Title: Goals and standards in Swedish organic farming: trading off between desirables

Authors: Rebecka Milestad, Maria Wivstad, Vonne Lund, Ulrika Geber

Addresses: Department of Urban and Rural Development, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7047, Uppsala S-750 07, Sweden. ' Department of Ecology and Plant Production, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7043, Uppsala S-750 07, Sweden. ' National Veterinary Institute, P.O. Box 8156 Dep., Oslo N-0033, Norway. ' Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7047, Uppsala S-750 07, Sweden

Abstract: Organic farming is an explicitly value-based movement working towards a set of goals. The standards of organic farming serve the purpose of telling organic producers what they need to do, to be certified organic, but they are also as a means to steer them towards the goals of organic production. Both standards and goals are dynamic and subject to change. While goals can be broad and idealistic, standards need to be technically and economically feasible, measurable and possible to inspect. Some authors claim that the use of a regulation in organic farming accelerates the process towards conventionalisation while others see standards as a prerequisite for the success of organic farming. This paper analyses some of the conflicts inherent in the organic goals and the gaps that appear between goals and standards in organic farming in Sweden. For example, the goal of minimising use of fossil fuels is at odds with some of the other goals of organic farming. A way to accommodate the gaps is to develop intermediate goals that can be closer connected to the standards than the overall goals.

Keywords: alternative agriculture; organic regulation; European Union; organic farming principles; organic standards; Sweden; organic agriculture.

DOI: 10.1504/IJARGE.2008.016977

International Journal of Agricultural Resources, Governance and Ecology, 2008 Vol.7 No.1/2, pp.23 - 39

Published online: 03 Feb 2008 *

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