Paper short abstract:

Why are consumers not buying more organic food than they do and what does one have to do so they will? Examining discussion forums between bio-farmers and distributors, this paper looks at how these actors problematize the web of agricultural, political and economic constraints and consumer whim.

Paper long abstract:

Environmental and health concerns have drawn increasing attention to ecologically produced foods. Scientific insights and public pressures have brought forth both policies and incentives for farmers to produce within parameters avoiding the chemical enhancements that are part of conventional agriculture.

Adhering to the strictures allowing them to market their wares with bio labels is what qualifies these actors and their products as organic. But in carrying out their work, these actors face further challenges. Farmers and others in the organic food supply chain have to base their practices also on needs of plants and livestock while at the same time trying to act according to the temporalities and requirements of a market, in which they need to stay successful or at least “in business.”

The percentage of citizens favoring environmentally conscious, “greener” politics has grown considerably, yet when shopping, citizen consumers in Germany only choose about 7% foods labelled as biologically produced. During discussion forums, actors who produce and/or distribute organic food saw a primary means to address this gap in challenging existing narratives about sustainability, organic food, and those who are involved in producing it. However, they also reflected upon structural problems within the organic sector that cannot be addressed merely by “communicating better.”

This paper takes its point of departure from these discussion forums held with ecological farmers, representatives of organic certifiers, distributors and sellers. It examines their ways of problematizing the complex web of agricultural, political and economic constraints and consumer whim.