NASAA and organic agriculture in Australia.

Abstract

This chapter explores the history of the National Association for Sustainable Agriculture, Australia, and its significant contributions on the development of the organic industry in Australia.

Market formation, social movements and judgement devices: Creating the organic food market in Australia

“…In 1986 the National Association for Sustainable Agriculture Australia (NASAA) was launched, consisting of 30 organisations and over 5000 members (Wynen and Fritz, 2007). It immediately set about defining production standards for organic foods, forging a template of acceptable practices and inputs for farmers with a view to providing consumers with assurance about product authenticity (Acres Australia, 1988: 15).…”

“…Meanwhile, in 1990 the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) formed an Organic Produce Advisory Committee (OPAC) consisting of diverse stakeholders, including the NFF (Wynen and Fritz, 2007). In 1992 OPAC facilitated the introduction of national export standards for organic foods, effectively prohibiting export of produce labelled as organic unless it was certified by an approved organisation such as NASAA (Lovisolo, 1992).…”

A Brief Political History of South Australian Agriculture

“…While conventional agriculture has led to remarkable productivity increases in the past, it is becoming increasingly clear that it also has a number of drawbacks, both for farmers and for society as a whole. (Wynen and Fritz, 1987: 87) The ‘environmental movement’ gathered support in the early 1980s and by 1987 the United Nations recognised the need for ‘sustainable development’, that is development that meets the needs of current generations without compromising the chances of future generations meeting their own needs (World Commission for Environment and Development, 1987). Because agriculture relies so heavily on environmental services to create produce, it was not long before agricultural land use that considered overall economic, social, and environmental outcomes was being discussed.…”

“…Concerns over the inability to answer many of these questions on an individual scale saw the advent of what was referred to as ‘sustainable agriculture’ (Pawlick, 2006). In 1987, the National Association for Sustainable Agriculture in Australia published a discussion paper that highlighted some of the benefits of ‘sustainable agriculture’ as this became a global phenomena (Wynen and Fritz, 1987). It encouraged farmers to farm utilising natural methods to promote soil fertility as well as manage pests, weeds and disease.…”

“…It encouraged farmers to farm utilising natural methods to promote soil fertility as well as manage pests, weeds and disease. While environmental issues became more important in the 1980s, many studies show that less than one per cent of farmers in the developed world practised ‘sustainable agriculture’, although traditional farmers worldwide had been subsisting with the help of these agricultural practices for millennia (Conacher and Conacher, 1981; Vine and Bateman, 1981; Wynen and Fritz, 1987).…”