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Participatory organic certification in Mexico: an alternative approach to maintaining the integrity of the organic label

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Abstract

Over the past two decades the growth of the organic sector has been accompanied by a shift away from first party, or peer review, systems of certification and towards third party certification, in which a disinterested party is responsible for the development of organic standards and the verification of producer compliance. This paper explores some of the limitations of the third party certification model and presents the case of Mexico as an example of how an alternative form of participatory certification has emerged. The paper suggests that participatory guarantee systems (PGS) are reflective of the growing “beyond organic” movement, which focuses on reconstructing the local and re-embedding food systems into their socio-ecological contexts. It argues that PGS offers a number of benefits for producers and consumers, particularly in the South, but that it faces a number of challenges as well, such as a lack of formal recognition, social conflicts and dependence on donated resources.

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Fig. 1

Notes

  1. Howard and Allen (2006) note that in California, where the organic label is legally bound through NOP to meet third party certification standards, a group is currently working to develop a locally-based beyond organic label that would function using a peer review style certification system. This example demonstrates not only that PGS has relevance beyond the South, but also that there is potential to make it work even in places where it is not a recognized element of organic legislation.

Abbreviations

CSA:

Community supported agriculture

IFOAM:

International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements

ISO:

International Standards Organization

NGO:

Non governmental organization

NOP:

[USDA] National Organic Program

OCIA:

Organic Crop Improvement Association

PGS:

Participatory guarantee system

USDA:

United States Department of Agriculture

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Dr. Harvey James as well as three anonymous reviewers for their considerable contributions to this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environmental Design and Rural Development, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada

    Erin Nelson

  2. University of Chapingo, Chapingo, Mexico, Mexico

    Laura Gómez Tovar, Rita Schwentesius Rindermann & Manuel Ángel Gómez Cruz

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  1. Erin Nelson
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  2. Laura Gómez Tovar
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  3. Rita Schwentesius Rindermann
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  4. Manuel Ángel Gómez Cruz
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Correspondence to Erin Nelson.

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Nelson, E., Gómez Tovar, L., Schwentesius Rindermann, R. et al. Participatory organic certification in Mexico: an alternative approach to maintaining the integrity of the organic label. Agric Hum Values 27, 227–237 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-009-9205-x

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