Growing Naturally In A Postmodern Age: How Low-Income Producers Contend With organic Food Trends

Abstract

Abstract:-Postmodernism emphasize the particular, the local and the diverse potential solutions to contemporary social, economic and environmental problems. The emergence of the term -organic farming‖ describes a distinct system of agriculture compared to conventional or industrial agriculture. U.S. farmers planning to market their products as -organic‖ must be certified following USDA procedures. In Alabama, most producers, with small-scale farms, prefer to sell their -natural‖ or -organically-oriented‖ products directly to the consumers without USDA certification. The study aims to understand Alabama organic (whether certified or not) farming strategies as a post-modern process. Using survey data from a sample of Alabama Low-input and Organically-Oriented producers (LIOP), we profile their production strategy dilemmas, production methods, information sources and marketing strategies. The data identify some of the postmodern ways its organic farmers struggle to adapt in the context of the modern agricultural system.