Submitted by Sandra Pereira (srpereira@ufrrj.br) on 2016-10-19T13:31:26Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2014 - Juliana Espindola Scofano.pdf: 3134461 bytes, checksum: b3a168bb1db1b00562c5aaa29b7f2ed3 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-10-19T13:31:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2014 - Juliana Espindola Scofano.pdf: 3134461 bytes, checksum: b3a168bb1db1b00562c5aaa29b7f2ed3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-08-29 / Since the late 1980s to the present day, the production of organic food has been suffering from expansion and contraction cycles, depending on the location, driven by public policy, the market demand in European, American and Asian countries. These cycles occur both in export markets (low income countries), as in the importing markets (high-income countries). Among the producers markets, Argentina is highlighted in Latin America, where the organic production area has suffered decline since 2009. In high-income countries, Australia is the country with the largest organic area certified. The production of organic food has forced countries to establish mechanisms for ensuring organic quality. The standardization process began with IFOAM in 1981, private organization, with France the first country to regulate in the same years. Currently in several countries it is accepted more than a guarantee mechanism of organic quality. Certification by audit (individual and group) is still the main form of security, but the participatory guarantee systems (GSP) organic quality are being broadcast around the world, including some studies for the recognition of SPG's in countries where Certification is the main form of control. / Desde o final dos anos de 1980 at? os dias atuais, a produ??o de alimentos org?nicos vem sofrendo ciclos de expans?o e retra??o, dependendo do local, impulsionados por pol?ticas p?blicas e pela demanda de mercado nos pa?ses europeus, americanos e asi?ticos. Esses ciclos acontecem tanto nos mercados exportadores (pa?ses de baixa renda), como nos mercados importadores (pa?ses de alta renda). Entre os mercados produtores, a Argentina ? destaque na Am?rica Latina, onde a ?rea de produ??o org?nica vem sofrendo queda desde 2009. Nos pa?ses de alta renda, a Austr?lia ? o pa?s com maior ?rea org?nica certificada. A produ??o de alimentos org?nicos obrigou os pa?ses a criarem mecanismos para garantir a qualidade org?nica. O processo de normaliza??o iniciou-se com a IFOAM em 1981, organiza??o privada, sendo a Fran?a o primeiro pa?s a regulamentar no mesmo ano. Atualmente em diversos pa?ses do mundo aceita-se mais de um mecanismo de garantia da qualidade org?nica. A certifica??o por auditoria (individual e em grupo) ainda ? a principal forma de garantia, mas os sistemas participativos de garantia (SPG) da qualidade org?nica est?o sendo difundidos em todo o mundo, inclusive h? estudos para o reconhecimento dos SPG?s em pa?ses onde a certifica??o ? a principal forma de controle

This thesis explores if and how an alternative certification system for agricultural products, the Participatory Guarantee System (PGS), could support small-scale farmers to preserve and promote biocultural and food heritage, linked to the landscape they inhabit, their identity as farmers and traditional knowledge. The PGS has been identified by Slow Food as an efficient low-cost and local 'bottom-up' quality assurance system, in order to develop their Presidia project and to re-embed agricultural productions within their traditional socio-ecological contexts. Small-holder farmers all over the world encounter problems in accessing conventional certification systems because of their complexity and strict quality compliance standards, which tend to marginalize this category of producers. I have critically analyzed the extent to which actors and stakeholders agree with the PGS core principles and if, and how, a well-formulated PGS certification can be regarded as a democratic process which fulfils its broader goals. In order to re-structure society from an agri-food perspective, towards a more democratic governance, the core problem lays in how standards and certifications are formed, assessed and applied. The crux of this study is to examine the degree to which a different type of governance, such as the PGS, can induce democratic and participatory methods of food certification. I have conducted semi-structured interviews with various local actors who belong to the social field of alternative food productions underneath the umbrella of Slow Food. Here I investigate the social dimension, the debate and comprehension of the PGS, and the concept of Governmentality by Foucault, as applied to Presidia. In the thesis I show that the PGS provide social benefits to local communities that undergo this certification process. The PGS is able to contribute to the creation of solidarity among actors within the food system, designing a transparent certification system against the logic of commodification.