Thomas Lindenthal

Conventionalisation of organic farming practices: from structural criteria towards an assessment based on organic principles. A review

Organic farming is widely perceived as being more environmentally friendly than conventional farming. As a form of sustainable agriculture, it receives substantial support from policy for its contribution to environmental protection as well as the provision of amenities such as biodiversity and cultural landscapes. Consumers are attracted to organic foods as they are produced without synthetic chemicals and comply with higher animal welfare standards. Although organic farming certainly has the potential to fulfil these expectations, studies have shown that some certified organic farms do not. Their practices comply with the regulations, but not with the principles of organic farming. This trend has been called ‘conventionalisation’ of organic farming. In this paper we review the studies that discuss the conventionalisation of organic farming, focusing on the farm level and on evidence from Europe. We argue that to strengthen organic farming’s transformative potential, the debate must move beyond its focus on the bifurcation between artisanal and conventionalised organic farms, so as to capture the full range of empirical heterogeneity. Our core argument is that to adequately understand the dynamics within organic farming and their potential impact on the ability of organic farming to fulfil the expectations of consumers and policy-makers, it is not sufficient to focus on structural changes. Instead, we need to assess whether or not the observed changes comply with the principles and values that are the fundament of organic farming.

Greenhouse gas emissions from selected Austrian dairy production systems—model calculations considering the effects of land use change

The aim of this study was to analyze various Austrian dairy production systems (PS) concerning their greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) in a life-cycle chain, including effects of land-use change (LUC). Models of eight PS that differ, on the one hand, in their regional location (alpine, uplands and lowlands) and, on the other hand, in their production method (conventional versus organic, including traditional and recently emerging pasture-based dairy farming) were designed. In general, the GHGE-reducing effect of a higher milk yield per cow and year in conventional dairy farming cannot compensate for the advantages of organic dairy production which requires lower inputs. This is shown both for GHGE per kg of milk and GHGE per ha and year of farmland. Especially when (imported) concentrates were fed, which had been grown on former forests or grassland, e.g. soybean meal and rapeseed cake, GHGE of conventional dairy farming rose due to the effects of LUC. GHGE per kg milk varied from 0.90 to 1.17 kg CO2-eq for conventional PS, while organic PS on average emitted 11% less greenhouse gases (GHGs), the values ranging from 0.81 to 1.02 CO2-eq per kg milk. Within each production method, PS with a higher milk output generally showed better results for GHGE per kg of milk produced than PS with a lower milk output. Nevertheless the latter showed clearly better results for GHGE per ha of land used, ranging from 5.2 to 7.6 Mg CO2-eq per ha and year for conventional PS and from 4.2 to 6.2 Mg CO2-eq per ha and year for organic PS. The results of this study emphasize the importance of a complete life-cycle assessment in the evaluation of impacts that dairy PS have on the climate.

The Role of Knowledge, Social Norms, and Attitudes Toward Organic Products and Shopping Behavior: Survey Results from High School Students in Vienna

In 2005 a survey was used to investigate social norms and attitudes of Viennese high school students (14–20 years, n = 340) toward organic products. Young people, who already participate in household decisions and consume organic products, have not yet been recognized sufficiently in research. The Theory of Reasoned Action and discriminant analysis are used to explore relations of a number of variables and the complex field of factors influencing Viennese high school students’ shopping behavior when shopping for organic products. Key findings include the importance of primary socialization in forming social norms and shaping behavior. Surprisingly, knowledge of organic products does not explain students’ self-reported shopping behavior when shopping for organic products. Cultural patterns seem to be far more useful to predict behavior and attitudes toward organic products.

Contrasted greenhouse gas emissions from local versus long-range tomato production

Transport from regional production requires less fossil fuel and thus produces lower greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, policies fostering the production of regional goods support rural development. Tomato consumption has increased fast in Europe over the last decade. Intensive production techniques such as heated greenhouses and long-distance transport overcome seasonal constraints in order to provide year-round fresh goods. However, studies that evaluate seasonal and off-season production are scarce. Here, we analyzed the carbon footprint of tomato production systems in Austria, Spain, and Italy using a life cycle approach. We collected data from four main supply chains ending at the point of sale in an average Austrian supermarket. We aimed to identify hotspots of greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural production, heating, packaging, processing, and transport. Our results show that imported tomatoes from Spain and Italy have two times lower greenhouse gas emissions than those produced in Austria in capital-intensive heated systems. On the contrary, tomatoes from Spain and Italy were found to have 3.7 to 4.7 times higher greenhouse gas emissions in comparison to less-intensive organic production systems in Austria. Therefore, greenhouse gas emissions from tomato production highly depend on the production system such as the prevalence or absence of heating.

Farm- and product-level biodiversity assessment of conventional and organic dairy production in Austria

The novel method developed for this study evaluates the impact of farming practices on farmland biodiversity, allowing for the assessment of the biodiversity potential of dairy farms at farm and product levels. We linked farming practices as pressure indicators to the species number and abundance of 11 indicator species groups (ISGs), evaluated semi-quantitatively by expert judgements. We calculated biodiversity potential based on food–web relationships between the ISGs, using Monte Carlo simulations for the analysis of uncertainty of expert assessments. We applied the assessment model to 8925 dairy farms from seven different Austrian regions, using official statistical data sets at farm level and interviews with farmers and experts. The results show that the approach can be used to identify differences in the biodiversity potential of farms and milk. Milk from organic farms received 4–79% higher biodiversity scores than milk from conventional farms in all regions. The application showed that in the case of Austrian dairy production, the approach can be used for assessments of both farms and products. However, the approach needs validation and, for product-level assessment, further development to cope with longer supply chains or compound products from different bio-geographic regions.

Values as a Bridge between Sustainability and Institutional Assessment: A Case Study from BOKU University.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to illustrate that values-focused assessment can provide a useful lens for integrating sustainability and institutional performance assessment in universities. Design/methodology/approach – This study applies a values elicitation methodology for indicator development, through thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews and a stakeholder workshop, in a pilot project at BOKU University, Vienna. Findings – This case highlights that many of the values held by university staff and students are pro-sustainability values. Starting from these values may be a useful way of engaging university stakeholders in sustainability dialogues. The paper illustrates how values-based indicators can be integrated into university performance assessments, providing a novel way of thinking about sustainability assessment in universities. Research limitations/implications – The exploratory pilot was carried out in a university with a focus on natural sciences. Further research could repli...

Phosphorus availability on many organically managed farms in Europe

Maintaining sufficient soil phosphorus (P) levels for non-limiting crop growth is challenging in organic systems since off-farm inputs of P are restricted. This study assessed the status of P on organic farms in Europe using soil test results for extractable P. Data was obtained from published literature, unpublished theses, and various national and regional databases of soil test values. Most of the data (15,506 observations) came from field scale soil tests, but in some cases (1272 observations) values had been averaged across a farm. Farm scale and field scale data were analysed separately and the impact of farm type (arable, dairy, grassland, horticulture, mixed, poultry, unknown) was assessed. Soil test results were assigned to P classes from very low (P class 1) to very high (P class 5). The farm scale data came primarily from Norway, Sweden and Switzerland and did not indicate deficiencies in extractable P; 93% of farms fell into class 3 or above. The majority of the field scale data came from Germany and indicated sufficient or higher levels of P availability for arable and grassland systems on 60% of fields; the remaining fields had low or very low available P. Adaptations in organic systems may improve P uptake and utilization efficiency allowing yields to be maintained in the short-term, nevertheless there is cause for concern about the long-term P sustainability of some organic farming systems in Europe. This highlights the need to reassess allowable P inputs in organic farming systems to improve overall sustainability.

How a region benefits from regionally labelled cheese products in Austria: a model-based empirical assessment along different value chains

The major aim of the study is to analyse six Austrian value chains of regionally labelled cheese along the whole food value chain concerning their potential socio-economic benefit for the labelled region. Twenty-eight quantitative as well as qualitative indicators, with a potentially positive impact on the region, were used to assess these value chains. An assessment model was developed, which is based on indicators focusing on socio-economic issues concerning regional and corporate resilience, which should be understood as a complementary method to environmental accounting methods such as life cycle assessments. The analysed value chains reach 37 to 79% of the maximum possible benefit for the region. Variation is highly dependent on whether the value chain was conventional and retailed nationally or organic with direct marketing. Whereas the results of all the analysed organic value chains with retailing via supermarket are rather similar to each other (their results reach around 58% of the maximum). Interestingly, milk products, organic as well as conventional, which are sold directly, induce the highest socio-economic benefit for their production region, whereas organic value chains receive slightly more points than conventional when sold via supermarkets. The results of the value chains analysed with the method are consistent and comprehensible if the complex system of food production, processing and retailing is examined in detail. As a result, this study shows the importance of developing methods for assessing the socio-economic impact on value chains in food production. This is of increasing relevance as regionally labelled food is a globally expanding trend.

Umweltmanagement an Universitäten: Fortschritte im Verbundprojekt der Allianz Nachhaltige Universitäten in Österreich

Einführung und/oder Weiterentwicklung von EMAS an allen beteiligten Universitäten seit 2014 Die AAU hat die Leitung des universitätsübergreifenden Projekts inne. EMAS wurde an allen AAU-Standorten eingeführt. Die Kooperation mit den anderen Partner universitäten erfolgte unter anderem auch in Form von gemeinsamen internen Audi tierungen. An der AAU wurde das primär technisch, betriebsökologisch ausgerichte te EMAS-System mit universitätsspezifischen Agenden im Bereich Forschung und Lehre ergänzt und somit in ein umfassendes Nachhaltigkeitsprogramm eingebettet. Auch die KFU, als größte der beteiligten Universitäten, hat in den ersten drei Projektjahren EMAS flächendeckend an al len Standorten eingeführt. Dieser Prozess wurde vom Institut für Systemwissenschaften, Innovationsund Nachhaltigkeitsforschung in Form einer Doktorarbeit wissenschaftlich wesentlich unterstützt. Nach der Umweltprüfung aller Institute und Einrichtungen wurden die Umweltleitlinien vom Rektorat definiert und ab Herbst 2014 erfolgten die ersten Auditierungen (dabei Kooperation auch mit der Universität Tübingen). Seit Juni 2014 gibt es an der KFU vier interne EMAS-Auditor(inn)en. Das Umweltprogramm und ein gültiges Rechtsregister (legal compliance) konnten rasch in©2017 R.Zettl at al.; licensee oekom verlag. This is an article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Kontakt Autor(inn)en: Ralph Zettl, M.A. | Universität Graz | Ressourcen und Planung | Graz | Österreich | E-Mail: ralph.zettl@uni-graz.at