I am a graduate student of international environmental policy at the Monterey
Institute of
International Studies. I am researching the development of organic agriculture
in California.
My true interest is "how governments can promote organic agriculture". Douglas,
I agree
with what you are saying, which I hear as, "organic/truly sustainable
agriculture can only
be promoted effectively if governments quit business as usual and begin
accounting for
the externalities associated with conventional agriculture". Please correct me
if I have
misconstrued your words. I would like to do my thesis on this topic, or at
least conduct
a comparative study of the various strategies undertaken by governments around
the world
to promote organic agriculture. Do you know if any precedent exists for the
type of thing
you are suggesting? I do know that some countries offer subsidies to organic
farmers. I
believe this is a start, but on its own, it doesn't seem like an effective way
to internalize
negative externalities. Unless of course the subsidies were so great that the
majority of
growers went organic. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this.
Brett in Monterey, CA
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