The social construction of production externalities in contemporary agriculture: Process versus product standards as the basis for defining “organic”

B. Deaton and John Hoehn ()

Agriculture and Human Values, 2005, vol. 22, issue 1, 38 pages

Abstract: The analysis distinguishes two types of standards for defining organic produce; process standards and product standards. Process standards define organic products by the method and means of production. Product standards define organic by the physical quality of the end product. The National Organic Program (NOP) uses process standards as the basis for defining organic. However, the situation is complicated by agricultural production practices, which sometimes result in the migration of NOP prohibited substances from conventional to organic fields. When this interaction alters the value of the product or the costs of production, a production externality is said to exist. Defining organic using process, rather than product standards, influences the burden and character of production externalities. The NOP’s emphasis on process standards reduces the likelihood that production externalities will emerge. Copyright Springer 2005

Keywords: Externalities; Gene flow; National Organic Program; Performance standards; Pesticide drift; Process standards (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2005
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DOI: 10.1007/s10460-004-7228-x

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