Organic agriculture and the conventionalization hypothesis: A case study from West Germany |
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Authors: | Henning Best |
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Institution: | (1) Institute for Applied Social Research, University of Cologne, Greinstr. 2, D-50939 Cologne, Germany |
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Abstract: | The recent growth in organic farming has given rise to the so-called “conventionalization hypothesis,” the idea that organic
farming is becoming a slightly modified model of conventional agriculture. Using survey data collected from 973 organic farmers
in three German regions during the spring of 2004, some implications of the conventionalization hypothesis are tested. Early
and late adopters of organic farming are compared concerning farm structure, environmental concern, attitudes to organic farming,
and membership in organic-movement organizations. The results indicate that organic farming in the study regions indeed exhibits
signs of incipient conventionalization. On average, newer farms are more specialized and slightly larger than established
ones and there is a growing proportion of farmers who do not share pro-environmental attitudes. Additionally, a number, albeit
small, of very large, highly specialized farms have adopted organic agriculture in the last years. However, the vast majority
of organic farmers, new and old ones included, still show a strong pro-environmental orientation.
Henning
Best
holds a MA in Sociology, History, and Ethnology from the University of Cologne, Germany in 2002. He acquired a PhD in Economics
and Social Sciences from the University of Cologne in 2006. From 2002 to 2004 he was research associate at the Research Institute
for Sociology, University of Cologne. Since 2004 he is researcher and lecturer at the Institute for Applied Social Research,
University of Cologne. His research interests include environmental sociology, social inequality, and quantitative methods
of social research. |
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Keywords: | Attitudes Conventionalization Environmental concern Organic agriculture Organic farming Organic movement Values |
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