Cierpka, Thomas, International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements, Charles-de-Gaulle-Str. 5, 53113 Bonn, Germany. E-mail: [email protected] Conford, Philip, 88 St. Pancras, Chichester, West Sussex PO19 7LR, UK. E-mail: [email protected] DiMatteo, Katherine, Wolf & Associates, Inc., 90 George Lamb Road, Ley- den, MA 01337, USA. E-mail: [email protected] Foguelman, Dina, Movimiento Argentino para la Producción Orgánica (MAPO), Sarmiento 1562 6° F, Buenos Aires, Argentina. E-mail: [email protected] Fritz, Sandy, Southern Rivers Catchment Management Authority, 1194 Wattamolla Rd., Berry, NSW 2535, Australia. E-mail: Sandy.fritz@ cma.nsw.gov.au Geier, Bernward, Colabora, Alefeld 21, 53804 Much, Germany. E-mail: [email protected] Gershuny, Grace, Gaia Services, 1417 Joe’s Brook Road, St. Johnsbury, VT 05819, USA. E-mail: [email protected] Hamm, Ulrich, Department of Agricultural and Food Marketing, Faculty of Organic Agricultural Sciences, University of Kassel, Steinstrasse 19, 37213 Witzenhausen, Germany. E-mail: [email protected] Holden, Patrick, Soil Association, South Plaza, Marlborough Street, Bristol BS1 3NX, UK. E-mail: [email protected] vii viii Contributors Källander, Inger, Ecological Farmers Association, Gäverstad Gård, 614 94 Söderköping, Sweden. E-mail: [email protected] Lampkin, Nicolas, Organic Research Group, Institute of Rural Sciences, University of Wales, Aberystwyth SY23 3AL, UK. E-mail: nhl@ aber.ac.uk Lockeretz, William, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Poli- cy, Tufts University, 150 Harrison Ave., Boston, MA 02111, USA. E-mail: [email protected] Naspetti, Simona, Department DIIGA, Faculty of Engineering, Poly- technic University of Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, 60131 Ancona, Italy. E-mail: [email protected] Niggli, Urs, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), Ackerstrasse, 5070 Frick, Switzerland. E-mail: [email protected] Padel, Susanne, Organic Research Group, Institute of Rural Sciences, University of Wales, Aberystwyth SY23 3AL, UK. E-mail: spx@ aber.ac.uk Schmid, Otto, Research Institute for Organic Farming (FiBL), Acker- strasse, 5070 Frick, Switzerland. E-mail: [email protected] Sligh, Michael, RAFI-USA, PO Box 640, Pittsboro, NC 27312, USA. E-mail: [email protected] Stinner, Deborah H., Organic Food and Farming Education and Research Program, The Ohio State University, Ohio Agriculture Research and Development Center, 1680 Madison Ave., Wooster, OH, 44691, USA. E-mail: [email protected] Vogt, Gunter, Friedrich-Naumann-Str. 91, 76187 Karlsruhe, Germany. E-mail: [email protected] Wynen, Els, Eco Landuse Systems, 3 Ramage Place, 2615 Flynn, Canberra, Australia. E-mail: [email protected] Zanoli, Raffaele, Department DIIGA, Faculty of Engineering, Polytech- nic University of Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, 60131 Ancona, Italy. E-mail: [email protected] Foreword When I was asked to write this foreword, it provided me with a won- derful excuse to sit back, ponder, pull together my thoughts and take a serious look at this oasis of ours, organic agriculture: what we have done, how far we have come and, of course, where we are going, how we will get there, whom we will take with us and how all the work that has gone on might provide even more benefits for the future. When does the history of this thing we now call ‘organic agricul- ture’ begin? Some say that it actually began thousands of years ago, when hunter-gatherers settled down and took up farming. After all, farmers of the remote past certainly did not have to deal with synthetic chemicals! However, true organic agriculture is practised by intent, not by default; you do not automatically become organic simply because you never used prohibited chemicals anyway. This makes it clear that organic agriculture started much more recently. It is hard to specify exactly when, but early landmarks include the founding of biodynamic agriculture in the 1920s, the emergence of a strongly organized move- ment in the UK in the 1940s and the promulgation of the first organic production standards in the 1960s. Whenever it may be considered to have begun, throughout most of its history organic agriculture grew without institutional and political support, to the surprise of many sceptics. The sector is expanding not only economically (i.e. market share), but also in its sociocultural importance. We have gone from ‘earth mothers’ to highly respected reformers who have developed the concepts which, in turn, have led to standards that not only provide the basis for growing products while ix x Foreword respecting the environment, but have recently also been including so- cial justice standards. Philosophical, environmental and food safety issues have driven the demand for organic commodities, but organic agriculture also re- stores a human face to agriculture by giving attention to an ‘agri-culture’ that values farmers’ work and local traditions and foods. Somehow, the organic ethic has tried to deal with some of the overwhelming aspects of globalization by balancing science and morality. This book provides a timely opportunity for all of us – those who have been involved with organic agriculture for a long time, as well as those who are circling on the outside trying to decide what they think of all these ideas about agriculture – to get an overview of what needs to be done in a variety of contexts to continue reaping benefits, but also to share those benefits with others. An understanding of the growth of organic agriculture in developed countries – including both its achieve- ments and setbacks – offers newcomers from the developing world a headstart in building upon their traditional systems, with a view to creating more sustainable food systems. Of course, organic agriculture has potential for farmers in all nations. But think about what it means in the developing world in particular, where farmers – struggling to feed themselves and their families and hoping to have food left over to sell in the market – can take advantage of a system that allows them to flourish in the absence of external support. While modern agriculture has unilaterally privileged a scientific and economic model based on mechanistic and quantitative concepts of the non-organic world, the organic community complements scien- tific investigation with active creativity, whereby farmers can rely on their intelligence instead of capital and on their own knowledge and labour to add value to locally available resources. Contrast this with the global trends towards unbalanced diets (more animal products, sugars and fats), the concentration of food markets in the hands of a few large retailers and reduced national control over the flow of resources. Re- source degradation from intensification and specialization poses chal- lenges for agriculture and society as a whole.