2001/10/01 by Alan Hall, Veronika Mogyorody · 1 citation
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #Organic Food and Agriculture
paper · doi:10.1111/1467-9523.00191
openalex publication_date 2001/10/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/23
Increasing concerns have been expressed about whether the alternative character of the organic farming movement is being maintained as it grows in size and popularity. This paper examines this question with respect to organic farming in Ontario, Canada. Using survey and case study data, a number of production, marketing, ideology, and farm size characteristics are assessed as indicators of overall conventionalization as well as the bifurcation of organic farming into two distinct groups. While signs of conventionalization and bifurcation are demonstrated, particularly in the area of field crop farming, the overall analysis suggests that most organic farms retain the central features of an alternative approach, including an emphasis on small,diverse,mixed operations, marketing directly and locally to consumers.