India's Organic Farming Revolution: What It Means for Our Global Food System

254 Pages·2014·1.29 MB·English

by  Sapna E. Thottathil

India’s Organic Farming Revolution

India’s
Organic Farming
Revolution
What It Means for
Our Global Food System
Sapna E. Thottathil
University of Iowa Press, Iowa City
University of Iowa Press, Iowa City 52242
Copyright © 2014 by the University of Iowa Press
www.uiowapress.org
Printed in the United States of America
Design by April Leidig
No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any form or by any
means without permission in writing from the publisher. All reasonable
steps have been taken to contact copyright holders of material
used in this book. The publisher would be pleased to make suitable
arrangements with any whom it has not been possible to reach.
The University of Iowa Press is a member of Green Press Initiative
and is committed to preserving natural resources.
All photographs were taken by the author and are in her possession.
Printed on acid-free paper
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Thottathil, Sapna E., 1982–
India’s organic farming revolution: what it means for
our global food system / Sapna E. Thottathil.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-60938-277-3 (pbk)
ISBN 978-1-60938-301-5 (ebk)
1. Organic farming — India. 2. Organic farming —
Law and legislation — India — Kerala. I. Title.
S605.5.T56 2014
631.5'84095483 — dc23 2014010225
To the organic farmers of Kerala
and their supporters

Contents
Abbreviations and Acronyms ix
Foreword: From India to My Plate xi
Acknowledgments xvii
1
Globalization and Organic Food Systems
1
2
Crisis in Indian Agriculture
16
3
The Third World’s Model for Development
40
4
Forging a Statewide Organic
Farming Policy in Kerala
57
5
The Social and Ecological Benefits
of Organic Farming
83
6
Local versus Organic Markets
111
7
Organic — a Good Option for Dinner
in Our Globalized World
136
Afterword: The Ongoing Work 151
Appendix:
2010 Kerala State Organic Farming Policy,
Strategy and Action Plan 157
Glossary 177
Notes 179
Interviews 205
Bibliography 207
Index 225
Abbreviations and Acronyms
ACT Organic Agriculture Certification Thailand
AoA Agreement on Agriculture
APEDA Agriculture and Food Products Export Development
Authority
ASEAN Association of South East Asian Nations
CBD Convention on Biological Diversity
CESS Centre for Earth Science Studies
CPI Communist Party of India
CPI(M) Communist Party of India (Marxist)
CSA Community Supported Agriculture
DDT dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (pesticide)
EPA Environmental Protection Agency (US)
FAO Food and Agriculture Organization
FiBL Research Institute of Organic Agriculture
GDP Gross Domestic Product
GMO genetically modified organism
HDI Human Development Index
HYV high- yielding variety
IADP Intensive Agricultural District Programme
ICA International Coffee Agreement
ICAR Indian Council of Agricultural Research
ICS internal control system
IFOAM International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements
Indocert Indian Organic Certification Agency
INFAM Indian Farmers Movement
IOFPCL Indian Organic Farmers Producer Company Limited
ISO International Organization for Standardization
IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature