To me it is essential that organic farming maintains its credibility. If you start wrapping organic products into a layer of spurious stories, without a basis in reality, then I think it might eventually damage the credibility of organics. (Danish organic producer quoted in trade journal)
Abstract
Credibility is particularly important in organic food systems because there are only marginal visual and sensorial differences between organic and conventionally produced products, requiring consumers to trust in producers’ quality claims. In this article I explore what challenges the credibility of organic food systems and I explore how credibility of organic food systems can be maintained, using the Danish organic food system as a case study. The question is increasingly relevant as the sale of organic food is growing in Denmark as well as globally, and consumers’ expectations of organics continuously evolve. The inquiry is threefold, first I outline a conceptual framework for understanding trust and credibility in the food system, secondly I explore the developments in Danish organic food systems and thirdly discuss the challenges and opportunities for maintaining trust in the Danish organic food system. In the analysis I indicate eight key challenges: (1) unrealistic expectations, (2) blind trust and little motivation for extending their knowledge, (3) consumers assess the overall credibility of organic products, (4) ambitious ethical principles, (5) new consumer groups introduce new expectations, (6) frozen requirements in a changing world, (7) growing imports and labelling and (8) multiple versions of organics and the diversity is growing, as well as four aspects which may maintain the credibility of organics if implemented: (1) coordinate expectations, (2) communicate requested information, (3) institutional reform and (4) open communication of pros and cons of organic production.
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Notes
Associations of organic producers and consumers, known in Denmark as “Økologiens Hus” until 2002 later reorganised as “Økologisk Landsforening”.
The red Ø-label, which is still in use today.
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Acknowledgments
The research was funded by the MultiTrust project, part of the Organic Research, Development and Demonstration programme, which is coordinated by the International Centre for Research in Organic Food Systems (ICROFS). It is funded by The Danish AgriFish Agency, an agency of the Danish Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries. Furthermore, the author wishes to thank Dr. Hugo Alrøe for ideas, suggestions and debates, which have assisted in the development of the arguments presented in this article.
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Thorsøe, M.H. Maintaining Trust and Credibility in a Continuously Evolving Organic Food System. J Agric Environ Ethics 28, 767–787 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10806-015-9559-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10806-015-9559-6