Working for social sustainability: insights from a Spanish organic production enclave

Abstract

Can the emergence of organic agriculture in global enclaves of food production be interpreted as contributing to more socially sustainable agriculture? This article discusses three narratives from semistructured interviews with farmers, farmworkers, and trade union representatives in the case of El Ejido, Spain. Here, organic agriculture can be seen to offer a small degree of breathing space from the harshest dynamics of conventional industrial food systems. In conclusion, in this case, the study shows that organic agriculture has been accompanied by experiences of small social sustainability gains and opportunities for workers and farmers, in a particularly challenging context.

Representative Farm-Based Sustainability Assessment of the Organic Sector in Switzerland Using the SMART-Farm Tool

“…There is further research required for issues such as labor conditions, worker wages, farm resilience and autonomy (Seufert and Ramankutty, 2017). Studies from the US and Spain on social conditions for workers have demonstrated only moderate performance (Shreck et al, 2006;Medland, 2016;Torres et al, 2016). Our research has attempted to contribute to these efforts to broaden the scope of OA research, through presenting and analyzing a new dataset from the Swiss OA sector.…”

Measuring the impact of crises in the horticultural sector: the case of Spain

“…In particular, the Spanish horticultural sector has been affected by recurring crises arising from two main sources. First, the ineffective management of problems common to this sector, such as the excessive use of fertilisers and pesticides, resulting in low-quality production and consumption (Wainwright et al, 2014); the environmental degradation (Grindlay et al, 2011;Juntti and Downward, 2017); and the bad social conditions for immigrant workers (Medland, 2016;Pumares and Jolivet, 2014). Second, erroneous accusations spread through the mass media blaming food safety practises for environmental and social risks, originated both in Spain and in other countries.…”

Food sovereignty and consumer sovereignty: Two antagonistic goals?

“…Social sustainability also demands that food production does not involve unacceptable labor standards. In many regions of the world, the agricultural sector is strongly dependent upon a massive migrating labor force that is often not documented and is not protected by labor laws (Medland 2016;Oxfam America 2004;Underhill et al 2016). Major efforts have to be made to eradicate exploitative child labor, enforce labor protection law, and reduce unnecessary hardship in agricultural work.…”