Globalization, Corporatization and the Organic Philosophy:
Social Sustainability in Question

Lisa F. Clark

The traditional tenets of the organic philosophy include not only environmental sustainability, but also issues of social sustainability- including a commitment to localized agro-food chains, gender equality and fair/just labour practices. These principles represent the social integrity that has traditionally been an important part of what makes food ‘organic’, and have therefore, offered an alternative to conventional agricultural practices. The interpretations of these principles into the practices of the organic sector are in a state of change; but how this change is occurring is less explicit.

This paper argues that with the growing influence of business interests in organic agro-food chains, and the increase of organic agro-food transactions in global trade, the emphasis on issues of ‘process’ are becoming less of a determinant of what constitutes ‘organic’. Commitments to the social aspects of sustainability have been eroded as the organic supply chain has becoming increasingly a component of the global agro-food regime, which conforms to neo-liberal market principles.

By examining this issue from a political economy perspective, the factors of globalization and corporatization of the organic agro-food chain (what characterizes the new organics) will be addressed in the context of sustainability, as it is embodied in the traditional organic philosophy. The implications of these factors for social sustainability as part of the organic supply chain will be examined. Further, this paper will attempt to explain the changing nature of the organic sector in North America, as it finds itself between the traditional ideals of its social movement roots and the expansive, economic goals of a globalized industrial complex.

Full Paper

Source
Presented at the Social Research in Organic Agriculture Symposium. Guelph, Ontario. January 2006


Author Location and Affiliation
Department of Political Science, Simon Fraser University,lfclark@sfu.ca


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