ABSTRACT
This chapter reports findings from the first large-scale comparative study of the organics industry in Australia and New Zealand. It examines the ways organics is becoming increasingly institutionalised, and explores the motivations of producers in 'going organic'. The developing interest by sociologists in organic farming parallels what has been termed the 'greening' of agriculture and the food industry. 'Greening' describes the process of change in the ideologies and practices of western social systems as they move toward the incorporation of ecological discourses, and of practices which seek to address environmental concerns. Throughout both Australia and New Zealand the shift towards corporate involvement in organic agriculture has been understood in competing ways. It has been posited that export-dependent food corporations have begun to alter their production practices as an outcome of the imposition of green protectionist trade barriers. The orthodox growers have often entered organics for reasons of personal health, environmental integrity, and closer community participation.
