Reconquer and divide: comparative standard-setting strategies among producer organizations

Sebastian Billows (), Elizabeth Carter, Marc-Olivier Déplaude, Loïc Mazenc, Geneviève Nguyen, François Purseigle, Annie Royer and Allison Loconto
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Sebastian Billows: INRAE, Université Paris-Dauphine, PSL
Elizabeth Carter: University of New Hampshire
Marc-Olivier Déplaude: MoISA, INRAE, CIRAD, Institut Agro, IRD
Loïc Mazenc: Labex SMS, INRAE, UMR AGIR
Geneviève Nguyen: AgroToulouse (INP-ENSAT), UMR 1248 Agir, University of Toulouse
François Purseigle: AgroToulouse (INP-ENSAT), UMR 1248 Agir, University of Toulouse
Annie Royer: Laval University
Allison Loconto: LISIS, ESIEE Paris, CNRS, INRAE, University Gustave Eiffel

Agriculture and Human Values, 2025, vol. 42, issue 3, No 12, 1395-1410

Abstract: Abstract Food standards, which are used to signal adherence to sustainability goals or a specific origin, have deep political implications. Standards crafted by retailers, processors, or third-party actors such as non-governmental organizations (NGOs) often disempower farmers. Moreover, due to the liberalization and globalization of many food value chains, producer organizations (POs) lost some of their legal privileges and market protections. This paper analyzes how POs in the Global North sought to regain their control over food markets by establishing their own standards. These strategies and their consequences are considered across three dimensions: the internal life of the PO, the relevant market institutions, and the relationship between the PO and the state. Our case studies (N = 5) performed in France and in Québec, a French-speaking province of Canada, span across a variety of food sectors. Drawing on qualitative material, we designed our explanatory framework through an abductive, iterative method. Although standards crafted by POs have, in some cases, reshaped market institutions to their advantage and have repositioned them in the governance of food markets, they come at a cost. They may create tensions within POs and clash with the agrarian values of solidarity, democracy, and autonomy. Overall, this article challenges the assumption that food standards are mainly governed by private actors and sheds light on the new alliances and new identities of POs.

Keywords: Producer organizations; Food standards; Market institutions; Governance; Sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1007/s10460-024-10671-3

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