How can organic farming contribute to the sustainable production and consumption patterns?

Summary

The project’s overall objective is to define the sustainability of organic agriculture based on three two-part dimensions that must be confronted with each other and balanced, namely, (1) economic sustainability: competitive position and potential for development, (2) environmental sustainability: reproduction of resources and balance of specific externalities; and (3) social sustainability: innovative abilities and social/territorial externalities.
These dimensions must be evaluated, matched up with effective sets of references, and backed up by policy instruments.This makes it possible to define the research’s specific aims: (1)To establish technical references for the two major stakes linked to the organic ranching and fattening of cattle, namely, rations and health. That entails making use of/improving the positive externalities of organic cattle ranching schemes (nitrogen balance, biodiversity) and analysing their environmental and social costs; (2) To study and test the organisational forms that permit negotiation between marketing requirements and the dimensions of sustainability and to reinforce the guarantees that the various production and processing networks appear to give consumers; (3) To analyse consumer demand and the most suitable communication tools and to initiate a participatory and experimental approach to negotiation.