Organic Agriculture: A Global Perspective

Abstract

At first glance, the title of this compilation, 'Organic Agriculture: A Global Perspective' is puzzling: "global perspective" is a key phrase used in contemporary political and economic discourses, discourses which do not necessarily focus on organic agriculture.Yet, once one has eventually discerned the various meanings and connotations of the phrase, speaking of a "global perspective on organic agriculture" seems more than appropriate, and indeed, promising. After all, organic agriculture seeks to pursue a holistic approach, encompassing not only farming as such but also the wider implications it has for factors such as social relationships and the environment.This book however, also does justice to its title in a very different way: it is "global" in that various contributions elucidate the subject in a general way. Furthermore, the book offers different approaches from different regions of the world, as represented by a host of international authors. The subject is thus dealt with "globally" in yet another sense; by encompassing many regions of the world, the perspectives albeit shaped by the diversity of regional and local sites as well as individual authors' points of view concerning the specific strategies of organic agriculture. This highlights once more the principle of organic agriculture as an environmentally sound and site-adapted agricultural approach. Thus, the reader is able to detect specific or individual aspects of organic agriculture within broader and more general accounts, far from generalisation or simplification.