Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
2001 S. Lincoln Ave.
URBANA,IL 61801
Performing Department
NATURAL RESOURCES & ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
Non Technical Summary
Based on a pilot survey of disputing practices centered on Clarkson organic grain elevator in Cerro Gordo, Illinois I seek to further explore the relationship between organic certification practices and forms of production in the Illinois organic sector. My purpose is to explore how the 2002 USDA uniform organic code works to differentiate agro-food producers who use agro-ecology production practices from agro-industrial users in Illinois.
Animal Health Component
100%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
100%
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
My proposed historical ethnography seeks to systematically explore the relation between organic certification and organic production practices at sites around Cerro Gordo, Illinois that are transitioning to organic forms of production. It will focus on three questions: 1) What are the origin, development and structure of the organic food-grain production sector in the Illinois bioregion as a whole, including those institutions that claim to produce food through organic techniques whether or not they meet the existing 2002 standard? 2) How are producers, consumers and traders networked within the organic sector? 3) What are the politics and history of organic certification in Illinois and how do small and large-scale producers selectively appropriate the NOSB 2002 organic rule? My hypothesis is that large and small-scale agro-food producers differently articulate the USDA's 2002 organic rule. More specifically, it proposes that the USDA's 2002 organic code becomes
localized through negotiations over which many culturally specific economic, ecological and ethical criteria will constitute quality food in specific localities.
Project Methods
This longitudinal and ethnographic study will use a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods to produce a stratified database of the relationship between organic regulation and forms of production through repeat visits to different field sites. First, I will collect historical and current survey data on the number of farms, their acreage, location, ownership, sales and crops grown to establish the range, scale and structure of the sector. Preliminary research suggests that formal records since 2002 of certified organic farms in Illinois are available from the USDA-Illinois, Midwest Organic Services Association, Inc (MOSA), Illinois Organic Crop Improvement Association (OCIA) and Indiana Certified Organic (ICO) which certifies most of the producers in Illinois. I will then interview a range of key informant producers, traders and consumers around Cerro Gordo, Springfield and Chicago.