The challenge to organics of increased demand

Ironically, organic farmers may have sown the seeds of their own destruction. The food system that organic farmers were seeking to accommodate is driven by the industrial principles of productivity, not the organic principles of permanence. The industrial food system is characterised by uncontrolled specialisation, standardisation and consolidation, not by maintenance of balance and harmony. National organic standardisation simply opened the door to corporate consolidation of control of organic production and distribution (Kirschenmann 2000). 

Fortunately, industrial organics is not the only viable alternative for organic farmers. Lady Balfour (Balfour 1977) said  

I am sure that the techniques of organic farming cannot be imprisoned in a rigid set of rules. They depend essentially on the outlook of the farmer. 

This principle-based approach to organic farming has been given various labels, including 

Coleman 2004). All three terms accurately reflect the historical roots of organic farming in 

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