66. Organic food production in Norway: what is it good for?
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It is an explicit goal of the Norwegian government that 15% of food production and consumption should be organic by 2020. The aim of this paper is to question what this goal is good for in terms of what it is meant to accomplish. The 15% goal has two objectives; one is to ensure market diversity, the other is the development of organic farming techniques that will function as a ‘spearhead’ for an overall more sustainable food production. This paper discusses the preconditions for these purposes and points to some structural challenges connected to the generic marketing of organic food, as well as questioning the conditions for a knowledge exchange between the two modes of farming. It concludes that an extended public debate is needed in order to illuminate the conflicts of interests and values informing the political management of the food system.