Eric Goewie

In: UA Magazine 6 - Transition to Ecological Urban Agriculture: A Challenge

There are several judgements about "Organic Production": it is typically an invention of the rich in Western Europe, projecting their loss in nature and biodiversity onto developing countries." or "organic production as a notion has too many definitions: What is the difference between organic, biological, ecological, biodynamic, integrated or agroecological production?" or yet again "it is too complicated for poor people to quickly understand," Scientists and policy-makers however, encounter evidence that organic production does make sense. Pretty (1999) shows that organic production provides sufficient and healthy food in developing countries. Developments in Cuba show that organic production raised more advantages than was accepted before. Evidence from Western Europe demonstrates that organic production is profitable indeed. However, it is still problematic to understand exactly what falls under the notion "organic production". One thing is clear: organic production has strong potential for drawing consumer response. This article explains the discrepancy between judgement and reality concerning organic production.