Dear All
Rural social movements are not often the subject of discussion in Western
Europe; this panel tries to rectify this.
The panel is part of the European Society for Rural Sociology's
conference 'Work, Leisure and Development in Rural Europe Today' to be
held in Sligo, Ireland from the 18-22 August 2003.
The wider impacts of the Organic movement on Rural Society
Convenor: Matt Reed ([log in to unmask])
Many of the founders of the Organic movement viewed it not only as a way
of transforming farming systems but of the rest of society as well.
Throughout the twentieth century the Organic movement was the hub of a
great of deal of social experimentation and radical thought. Organic
farming would transform how agriculture treated the soil, plants, animals
and the wider eco-system, but it would also have an impact on the rest of
society. Many of the founders viewed the health impacts of Organic food as
being a positive benefit to society, whilst others wanted to over turn the
dominant forms of land ownership or the dominance of multinational capital
in the food chain. Recent scholarship has correctly focused on the degree
to which the Organic movement has been incorporated into the global
circuits of capital and the powers of the state. Whilst others have looked
to the broader social and political roots of the Organic movement and the
role, it has played within the environmental movement or protest
movements. This panel seeks to explore the degree to which the Organic
movement has managed to effect change in the broader structures of rural
society.
Questions that might be asked in relation to this might include;
. The role of Organic farmers in changing not only agricultural systems,
but also patterns and forms of land ownership, farm management, gender and
familial relationships.
. Is there evidence that Organic farmers are able to resist the pull of
global markets, to rebuild local food economies or to retain the value of
their produce in rural economies
. Have Organic producers and consumers defined a new form of citizenship
in relation to food and agriculture, creating a more active and informed
civic group
. Are the new forms of association between producers and consumers in the
Organic movement a viable model for rural development, or just evidence of
a new middle class?
. Have the Organic movement's organisation in their protests against
genetically modified foods opened new areas of civic action or just
conformed to previous repertories of protest
. Is there a new space for 'Organic' selfhood, as new relationships
between the environment and humans are initiated?
The panel seeks contributions on these themes, and more, from interested
scholars in the social sciences, particularly postgraduate students. A
diversity of methodological approaches is positively welcome.
Matt Reed
Research Fellow
Centre for Rural Research
Lafrowda House
St Germans Rd
Exeter
EX4 6TL
tel: 01392 262348
mobile: 07761628553
fax 01392 2638
[log in to unmask]
www.ex.ac.uk/crr/
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