The Changing Politics of Organic Food in North America

The Changing Politics of Organic Food in North America explores the political dynamics of the remarkable transition of organic food from a 'fringe fad' in the 1960s to a multi-billion dollar industry in the 2000s. Taking a multidisciplinary, institutionalist approach that integrates social movement theory, public policy analysis and value chain analysis, it tells the story of how the organic movement responded to the social, economic and political changes brought on by the rise of industrial agriculture in the twentieth century.This book examines how the changing constellation of actors, institutions and ideas involved in the politics of organic food influenced the evolving goals and principles of the organic movement, including the muting of social and political organic principles in formal policy and the eclipse of the 'process-based' definition of organic by the 'product-based' definition. It discusses the integration of organic food into the globalized food system and how food and agriculture movements have responded to the forces of industrialization and globalization, as well as critically analyzing the vulnerability of social movements that do not address market interactions in their mandates.

This timely and impactful book is a theoretical and empirical resource for researchers and advanced students working on organic food, agriculture, comparative public policy analysis, trade policy, institutionalism and social movements, as well as those involved in making food and agriculture policy.