The Changing Politics of Organic Food in North America

This volume describes the changing politics associated with organic food in North America from the 1960s to the 2000s, and how the organic movement created a set of principles that have been reinterpreted and redefined by practitioners, businesses, policy makers, advocates, and consumers. It focuses on the relationship between the organic movements in Canada and the US, the economic connections between their markets, and how their organic food regulations relate to each other. It analyzes the processes of institutionalization, to illustrate why specific principles and practices were included in conventional policy frameworks, business strategies, and the objectives of social activism, and why others were excluded. It discusses the effects of industrialization on agriculture in Canada and the US in the 20th century and the concepts of process vs. product-based organic food; the historical development of corporate activity in the conventional and organic agri-food sectors in relation to the development of the product-based definition; the development of organic standards at multiple levels of governance; the application of international trade agreements to organic food in the global economy; the changing political dynamics; and the current status of the organic movement and market. Annotation c2015 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)

Lisa F. Clark, Department of Bioresource Policy, Business and Economics, University of Saskatchewan, Canada