Organizing Organic

Michael Haedicke's book, Organizing Organic: Conflict and Compromise in an Emerging Market, is a welcome contribution to the study of the organic sector, which has seen tremendous growth since the late twentieth century. The growth of the sector, accompanied by the entrance of more traditional agricultural producers and retailers, has led to a significant amount of conflict and compromise among producers of organic food products. Using qualitative data and engaging with organizations scholarship, Haedicke traces the history of organic agriculture in the United States and provides an analysis of the current struggle to define the sector. The author applies the concept of institutional logics to better understand patterns of conflict and compromise in the organic sector and, in turn, uses his findings to engage in further development of organizational theory. Haedicke argues that there are two, competing, cultural understandings of the organic sector among organic producers. These cultural understandings guide participants’ actions and efforts to determine the structure of organizations and institutions within the organic sector. The first, termed “transformative,” sees the traditional organization of agricultural production as systemically flawed and calls for it to be restructured into a decentralized economy that, among other things, legitimates small-scale production and promotes civic community. The second cultural understanding, termed “expansionary,” embraces traditional business models and identifies market growth of the organic sector as the main goal of organic agriculture. Haedicke analyzes the development of these two cultural understandings; from the early years of organic farming to the battles over federal regulation in the late twentieth century and finally within the context of the current growth of the organic sector. In and of itself, Haedicke's historical account and construction of this cultural framework is useful in regard to how we understand the emergence of “big organic”—the entry of traditional corporations into the organic market—and its influence, for better or worse, on the political economy of food in the contemporary United States.

Agriculture · Compromise · Economic growth · Economics · Political science · Scholarship · Sociology · Transformative learning · History · Law · Organic Food and Agriculture

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