The unique qualities of organic foods: an ethnography of participatory certification practices

Author(s)

Felipe Peregrina Puga

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: Campinas, SP.
• Institution: Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas
• Defense date: 2022-06-06

Examining board members

Joana Cabral de Oliveira; Anna Catarina Morawska Vianna; Caio Pompeia

• Advisor: Joana Cabral de Oliveira

Abstract

With the recognition of certification practices by the State, the products of organic agriculture became the object of regulation and assessment. Therefore, the organic food markets were formalized through a set of standardized rules and third-party certifications. Originally, Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) were founded as a movement against the politics of third-party audits, given that these entities isolated farmers from the decision-making process. Popularly known as participatory certifications, PGS are assemblages that operate through a peer-review process and collective responsibility to ensure organic compliance. Since 2010, participatory certifications are officially accredited by the State as organic conformity assessment mechanisms, obtaining the same legal status as third-party organizations. This research aims to analyze the mediations and everyday practices adopted by this participatory mechanism of certification of organic agriculture, having as the unit of analysis an association of family farmers in the state of São Paulo. Based on participant observation, documental research, and semi-structured interviews with farmers, agricultural technicians, and official inspectors, we sought to analyze how organic quality is imbricated in the relationships of trust among the different entities. When describing daily activities, emphasis was given not only to situations involving internal evaluation activities but also to relationships involving State agents. On the one hand, the official recognition by the State led to a continuous standardization of criteria and procedures for the SPGs, assimilating them to policies of traceability and discipline of conduct. On the other hand, this recognition opened the way for the moral commitment of the participants to become an important dimension for the weaving of internal relationships. In this way, the autonomy of PGS organizations is entangled both with the compatibility with institutional standards and the morality of its members. Although PGS are recognized as an organic compliance assessment body, they allow the composition of space for exchange and the cultivation of practices beyond the certification (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 19/04868-1 - The unique qualities of organic foods: an ethnography of participatory certification practices
• Grantee: Felipe Peregrina Puga
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master