Do we have Room for Shining Eyes and Cows as Comrades ? Gender Perspectives on Organic Farming in Denmark.

Starting from a theoretical discussion on the relations between women and nature, the overall aim of the paper is to discuss how the ongoing structural changes in organic agriculture affect the everyday life, roles and positions of professional women in the sector and relate to the construction of gender and identity in organic farming. When organic farming was implemented in Denmark, both women and men were active participants in defining its principles and practises. Hence organic farming has the potential for creating alternative relations and for reviving female values and interests in agriculture. To day however, organic farming has become more commercialised leading to the gradual penetration and dominance of the values and practises of conventional farming. So how sustainable will future organic farming be with respect to gender relations? The paper focuses on the recent development of organic farming and explores some of the dilemmas and prospects related to different discourses of organic farming. The dominating institutionalised discourse primarily aims at reducing or eliminating environmental problems or dilemmas characteristic of conventional farming. This is notably distinct from a more holistic discourse emphasising broader and more emancipatory organic principles and practises. Our view is that most professional women in the organic sector relate to the latter category and hence are in danger of becoming a‘threatened species’ within the sector. Empirically we have challenged this view by interviewing women on their values, interests and practises within organic farming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]