„Ökologische Modernisierung“ durch Biologischen Landbau in Österreich?MarkusSchermerauthorOrganic farming is finding increasingly widespread acceptance. The paper tries to examine whether the growth of organic farming is also connected with a transformation of economy and society under the heading of “ecological modernisation”. We use the example of Austria which is the EU-country with the highest percentage of organic farm area. The results of a survey undertaken in the frame of the EU-Project „Further Development of Organic Farming Policy in Europe, with Particular Emphasis on EU Enlargement“, EU-CEE-OFP are interpreted along the grid of ecological modernisation (GIBBS, 2000). The analysis suggests that the impact of organic farming was so far moderate and only towards a weak form. However there is a certain future potential in the combination of organic with regional development. Policy environments and social economyEurope2005kassel university press GmbH, KasselConference paper, poster, etc.