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Disciplining Microbes in the Implementation of US Federal Organic Standards

Author

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  • Mrill Ingram

    (Environmental Resources Center, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA)

Abstract

The National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), a citizen panel charged with the job of recommending to the US Secretary of Agriculture guidelines for certified organic agriculture, can be analyzed as a ‘boundary organization’. By linking organic farmers' knowledge with peer-reviewed science, the board builds the base of organic agriculture for legitimacy and also develops a new product: federally certified organic agriculture. Examination of organic standards on composting, with a focus on characterizations of composting microbes, reveals the very compromised ability of the NOSB to effect change, however, despite its efforts to build common ground between institutions with very different cultures and historical interests. A focus on discourses of microbes provides insights into the accomplishments of and limits to the influence of the NOSB as well as the larger organic movement. Organizational tactics of the NOSB are best understood within the larger context of institutional commitments to specific forms of agriculture.

Suggested Citation

  • Mrill Ingram, 2007. "Disciplining Microbes in the Implementation of US Federal Organic Standards," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 39(12), pages 2866-2882, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:39:y:2007:i:12:p:2866-2882
    DOI: 10.1068/a38464
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Timothy Vos, 2000. "Visions of the middle landscape: Organic farming and the politics of nature," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 17(3), pages 245-256, September.
    2. Patricia Allen & Martin Kovach, 2000. "The capitalist composition of organic: The potential of markets in fulfilling the promise of organic agriculture," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 17(3), pages 221-232, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. E. DuPuis & Sean Gillon, 2009. "Alternative modes of governance: organic as civic engagement," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 26(1), pages 43-56, March.

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