11376: Our Organic Future - Cottage, Corporate, Commodified or Containerized?

Paull, John (2007) Our Organic Future - Cottage, Corporate, Commodified or Containerized?. Paper presented at National Conference of Organics Aotearoa New Zealand: Our Organic Future - Cottage or Corporate?, Lincoln University, New Zealand, 17 -19 August 2007.

Summary

Abstract
China achieved a remarkable 1000% increase in organically managed land in 2006. Chinese organic certification is described as the most stringent in the world, and China has both political references and an economic agenda congruent with an organic future. Australian consumers (N = 221) valued produce of Australia at 26.0% more than produce of China. This gap diminished to 10.7% comparing Australia to China/Certified Organic. The valuation gap increased to 28.9% comparing Australia/Certified Organic to China /Certified Organic; and stretched to 43.9% comparing Australia/Certified Organic to China. While Australian consumers are sensitive to provenance, and expressed a resistance to accepting food from China, Australasian food processors suppress the provenance of food by invoking FSANZ food labelling rules, and applying the attribution: “Made from imported and local ingredients”. By importing organic ingredients and additionally choosing an Australasian certifier for that imported produce, the suppression of provenance is complete, and thereby both the illusion of localness, and the consumer perception of value, is thus maximized. Perhaps, following in the path of manufacturing industries, Australasian agriculture can be successfully offshored?

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