Question 4. What effects would the development of organic farming have on society (social and cultural activities, etc.)?
p. 261-264
Texte intégral
1Few studies have been made of the effects of OF on society, human relations and different types of social activity. The few that exist conclude that OF has a beneficial effect.
Organic farming as a source of employment, business and income
2A study conducted in France and Europe on the contribution of OF to job creation shows that for equivalent output, OF generates on average 20 % more jobs than CF; this is the counterbalance to its higher production costs. This study concerned certified OF in Europe and was based on employment officially declared by organic farmers.
3Economists know that informal employment plays a considerable part in farming and family gardens in Martinique. This activity generates work for those who produce or sell their labour or farm produce, and also gives consumers an advantage because prices are lower than if these goods had been produced in the formal economy. Low- to medium-income social groups thus benefit through employment or business, and medium- to high-income groups through lower prices.
4A study conducted in 1991 on 700 people and 500 informal economic activities showed that farming generated work for low-income people but also for households whose income was classed as medium. Those involved in informal agricultural production (gardening and small-scale livestock raising, with the produce sold to friends, family and neighbours) are largely people with a job in the formal sector which gives them social advantages but leaves them time for a second job. Some work in formal sector agriculture.
5The experience of Cuba shows that organising gardens on the urban fringe can significantly increase coverage of local needs by local production. Martinique also has such "gardens within the town", run as an informal activity or with a second job. At present they are not cultivated to OF or EF standards, but they could be. Some of the experts think some of these gardens are close to EF or the Creole garden system. Others stress that these producers lack training and may use fertilisers and crop protection products improperly, which is damaging both for the environment and for the health of producers who fail to take adequate precautions when spraying.
6The authorities might consider action to disseminate ecological farming methods to these producers. This would also have the advantage of alerting them to the dangers of improper use of crop protection products. However, given that these producers are operating informally, the mode of communication to reach them needs close consideration.
Organic farming and public health
7With organic farming, farmers and farm workers are less exposed to the effects of toxic pesticides and treatment products. This is one reason why some tree crop farmers in metropolitan France have converted to OF.
8Research has not revealed a clear link between consumption of OF products and consumer health. Most people who buy organic food and alternative medicine consider that eating organic is better for health, but studies indicating that this is the case have not gained consensus among scientists.
9In an expert review conducted by AFSSA in 2003, comparing the quality of OF and CF produce, the first conclusion is that the studies on this question are few, and disparate.
10Organic produce may have nutritional advantages – more vitamin C for potatoes, minerals, vitamins and fibre for grains, iron and magnesium for vegetables, polyphenols for vegetables and wine, different fatty acid profile for meat – but these are slight.
11Health quality is equivalent to CF. Some OF products theoretically entail a risk of mycotoxicity (apples), counterbalanced by product freshness. Rates of pesticide residue are lower in organic produce but certain products approved for OF (complex natural substances) require official approval and some veterinary products used in OF require toxicological evaluation. Nitrate levels and the risk of BSE are less in OF produce.
12Although there is a link between health and consumption of organic produce in connection with the quality of the products as such, according to AFSSA, the difference is slight compared to the difference attributable to different dietary habits. But eating organic can lead consumers to change their dietary habits, and this can benefit health. The AFSSA study highlights the importance of this question but notes that no conclusion can be drawn without more epidemiological studies.
13As regards possible traces of organochlorine pesticides in some produce grown in contaminated soil, at the request of the environmental health department of the INVS, CIRE1 Antilles-Guyane investigated the dangers of organochlorines found in the environment in the French Antilles. This study constituted the first stages of a risk assessment: selecting the substances concerned, identifying their impact on health and making a critical analysis of the reference toxicological values.
14Chlordecone's carcinogenicity and its toxicity for the nervous system, liver and male and female reproductive organs have been established in animals; effects in rodents are similar for mirex, dieldrin and isomers of HCH (hexachlorocyclohexane). The toxicological analysis given in this report reveals gaps in knowledge and uncertainty about the reference toxicological values since these are, inevitably, established from animal data. The toxicological data for chlordecone, mirex and dieldrin are incomplete and a characterisation of the risks can only be envisaged for non-carcinogenic risks. For HCH isomers the data are complete, and characterisation can be envisaged for both carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risk.
15At present, analyses of soil, water and root vegetables (tara and sweet potato) in Martinique show organochlorine contamination. Measurements of pesticides in the environment taken in 1998 and 2001 mainly reveal contamination of soils by chlordecone, beta-HCH, dieldrin and mirex, and chlordecone contamination of root vegetables. People will be exposed if they comes into contact with a contaminated medium. Given these facts and the lifestyle of the local population, the INVS concludes that exposure is to be expected, but remains to be quantified. In the meantime, immediate measures have been taken to reduce exposure, laid down in a Prefectoral order of 20 March 2003 making preventive soil analyses mandatory before planting root crops.
Organic farming is part of a "sustainable development" approach
16A European research programme evaluated several tens of OF initiatives and concluded that OF participates in local development through networking systems that often involve several sectors, such as tourism and local self-employed people. These networks link rural areas to the global economy (exports of organic products to niche markets).
17In the majority of cases, organic farmers and other business people working with alternative modes of production to the productivism of recent decades join multi-sector networks that link them to the economy and the rest of society. In particular, OF can promote links between farming and green tourism. Through these networks, and using its basic principles (old local breeds and varieties, animal welfare, fresh produce, local supply, attention to energy efficiency etc.), wherever the link between food, farming and the land has been weakened, OF plays an active part in recreating it.
18In so doing it helps to reconnect people to the area they live in and, more especially, give city dwellers and tourists a closer link with the places they visit. This may be through buying local produce from a short product chain (or consuming it in a restaurant), but also through a more general direct contact with the producer. Food is part of a region's cultural heritage, and the strengthening of the local cultural identity is observed even where the land area given over to OF is small compared to CF.
Notes de bas de page
1 CIRE: Cellule interrégionale d'épidémiologie, regional epidemiology unit.
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