eCommons

 

From Farms To Tables: Producing and Debating Value in the Organic Market in China

Access Restricted

Access to this document is restricted. Some items have been embargoed at the request of the author, but will be made publicly available after the "No Access Until" date.

During the embargo period, you may request access to the item by clicking the link to the restricted file(s) and completing the request form. If we have contact information for a Cornell author, we will contact the author and request permission to provide access. If we do not have contact information for a Cornell author, or the author denies or does not respond to our inquiry, we will not be able to provide access. For more information, review our policies for restricted content.

No Access Until

2025-06-13
Permanent Link(s)

Other Titles

Author(s)

Abstract

This dissertation studies how state actors and market actors compete for symbolic power in defining value and evaluation by examining the valuation of organics in China. I show that, while the state attempted to dictate the value order in the organic market through certification criteria, the certification does not address the link between qualification and the symbolic meaning of organics, that is, why organic quality should be measured this way. This inadequacy leaves space for alternative interpretations of organic consumption by different stakeholders, such as producers, retailers, and consumers. As a result, an uncertified organic market emerges where the service relationship becomes a competing judgment device used by consumers to infer the symbolic value of organics and the integrity of production. The organizers of the uncertified market argue that the value of organics is rooted in caring for the farmers, the consumers, and the environment as a community. So, they champion the qualification that focuses intensively on performing trustworthiness rather than giving plain technical explanations. I argue that the affective labor of marketers has become a powerful vehicle of valuation. This implies that the manipulation of consumers’ emotional selves may become a new source of symbolic power in the market, and the tie-making between producers and consumers may be increasingly outsourced to value matchmakers. Sales organization also perform transparency to prove the integrity of the production. But this performance does not eliminate uncertainty in quality, but rather becomes a tool to sustain trustworthiness in an extreme uncertain environment. This trend, however, may not benefit producers who lack cultural and economic capital to engage in affective labor.

Journal / Series

Volume & Issue

Description

Sponsorship

Date Issued

2023-05

Publisher

Keywords

Location

Effective Date

Expiration Date

Sector

Employer

Union

Union Local

NAICS

Number of Workers

Committee Chair

Friedman, Elias

Committee Co-Chair

Committee Member

Garip, Filiz
Besky, Sarah
Zinda, John

Degree Discipline

Sociology

Degree Name

Ph. D., Sociology

Degree Level

Doctor of Philosophy

Related Version

Related DOI

Related To

Related Part

Based on Related Item

Has Other Format(s)

Part of Related Item

Related To

Related Publication(s)

Link(s) to Related Publication(s)

References

Link(s) to Reference(s)

Previously Published As

Government Document

ISBN

ISMN

ISSN

Other Identifiers

Rights

Rights URI

Types

dissertation or thesis

Accessibility Feature

Accessibility Hazard

Accessibility Summary

Link(s) to Catalog Record