From Philosophy to Science: A Brief History of Organic Horticulture in the United States

Participatory plant breeding and organic agriculture: A synergistic model for organic variety development in the United States

“…Public opinion on the current course of conventional agriculture began to change, despite Secretary of Agriculture Earl Butz's quip in 1971 that a switch to organic farming would require a decision about which 50 million Americans must starve (Treadwell et al, 2003). Rachel Carson's Silent Spring (1962) highlighted the potential harmful effects of unregulated pesticide use to humans, wildlife, and the environment.…”

“…In 1988, after multiple failed legislative attempts by Senator Leahy of Vermont and Representative Weaver of Oregon to implement the recommendations of the 1980 report, funds were directed to the USDA to establish a competitive grants program for Low Input Sustainable Agriculture (LISA), which later became known as Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE). A notable aspect of this funding stream, still important for organic research today, is inclusion of farmers and non-governmental organizations in the award process, indicating their continued influence and involvement in shaping the organic movement (Treadwell et al, 2003). Conspicuously absent from this program, however, is the term "organic," which policy makers believed was still too contentious.…”

Socioeconomic geography of organic agriculture in the United States, 2007-2012

“…Essential ingredients in the development of the concept of organic agriculture are values expressing a general criticism of mainstream agriculture which aims at maximizing agricultural production by use of chemical fertilizers and artificial inputs (Best 2008;Goodman 2000;Kaltoft 1999). Most argue that the industrialization and specialization of agriculture in the 1940s served as a point of departure from conventional agriculture; and scientists and farmers began to look for a new paradigm (Treadwell, McKinney and Creamer 2003). The fact that organic agriculture challenges the ideologies at the heart of contemporary industrialized agriculture is crucial for the distinctiveness of organic farming both as a concept and as a social movement.…”

“…In addition to the public concern for the negative impact of conventional agriculture on the environment, the 1960s and 1970s saw an upsurge in public attention for social justice as family farmers and farm workers began to question the social impacts of conventional agriculture (Treadwell, McKinney and Creamer 2003). Along with the rise of capitalist patterns of industrial agriculture, corporate influence over farm production paved the way for expanding farm size which translated into lower food prices and profits for the corporate farms and food processors.…”

“…California was the first state to pass the Organic Food Act that provided a legal definition of "organic" in 1979 (Guthman 2004a). Meanwhile, facing criticism from conventional and industrial agriculture over organic farming methods, throughout much of the 1980s, organic farming advocates broadened their approach and began supporting the term "sustainable agriculture" to invite respect for organic agriculture, an attempt to keep alive and push for a less chemically-intensive and more holistic approach to agriculture (Treadwell, McKinney and Creamer 2003;Youngberg and DeMuth 2013). The organic movement sought to expand the meaning of sustainability to include not only environmental and ecological benefits, but also issues such as social justice, farm worker safety and security, animal welfare, and the development of rural communities.…”