The Organic food marketscape
Its been a while since I blogged on here because I have been rewriting some of my data chapters to link up the theory with the data. The chapter on ‘postcapitalist’ possibility now discusses this particularly in relation to the organic food section. This blog posting outline some of the revised arguments that the chapter makes.
———————————
A key purpose of the PhD is about whether it is possible to do more ‘radical’ economic things around Totnes. I chose to focus on ‘institutions’ rather than the particular ‘lifestyles’ that people may have constructed. Thus I do not claim that my research fully reflects the ‘alternative’ economics of the area, or all of the perhaps sometimes ‘hidden’ economic activity. Some of the main institutions that have emerged are detailed in the table below.
This chapter suggests that there has been a lot of experimentation but that the radical stuff does not seem to be any more economically viable because it is around Totnes. Viability is defined in the sense of contributing to people’s livelihoods. Furthermore, another of my main arguments is that many of these institutions do not ‘cohere’. The chapter then focuses on three different aspects of the local organic ‘marketscape’ to explore these arguments in more depth. The marketscape reflects the configuration of market opportunities and production. The chapter explores 3 areas of this marketscape in more details:
1) The local organic retail market
The retail market is traced back to the 60s and Herb of Grace, Cranks, Sacks etc in the 1970s. The fact that there are 5 specialised independent retailers is very unusual. The survival of independent retail has partly been down to (i) the conservation area which has prevented redevelopment of the town (ii) the lack of suitable sites for supermarkets; (iii) perhaps the sewerage embargo during the 1970s. This unusual local retail market is supported by local enclave that extends across South Devon and consists of a number of overlapping ‘sub-countercultures’ (e.g. Steiner, Alternative Health, Green etc). However in recent years competition has increased both between specialists and from other sources (e.g. supermarkets, Happy Apple, other farm-shops). This has put economic pressure on the retailers and required them to develop various strategies to survive.
2) Riverford Organic Vegetables
Economically Riverford is one of the success stories of the local organic economy, being one of the areas largest employers. The local ‘countercultural’ community did provide some inspiration for Riverford in its early years, including influencing its ethics. Riverford has been able to survive by transcending the local market whereas other small local producers had to diversify. However as Riverford has expanded it has become more involved in ‘capitalist’ processes and structures e.g. borrowing to expand. Riverford therefore has strong ethics and has an important economic impact but also exhibits some signs of what is sometimes known as organic ‘conventionalism’.
3) Community Supported Farming
The Totnes area has been a site of some significant organic experimentation. The Devon Organic Growers co-operative were pioneering ‘Community Supported Agriculture’ in the late 1970s around 10 years before it ‘officially’ came to the UK. There was also an innovative ‘cowshare’ scheme at Upper Sharpham Barton Farm in around 1990 which enabled people to invest in a herd of biodynamic cows. There is also the existing South Devon Community Supported Farming scheme and an active, local biodynamics group. The strong local retail market does provide market access for small producers. However, as noted above it does not seem to make small-scale production any more economic. In general the more radical and small-scale projects are able to survive due to a number of factors not least the moral and practical support of sympathetic local supporters.
Overall the chapter argues that the ‘countercultural’ aspects of the locality do not make radical grassroots institutions any more economically viable. It also suggests that institutional reform and the role of the state are probably more important in creating the right conditions for allowing such ‘alternatives’ to flourish. Also, financial capital is an essential (but often overlooked) factor in building grassroots institutions.
I would be interested in any comments which either agree or disagree with this analysis.
