The concept of 'care'in product and process development in organic food production

Summary

Agriculture, the food industry, retail food outlets and consumers exhibit increasing interest in the organic form of production. During each of the last three years, the shift within agriculture to organic production has doubled (Kristensen & Nielsen, 1998). The concept of care plays a central role in both organic farming and subsequent processing. Organic farming organisations and the authorities have until now concentrated their efforts mainly on developing and operationalizing production criteria for primary production. However, the subsequent steps – processing and distribution – that bring the products to the consumer have not enjoyed the same attention.