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Organic Farmers Celebrate Organic Research: A Sociology of Popular Science

  • Chapter
Counter-Movements in the Sciences

Part of the book series: Sociology of the Sciences a Yearbook ((SOSC,volume 3))

Abstract

It is going to take a lot more knowledge to develop a sane, stable agriculture than it did to develop our present, conventional system, just as it took a lot longer to develop the science of ecology than it did mathematics or chemistry.(1)

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Notes and References

  1. Dennis King, ‘Is Science Advanced Enough for Biological Agriculture?’ Farmstead Magazine, Summer 1977, Vol. 4, No. 3, p.19.

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  12. Pfeiffer’s book became the chief U.S. Biodynamic text and his writings made up the Biodynamics newsletter. In this latter, he sometimes wrote under pseudonyms, hoping to disguise his dominance in the movement.

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  22. The striking exception was the work of Lady Eve Balfour at Haughley Farm. Balfour set up three sub-farms on her land: (1) organic, (2) conventional, (3) mixed. However, she never collected any baseline data on her land, crops, or animals. Although her ‘experiment’ was continued by the Soil Association for over 25 years, it was abandoned in 1970 in view of these problems and recent deviations in applying her conditions.

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  44. The crop analysis referred to here was done by Edwin Harrington, Agricultural Chemist, Carversville, Pa., April 21, 1953.

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  48. Friends of the Land was both a newsletter and the name of Bromfield’s loose association of fellow organic farmers and land reformers.

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  58. The Center for Science In the Public Interest is a Washington-based.

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  66. Older revivals, including Country Journal, Countryside, Farmstead, and Acres. U.S.A. have also captured some of the new organic market since the mid-1960s.

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  75. This story was picked up in several interviews, some on- and some off-the-record. Because of the assurances I gave to some respondents, I have decided to leave all of them unidentified.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. McGill University, Canada

    Suzanne Peters

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  1. Suzanne Peters
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Helga Nowotny Hilary Rose

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© 1979 D. Reidel Publishing Company

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Peters, S. (1979). Organic Farmers Celebrate Organic Research: A Sociology of Popular Science. In: Nowotny, H., Rose, H. (eds) Counter-Movements in the Sciences. Sociology of the Sciences a Yearbook, vol 3. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-9421-8_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-9421-8_12

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-90-277-0972-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-009-9421-8

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