Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Organic Farming, Prototype for Sustainable Agricultures pp 347–365Cite as

Framing the Social, Ecological and Economic Goods and Services Derived from Organic Agriculture in the Canadian Context

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

Abstract

Consumer support for organic products continues to grow in Canada and the US. At the same time, the characteristics of organic agriculture and the wider social and political context in these countries have limited broader endorsement of organic and other forms of alternative agriculture, with the result that consumer understanding in North America of the ‘value proposition’ of organic agriculture is lagging in comparison with the rest of the world. The recent growth in targeted research funding for organic agriculture is providing much-needed documented evidence from Canada and the US, summarized in this document, of the broad social, ecological and economic goods and services (SEEGS) derived from organic agriculture. However, to further transform recognition of these benefits, the interrelated issues inherent in SEEGS will increasingly have to be tackled by multidisciplinary teams of researchers partnering with organic producers. In addition, we propose two approaches, one regional in scope, a pilot-scale watershed initiative to demonstrate the diverse benefits of organic agriculture, and more broadly, promotion and use of the concept of organic agriculture as a form of ‘civil commons’, as a meaningful framework and tangible concept to help promote sustainability and a shift in social consciousness to encourage broader support and endorsement of organic agriculture in North America as a prototype of sustainable agriculture.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   189.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD   249.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  • AAFC (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada) (2011) Socially conscious consumer trends: animal welfare. Market analysis report. International Markets Bureau. Agriculture and Agr-Food Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. AAFC No. 10749E. p 15

    Google Scholar 

  • ACNielsen (2005) Functional food and organics: a global AC Neilsen online survey on consumer behaviour and attitudes. http://www.acnielsen.com/reports/documents/2005_cc_functional_organics.pdf. Accessed 10 Aug 2008

  • Aeberhard A, Rist S (2009) Transdisciplinary knowledge production in organic agriculture. Agrarforschung 16:414–419

    Google Scholar 

  • Animal Welfare Task Force (2011) Factsheets and guidance documents. http://oacc.info/Extension/ext_welcome.asp. Accessed on 21 Dec 2011

    Google Scholar 

  • Boutin C, Baril A, Martin PA (2008) Plant diversity in crop fields and woody hedgerows of organic and conventional farms in contrasting landscapes. Agric Ecosyst Environ 123:185–193

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boutin C, Martin PA, Baril A (2009) Arthropod diversity as affected by agricultural management (organic and conventional farming), plant species, and landscape context. Ecoscience 16:492–501

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boutin C, Baril A, McCabe SK, Martin PA, Guy M (2011) The value of woody hedgerows for moth diversity on organic and conventional farms. Environ Entomol 40:560–569

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bowman G (2010) USDA census shows profitability of organic farming. Rodale Institute. http://www.rodaleinstitute.org/20100319/nf_USDA-census-shows-profitability-of-organic-farming. Accessed 18 Dec 2011

  • Buck D, Getz C, Guthman J (1997) From farm to table: the organic vegetable commodity chain of Northern California. SociologiaRuralis 37:3–20

    Google Scholar 

  • Campbell BL, Lesschaeve I, Bowen AJ, Onufrey SR, Moskowitz H (2010) Purchase drivers of Canadian consumers of local and organic produce. HortScience 45:1480–1488

    Google Scholar 

  • CCME (2002) Linking water science to policy: effects of agricultural activities on water quality. Proceedings of a CCME sponsored workshop; 2002 Jan 31–Feb 1. Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment, Quebec City, Canada

    Google Scholar 

  • CGSB (2006) Organic production systems general principles and management standards. Canada General Standards Board/SCC (Standards Council of Canada) [Amended Oct. 2008] National Standard of Canada. CAN/CGSB-32.310–2006. Canadian General Standards Board, Gatineau, Quebec

    Google Scholar 

  • Costanza R, d’Arge R, de Groot R, Farber S, Grasso M, Hannon B, Limburg K, Naeem S, O’Neill RV, Paruelo J, Raskin R, Sutton P, van den Belt M (1997) The value of the world’s ecosystem services and natural capital. Nature 387:253–260

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • De Ponti T, Tijk B, van Ittersum MK (2012) The crop yield gap between organic and conventional agriculture. Agric Syst 108:1–9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Drinkwater LE (2009) Ecological knowledge: foundation for sustainable organic agriculture. In: Francis C (ed) Organic farming: the ecological system. American Society of Agronomy, Madison, pp 19–47

    Google Scholar 

  • El-HageScialabba N (2007) Organic agriculture and food security. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. www.fao.org/organicag

  • Entz M, Thiessen Martens J (2009) Organic crop–livestock systems. In: Francis C (ed) Organic farming: the ecological system. ASA-CSSA-SSSA Book & Multimedia, Madison, pp 69–84

    Google Scholar 

  • Farnworth C, Hutchings J (2009) Organic agriculture and womens’ empowerment. IFOAM, Germany, p 86

    Google Scholar 

  • Feehan J, Gillmor DA, Culleton N (2005) Effects of an agri-environment scheme on farmland biodiversity in Ireland. Agric Ecosyst Environ 107:275–286

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Francis C (ed) (2009) Organic farming: the ecological system. American Society of Agronomy, Madison

    Google Scholar 

  • Francis C, Van Wart J (2009) History of organic farming and certification. In: Francis C (ed) Organic farming: the ecological system. American Society of Agronomy, Madison, pp 3–18

    Google Scholar 

  • Freemark KE, Kirk DA (2001) Birds on organic and conventional farms in Ontario: partitioning effects of habitat and practices on species composition and abundance. Biol Conserv 101:337–350

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Friedmann H (2007) Scaling up: bringing public institutions and food service corporations into the project for a local sustainable food system in Ontario. Agric Hum Values 24:389–398

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fuentes-Montemayor E, Goulson D, Park KJ (2011) The effectiveness of agri-environment schemes for the conservation of farmland moths: assessing the importance of a landscape-scale management approach. J Appl Ecol 48:532–542

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gabriel D, Sait SM, Hodgson JA, Schmutz U, Kunin WE, Benton TG (2010) Scale matters: the impact of organic farming on biodiversity at different spatial scales. Ecol Lett 13:858–869. doi:10.1111/j.1461-0248.2010.01481.x

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Geigera F, de Snooa GR, Berendsea F, Guerreroc I, Moralesc MB, Oñatec JJ, Eggersd S, Pärtd T, Bommarcod R, Bengtssond J, Clemente LW, Weissere WW, Olszewskif A, Ceryngierg P, Hawrog V, Inchaustih P, Fischeri C, Flohrei A, Thiesi C, Tscharntkei T (2010) Landscape composition influences farm management effects on farmland birds in winter: a pan-European approach. Agric Ecosyst Environ 139:571–577

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goldberger JR (2011) Conventionalization, civic engagement, and the sustainability of organic agriculture. J Rural Studies 27:288–296

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gomiero T, Paoletti MG, Pimentel D (2008) Energy and environmental issues in organic and conventional agriculture. Crit Rev Plant Sci 27:239–254

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gomiero T, Pimentel D, Paoletti MG (2011) Environmental impact of different agricultural management practices: conventional vs. organic agriculture. Crit Rev Plant Sci 30:95–124

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Green RE, Cornell SJ, Jörn PW, Scharlemann JPW (2005) Farming and the fate of wild nature. Science 307:550–555

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Guptill A (2009) Exploring the conventionalization of organic dairy: trends and counter-trends in upstate New York. Agric Hum Values 26:29–42

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guthman J (2000) Raising organic: an agro-ecological assessment of grower practices in California. Agric Hum Values 17:257–266

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guthman J (2004) Agrarian dreams: the paradox of organic farming in California. University of California Press, Berkeley

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall A, Mogyorody V (2001) Organic farmers in Ontario: an examination of the conventionalization argument. SociologiaRuralis 41:399–422

    Google Scholar 

  • Hole DG, Perkins AJ, Wilson JD, Alexander IH, Grice F, Evans AD (2005) Does organic farming benefit biodiversity? Biol Conserv 122:113–130

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jordan N, Warner KD (2010) Enhancing the multifunctionality of US agriculture. Bioscience 60:60–66

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kirchmann H, Bergström L (eds) (2009) Organic crop production—ambitions and limitations. Springer, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Knight JD, Buhler R, Leeson JY, Shirtliffe SJ (2010) Classification and fertility status of organically managed fields across Saskatchewan, Canada. Can J Soil Sci 90:667–678

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kramer SB, Reganold JP, Glover JD, Bohannan BJM, Mooney HA (2006) Reduced nitrate leaching and enhanced denitrifier activity and efficiency in organically fertilized soils. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 103:4522–4527

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kummer S, Aigelsperger L, Milestad R, Chowdhury A, Vogl CR (2010) Knowledge systems, innovations and social learning in organic farming—an overview. Proceedings of the 9th European IFSA Symposium, pp 664–669. www.ifsa-europe.org

  • Lynch D (2009) Environmental impacts of organic agriculture: A Canadian perspective. Can J Plant Sci 89:621–628

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lynch DH, MacRae RJ, Martin RC (2011) The carbon and global warming potential impacts of organic farming: does it have a significant role in an energy constrained world? Sustainability 3:322–362

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lynch DH, Halberg N, Bhatta G (2012a) Environmental impacts of organic agriculture in temperate regions. CAB Rev 7(10):1–17

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lynch DH, Sharifi M, Hammermeister A, Burton D (2012b) Nitrogen management in organic potato production. In: Zhongi H, Larkin RP, Honeycutt CW (eds) Sustainable potato production: global case studies. Springer Science + Business Media, New York, pp 209–231

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Lyson TA (2004) Civic agriculture: reconnecting farm, food, and community. University Press of New England, Lebanon NH

    Google Scholar 

  • Maceachern AB (2008) The work of women on organic farms: a gendered analysis. Unpublished Master’s Thesis, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada

    Google Scholar 

  • MacKinnon SL (2006) Identifying and differentiating farm-community linkages in organic farming in Ontario. Unpublished Master’s Thesis, Department of Geography, University of Guelph

    Google Scholar 

  • MacRae RJ, Frick B, Martin RC (2007) Economic and social impacts of organic production systems. Can J Plant Sci 87:1037–1044

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MAPAQ (2011) Programme pilote d’appui a la multifunctionnalite de l’agriculture. Ministere Agriculture, Pecheries et Alimentation Quebec. http://www.mapaq.gouv.qc.ca/fr/Productions/md/Programmes/Pages/multifonctionnalite.aspx. Accessed 24 July 2011

  • Martin RC, Lynch DH, Frick B, VanStraaten P (2007) Phosphorous status on Canadian organic farms. J Sci Food Agric 87:2737–2740

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McMahon M (2005) Engendering organic farming. Fem Econ 11:134–140

    Google Scholar 

  • McMurtry J (2002) Value wars. Pluto Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Mooney HA, Cropper A, Capistrano D, Carpenter SR, Chopra K, Dasgupta P et al (2005) Ecosystems and human well-being: synthesis, Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Island Press, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Morgan K, Murdoch J (2000) Organic vs. conventional agriculture: knowledge, power and innovation in the food chain. Geoforum 31:159–173

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nelson KL, Lynch DH, Boiteau G (2009) Assessment of changes in soil health throughout organic potato rotation sequences. Agric Ecosyst Environ 131:220–228

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • OACC (2008) Final results of the first Canadian organic farmer survey of research needs. Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada, Nova Scotia Agricultural College, Truro NS

    Google Scholar 

  • Oelofse M, Høgh-Jensen H, Abreu LS, Almeida GF, El-Araby A, Hui QY et al (2011) Organic farm conventionalisation and farmer practices in China, Brazil and Egypt. Agron Sustain Dev 31:689–698

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pass C, Lowes B, Davis L, Kronish SJ (1991) The HarperCollins dictionary of economics. Harper Perennial, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Pimentel D, Hepperly P, Hanson J, Douds D, Seidel R (2005) Environmental, energetic, and economic comparisons of organic and conventional farming systems. Bioscience 55:573–582

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reganold JP, Jackson-Smith D, Batie SS, Harwood RR, Kornegay JL, Bucks D, Flora CB, Hanson JC, Jury WA, Meyer D, Schumacher Jr A, Sehmsdorf H, Shennan C, Thrupp LA, Willis P (2011) Transforming US agriculture. Science 332:670–671

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rick TL, Jones CA, Engel RE, Miller PR (2011) Green manure and phosphate rock effects on phosphorus availability in a northern Great Plains dryland organic cropping system. Org Agric 1:81–90

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts CJ, Lynch DH, Voroney RP, Martin RC, Juurlink SD (2008) Nutrient budgets of Ontario organic dairy farms. Can J Soil Sci 88:107–114

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sachs J, Remans R, Smulder S, Winowiecki L, Andelman SJ, Cassman KG, Castle D, DeFries R, Denning G, Fanzo J, Jackson LE, Leemans R, Lehmann L, Milder JC, Naeem S, NziguhebaG, Palm CA, Pingali P, Reganold JP, Richter DD, Scherr SJ, Sircely J, Sullivan C, Tomich TP, Sanchez PA (2010) Monitoring the world’s agriculture. Nature 466:558–560

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Smith WN, Rochette P, Monreal C, Desjardins RL, Pattey E, Jaques A (1997) The rate of carbon change in agricultural soils in Canada at the landscape level. Can J Soil Sci 77:219–229

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sumner J (2005) Sustainability and the civil commons: rural communities in the age of globalization. University of Toronto Press, Toronto

    Google Scholar 

  • Sumner J (2008) Protecting and promoting indigenous knowledge: environmental adult education and organic agriculture. Studies Educ Adults 40/2:207–223

    Google Scholar 

  • Sumner J (2009) Building bridges: how organic agriculture can strengthen the relationships between rural and urban communities. Discussion paper commissioned by the Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada. www.organicagcentre.ca

  • Sumner J, Llewelyn S (2011) Organic solutions? Gender and organic farming in the age of industrial agriculture. Cap Nat Social 22:100–118

    Google Scholar 

  • Teasdale JR, Coffman CB, Mangum RW (2007) Potential long-term benefits of no-tillage and organic cropping systems for grain production and soil improvement. Agron J 99:1297–1305

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Thiessen Martens JR, Entz MH (2011) Integrating green manure and grazing systems: a review. Can J Plant Sci 91:811–824

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trauger A, Sachs C, Barbercheck M, Braiser K, Kiernan NE (2010) ‘Our market is our community’: women farmers and civic agriculture in Pennsylvania, U.S.A. Agric Hum Values 27:43–55

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Warner K (2007) Agroecology in action: extending alternative agriculture through social networks. The MIT Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Wortman SE, Lindquist JL, Haar MJ, Francis CA (2010) Increased weed diversity, density and above-ground biomass in long-term organic crop rotations. Renew Agric Food Syst 25:281–295

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zander K, Nieberg H, Offermann F (2008) Financial relevance of organic farming payments for Western and Eastern European organic farms. Renew Agric Food Syst 23:53–61

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zentner RP, Basnyat P, Brandt SA, Thomas AG, Ulrich D, Campbell CA et al (2011a) Effects of input management and crop diversity on non-renewable energy use efficiency of cropping systems in the Canadian Prairie. Eur J Agron 34:113–123

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zentner RP, Basnyat P, Brandt SA, Thomas AG, Ulrich D, Campbell CA, Nagy CN, Frick B, Lemke R, Malhi SS, Olfert OO, Fernandez MR (2011b) Effects of input management and crop diversity on economic returns and riskiness of cropping systems in the semi-arid Canadian Prairie. Renew Agric Food Syst 26:208–223

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plant and Animal Sciences, Dalhousie University, B2N 5E3, Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada

    Derek H. Lynch

  2. Department of Leadership, Higher and Adult Education, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, M5S 1V6, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Jennifer Sumner

  3. Department of Plant Agriculture, University of Guelph, N1G 2W1, Guelph, Ontario, Canada

    Ralph C. Martin

Authors
  1. Derek H. Lynch
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jennifer Sumner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Ralph C. Martin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Derek H. Lynch .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Unité Ecodéveloppement, INRA, Avignon Cedex 09, France

    Stéphane Bellon

  2. Unité Ecodéveloppement, INRA, Avignon Cedex 09, France

    Servane Penvern

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Lynch, D., Sumner, J., Martin, R. (2014). Framing the Social, Ecological and Economic Goods and Services Derived from Organic Agriculture in the Canadian Context. In: Bellon, S., Penvern, S. (eds) Organic Farming, Prototype for Sustainable Agricultures. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7927-3_19

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation