Organic food retailing and the conventionalization debate

In terms of sustainability, the effects of the development of organic farming are subject to debate, particularly regarding the methods used to compare organic and conventional food systems and the consequences of the conventionalization of organic farming. We propose an empirical study centered on the stage of food retailing and based on two sales databases in France in 2012, one involving conventional food retailing and the other involving specialized organic stores. We examine sustainability from the plant, animal or combined origin of food products and from their degree of processing. The results suggest that sales of organic food products are more plant-based and less processed than sales of conventional products, two criteria for better sustainability. They also show that organic sales in specialized organic stores are more sustainable than those in conventional retail stores according to the same criteria. In addition, the sales structure of organic products in conventional retail stores is very specific. Finally, the average structure of purchases in specialized organic stores is more plant-based and less processed than total food purchases of large buyers of organic products in conventional retail stores, themselves more plant-based and less processed than those of small buyers

How To Make A Pie: Reproducible Research for Empirical Economics & Econometrics

Empirical economics and econometrics (EEE) research now relies primarily on the application of code to datasets. Handling the workflow linking datasets, programs, results and finally manuscript(s) is essential if one wish to reproduce results, which is now increasingly required by journals and institutions. We underline here the importance of “reproducible research” in EEE and suggest three simple principles to follow. We illustrate these principles with good habits and tools, with particular focus on their implementation in most popular software and languages in applied economics

How To Make A Pie: Reproducible Research for Empirical Economics & Econometrics

Empirical economics and econometrics (EEE) research now relies primarily on the application of code to datasets. Handling the workflow linking datasets, programs, results and finally manuscript(s) is essential if one wish to reproduce results, which is now increasingly required by journals and institutions. We underline here the importance of “reproducible research” in EEE and suggest three simple principles to follow. We illustrate these principles with good habits and tools, with particular focus on their implementation in most popular software and languages in applied economics

La productivité de l'agro-alimentaire français de 1996 à 2006

From 1996 to 2006, total factor productivity in the French food industry declined by 0.4 % per year. Productivity in the “milk”, “beverage”, and “grain” industries remained relatively stable, while significant decreases were observed in the “meat and fish” and “otherfood” industries. These results may be due to the large share of intermediate consumption, the difficulty in raising technological yields, and stricter sanitary and environmental standards. Weaker intermediate-consumption prices offset the loss in productivity, but were also passed on to consumers in the form of lower food prices. The productivity trend in the French food industry was comparable to that observed in the other leading EU15 countries

La productivité de l'agro-alimentaire français de 1996 à 2006

En utilisant les données de l'Enquête Annuelle d'Entreprise (EAE), nous évaluons l'évolution de la productivité de l'industrie agro-alimentaire française au cours de la période 1996-2006. Cette analyse est menée pour les 41 classes d'activité de cette industrie ainsi qu'à des niveaux supérieurs d'agrégation. En moyenne pour les IAA, sur la période 1996-2006, la productivité totale des facteurs a baissé de 0,44% par an. Cette moyenne cache des variations annuelles plus fortes. Dans l'ensemble, la productivité totale des facteurs a diminué sur la période 1997-2002 alors qu'elle stagne après 2002. Les baisses de productivité sont les plus fortes dans les secteurs de la viande et des "Autres IAA". Pour les secteurs "Lait", "Boissons" et "Grains", la productivité totale des facteurs varie peu en moyenne. Ces résultats globaux s'expliqueraient par l'importance des consommations intermédiaires (plus de 75% du chiffre d'affaires), par une difficulté à améliorer les rendements de conversion de celles-ci en produits finaux et par l'impact du renforcement des normes sanitaires ou environnementales. La prise en compte d'éventuelles économies d'échelle dans cette industrie ou la présence de concurrence imparfaite ne remettent pas en cause les résultats obtenus. Une partie de la baisse du prix des consommations intermédiaires a permis de financer la diminution de la productivité des IAA. L'autre partie a été transmise vers l'aval sous forme de baisse de prix de l'output. Enfin, sur une longue période, il semble que la productivité des IAA françaises ait évolué à un rythme comparable à celle des principaux pays de l'UE15

La productivité de l'agro-alimentaire français de 1996 à 2006

From 1996 to 2006, total factor productivity in the French food industry declined by 0.4 % per year. Productivity in the “milk”, “beverage”, and “grain” industries remained relatively stable, while significant decreases were observed in the “meat and fish” and “otherfood” industries. These results may be due to the large share of intermediate consumption, the difficulty in raising technological yields, and stricter sanitary and environmental standards. Weaker intermediate-consumption prices offset the loss in productivity, but were also passed on to consumers in the form of lower food prices. The productivity trend in the French food industry was comparable to that observed in the other leading EU15 countries

Organic food retailing and the conventionalization debate

In terms of sustainability, the effects of the development of organic farming are subject to debate, particularly regarding the methods used to compare organic and conventional food systems and the consequences of the conventionalization of organic farming. We propose an empirical study centered on the stage of food retailing and based on two sales databases in France in 2012, one involving conventional food retailing and the other involving specialized organic stores. We examine sustainability from the plant, animal or combined origin of food products and from their degree of processing. The results suggest that sales of organic food products are more plant-based and less processed than sales of conventional products, two criteria for better sustainability. They also show that organic sales in specialized organic stores are more sustainable than those in conventional retail stores according to the same criteria. In addition, the sales structure of organic products in conventional retail stores is very specific. Finally, the average structure of purchases in specialized organic stores is more plant-based and less processed than total food purchases of large buyers of organic products in conventional retail stores, themselves more plant-based and less processed than those of small buyers

Organic food retailing and the conventionalisation debate

In terms of sustainability, the effects of the development of organic farming are subject to debate, particularly regarding the methods used to compare organic and conventional food systems and the consequences of the conventionalization of organic farming. We propose an empirical study centered on the stage of food retailing and based on two sales databases in France in 2012, one involving conventional food retailing and the other involving specialized organic stores. We examine sustainability from the plant, animal or combined origin of food products and from their degree of processing. The results suggest that sales of organic food products are more plant-based and less processed than sales of conventional products, two criteria for better sustainability. They also show that organic sales in specialized organic stores are more sustainable than those in conventional retail stores according to the same criteria. In addition, the sales structure of organic products in conventional retail stores is very specific. Finally, the average structure of purchases in specialized organic stores is more plant-based and less processed than total food purchases of large buyers of organic products in conventional retail stores, themselves more plant-based and less processed than those of small buyers

Localisation de l'agriculture biologique et accès aux marchés

L'objectif de cet article est de contribuer à l'analyse des implications sur la localisation du développement de l'Agriculture biologique (AB), souvent analysé en termes de « conventionnalisation ». La localisation de l'AB en France présente des contrastes à différentes échelles, régions, départements et localités, qui se reflètent dans des phénomènes de dépendances spatio-temporelles, variables selon la localisation. Nous mettons aussi en évidence un effet complexe du réseau urbain sur la localisation de l'AB, dépendant de la taille des villes, qui attirent les producteurs en AB, pour lesquels elles constituent un débouché direct, et en même temps les repoussent, du fait des limites de l'accès au foncier. Au total, une différenciation des dynamiques apparaît : une diffusion spatiale résultant d'une plus large diffusion des produits de l'AB dans les circuits de distribution alimentaire et de la demande qui en résulte de la part des acteurs de l'aval, une concentration liée à la proximité des consommateurs reposant sur des marchés de producteurs et des circuits courts