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Dr. Christian Reinhard Vogl
Department of Sustainable Agricultural Systems, University of Natural Resources and Life Science Vienna, Vienna, Austria

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0 Agroecology
0 Ethnobotany
0 Organic Farming
0 Quality Management
0 Traditional Ecological Knowledge

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Research article
Published: 08 June 2021 in International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability
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Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) provide an alternative certification system for smallholder organic farmers producing for the domestic market. Officially recognized in Chile since 2007, PGS certification has grown in momentum in recent years. We used semi-structured interviews, surveys and participant observations to shed light on the PGS movement in Chile and the respective governance framework. Our results indicate that after PGS formalization, Chilean PGS initiatives struggle to comply with wide-ranging administrative procedures similar to those requested for third-party certification (TPC). Furthermore, lacking resources among PGS initiatives inhibit the PGS movement from impacting the national discourse. We present two PGS initiatives and their organizational structures, exploring ‘who’ participate, ‘how’ participation occurs, and ‘what kind’ of participation takes place. Our results indicate that the interaction as well as the exchange of knowledge among PGS members is a central benefit perceived by PGS participants. However, regular PGS member participation is hindered by the required time investment, the distance that PGS members need to travel and the perceived lacking expertise they have.

ACS Style

Nikolaus Hruschka; Sonja Kaufmann; Christian R. Vogl. The benefits and challenges of participating in Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) initiatives following institutional formalization in Chile. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability 2021, 1 -15.

AMA Style

Nikolaus Hruschka, Sonja Kaufmann, Christian R. Vogl. The benefits and challenges of participating in Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) initiatives following institutional formalization in Chile. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability. 2021; ():1-15.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Nikolaus Hruschka; Sonja Kaufmann; Christian R. Vogl. 2021. "The benefits and challenges of participating in Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) initiatives following institutional formalization in Chile." International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability , no. : 1-15.

Journal article
Published: 03 November 2020 in Sustainability
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Organic farming is a demand-led⁠—rather than policy-driven—development. The introduction of regulations, controls and certification was intended to protect consumers from fraud, and to protect producers from unfair competition. The farmers’ willingness to participate in organic schemes is a prerequisite, which depends on their attitudes to the certification process. By means of three focus groups—conducted in April 2019, in Kematen, in the district of Innsbruck-Land—this study attempted to identify Tyrolean farmers’ perceptions of organic certification, as well as the influential factors, with the aim of highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the certification system. Overall, the farmers perceived a great variety of differing standards. In particular, compliance with the regulations on animal husbandry and labelling requirements were seen to be hard to achieve. The farmers felt that the retailers were forcing them to comply with additional requirements, and that they were not receiving adequate support from their control body or their organic farming associations. They stated that the inspectors’ attitudes were often crucial to the control’s outcome, and were negative about the regulations or inspectors that did not reflect their underlying values. More scope should therefore be given for a cultural adaption of the inspection process, and there should be information symmetry between all of the stakeholders within organic certification.

ACS Style

Carolin Leitner; Christian Vogl. Farmers’ Perceptions of the Organic Control and Certification Process in Tyrol, Austria. Sustainability 2020, 12, 9160 .

AMA Style

Carolin Leitner, Christian Vogl. Farmers’ Perceptions of the Organic Control and Certification Process in Tyrol, Austria. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (21):9160.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Carolin Leitner; Christian Vogl. 2020. "Farmers’ Perceptions of the Organic Control and Certification Process in Tyrol, Austria." Sustainability 12, no. 21: 9160.

Concept paper
Published: 01 October 2020 in Sustainability
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Participatory guarantee systems (PGS) have become increasingly important for organic quality assurance. PGS are promoted as more suitable than third-party certification (TPC) for smallholder farmers in the Global South. The advocated benefits of PGS include the promotion of organic agriculture, farmer empowerment, and the facilitation of food system sustainability. To deliver these benefits, local actor participation is key. To date, there is still an absence of in-depth studies on participation in PGS in the literature. The aim of this study was to contribute to closing this research gap by (i) conducting a meta-analysis on PGS participation and (ii) presenting a framework for studying actor participation in PGS. A systematic literature review on participation in PGS was carried out, using a framework based on Cohen and Uphoff (1980). The results showed that data on participation in PGS are still fragmented in scientific literature. Quantitative empirical evidence and data on the extent and purpose of participation and actors’ perception of participation, for example, are very scarce or not available at all. This paper argues that a systematic and theory-based approach to further research on participation in PGS is needed for improved understanding and facilitation, and suggests an adapted version of Cohen and Uphoff’s (1980) framework for conducting this research.

ACS Style

Sonja Kaufmann; Nikolaus Hruschka; Christian Vogl. Bridging the Literature Gap: A Framework for Assessing Actor Participation in Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS). Sustainability 2020, 12, 8100 .

AMA Style

Sonja Kaufmann, Nikolaus Hruschka, Christian Vogl. Bridging the Literature Gap: A Framework for Assessing Actor Participation in Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS). Sustainability. 2020; 12 (19):8100.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Sonja Kaufmann; Nikolaus Hruschka; Christian Vogl. 2020. "Bridging the Literature Gap: A Framework for Assessing Actor Participation in Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS)." Sustainability 12, no. 19: 8100.

Erratum
Published: 03 June 2020 in Food Quality and Preference
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Organically-certified wild plant foods are rarely addressed in scientific or public discourses on organic food even though 30% of the world’s organically-certified land is dedicated to wild plant gathering. This oversight may leave organic consumers unaware of the market relevance of wild plant foods. The aim of this study was therefore to understand organic consumers’ attitudes, knowledge and purchasing and gathering practices with respect to wild plant foods, and how sociodemographic variables and attitudes can predict knowledge and practices. A purposive sample was drawn from 22 urban and rural food markets across Austria and 497 organic consumers were interviewed using successive freelists and four-point Likert scale questions on attitudes. Data were analysed using exploratory factor analysis and multiple linear regressions. Organic consumers knew a median of nine wild food plants, and reported five as being gathered and one as being purchased. They valued food quality and the responsible harvest of wild food plants, but assigned them a low economic relevance, with some respondents sceptical about their suitability as food. Rural residence, a higher share of organic consumption and a greater emphasis on responsible harvesting predicted knowledge and gathering of a larger number of plant species. These results confirm that organic consumers know, gather and have positive attitudes with respect to wild plant foods, although they are hardly aware about their market relevance. We argue that consumers need to be better informed about the wild origin of food ingredients and the added value of organic certification of wild plant foods.

ACS Style

Christoph Schunko; Christian R Vogl. Factors determining organic consumers’ knowledge and practices with respect to wild plant foods: A countrywide study in Austria. Food Quality and Preference 2020, 85, 103960 .

AMA Style

Christoph Schunko, Christian R Vogl. Factors determining organic consumers’ knowledge and practices with respect to wild plant foods: A countrywide study in Austria. Food Quality and Preference. 2020; 85 ():103960.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Christoph Schunko; Christian R Vogl. 2020. "Factors determining organic consumers’ knowledge and practices with respect to wild plant foods: A countrywide study in Austria." Food Quality and Preference 85, no. : 103960.

Journal article
Published: 24 December 2019 in Food Quality and Preference
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Organic consumers attach different characteristics to wild versus cultivated foods. Organic consumers are unaware of the market relevance of wild plant foods. Labelling of wild ingredients is needed to raise awareness of wild plant foods. Organic consumers barely differentiate between organic and non-organic wild food. Better consumer information is needed about added value of organic certification.

ACS Style

Christoph Schunko; Christian R Vogl. Factors determining organic consumers’ knowledge and practices with respect to wild plant foods: A countrywide study in Austria. Food Quality and Preference 2019, 82, 103868 .

AMA Style

Christoph Schunko, Christian R Vogl. Factors determining organic consumers’ knowledge and practices with respect to wild plant foods: A countrywide study in Austria. Food Quality and Preference. 2019; 82 ():103868.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Christoph Schunko; Christian R Vogl. 2019. "Factors determining organic consumers’ knowledge and practices with respect to wild plant foods: A countrywide study in Austria." Food Quality and Preference 82, no. : 103868.

Journal article
Published: 01 July 2019 in Sustainability
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Substantial urbanization has allowed individuals to become increasingly spatially and psychologically distanced from the food system and agricultural practices. Food literacy (FL) has been described as a promising approach to reconnect the city with the country and furthermore address public health issues such as obesity and diet-related disease. The present study examined urban gardening through the lens of the FL approach to determine whether a relationship exists between gardening and FL. The research further investigated the relationship between FL and gardener demographics, participation in educational garden events and socialization among gardeners. Data was collected using an online questionnaire targeted to reach community gardeners (n = 181) in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota. The research utilized a novel exam and self-perception based measurement tool to assess gardeners’ level of FL. Results indicated a moderately positive relationship between the years of gardening experience and higher individual FL scores. Participants with higher levels of FL were older individuals and more highly educated. There was no significant difference in FL between gardeners who attended educational events and those that had not. The present research presents an initial investigation into the relationship between food literacy and gardening. This research indicates gardening may warrant consideration in holistic approaches to food literacy but further investigation would be valuable.

ACS Style

Megan Grubb; Christian R. Vogl. Understanding Food Literacy in Urban Gardeners: A Case Study of the Twin Cities, Minnesota. Sustainability 2019, 11, 3617 .

AMA Style

Megan Grubb, Christian R. Vogl. Understanding Food Literacy in Urban Gardeners: A Case Study of the Twin Cities, Minnesota. Sustainability. 2019; 11 (13):3617.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Megan Grubb; Christian R. Vogl. 2019. "Understanding Food Literacy in Urban Gardeners: A Case Study of the Twin Cities, Minnesota." Sustainability 11, no. 13: 3617.

Journal article
Published: 05 April 2019 in Sustainability
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The gathering and commercialisation of non-timber forest products (NTFP) in Europe has repeatedly been praised for its potential to support rural development. However, political support mechanisms explicitly targeting NTFP remain underdeveloped. In this study, we aimed to contribute to the design of support mechanisms by understanding the factors that influence the commercialisation of wild plants by organic farmers. We first developed a conceptual framework based on fifteen factors and then applied the framework to a case study in South Tyrol (Alto Adige), Italy. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with all fourteen members of the Vereinigung Südtiroler Kräuteranbauer (Associazione Coltivatori Sudtirolesi Piante Officinali), who commercialised wild plant species, and the data were then analysed using qualitative content analysis. Agricultural intensification, pesticide drift, limited access to gathering sites suitable for organic certification, legal restrictions, lack of consumer awareness about the additional value of organic wild plant certification, and limited product diversity were perceived as limiting factors; management techniques in organic farming, organic certification, a trend for wild, regional and healthy foods, the availability of training, and favourable cultural values and attitudes towards wild plant gathering were perceived as supportive. This study offers a comprehensive understanding of the many diverse factors that may influence wild plant commercialisation in Europe and beyond and provides guidance on how political support mechanisms could unlock the much heralded potential of wild plant commercialisation for rural development.

ACS Style

Christoph Schunko; Sarah Lechthaler; Christian Vogl. Conceptualising the Factors that Influence the Commercialisation of Non-Timber Forest Products: The Case of Wild Plant Gathering by Organic Herb Farmers in South Tyrol (Italy). Sustainability 2019, 11, 2028 .

AMA Style

Christoph Schunko, Sarah Lechthaler, Christian Vogl. Conceptualising the Factors that Influence the Commercialisation of Non-Timber Forest Products: The Case of Wild Plant Gathering by Organic Herb Farmers in South Tyrol (Italy). Sustainability. 2019; 11 (7):2028.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Christoph Schunko; Sarah Lechthaler; Christian Vogl. 2019. "Conceptualising the Factors that Influence the Commercialisation of Non-Timber Forest Products: The Case of Wild Plant Gathering by Organic Herb Farmers in South Tyrol (Italy)." Sustainability 11, no. 7: 2028.

Journal article
Published: 06 December 2018 in Sustainability
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Participatory guarantee systems (PGS) are an emerging strategy in the organic farming and agroecology movement for ensuring the sustainable origin of food. This study focused on the perspectives of stakeholders involved in PGS in Peru (Lima and Apurímac) in order to acquire a greater understanding of how these PGS operate and the context in which they are embedded. Qualitative and quantitative approaches were used for data collection in 2016. PGS in Peru have a fairly centralized pyramid structure, with non-governmental organizations and regional farmers’ associations the main driving forces behind PGS implementation. Improved access to markets and additional commercialization channels are major motivations for farmers to participate in PGS, but major difficulties in these two areas are still being encountered in both regions. There is a high demand among farmers for technical training. Farmers acting as internal evaluators play a special role in their local nuclei and are crucial in the PGS process. The PGS in Lima and Apurímac are an important tool in the agro-ecological movement in Peru and offer considerable potential for the support of small-scale farmers. However, there is a need for official recognition and support together with improvements in internal organization and communication for PGS to be able to maintain their principles.

ACS Style

Nathalie Binder; Christian Reinhard Vogl. Participatory Guarantee Systems in Peru: Two Case Studies in Lima and Apurímac and the Role of Capacity Building in the Food Chain. Sustainability 2018, 10, 4644 .

AMA Style

Nathalie Binder, Christian Reinhard Vogl. Participatory Guarantee Systems in Peru: Two Case Studies in Lima and Apurímac and the Role of Capacity Building in the Food Chain. Sustainability. 2018; 10 (12):4644.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Nathalie Binder; Christian Reinhard Vogl. 2018. "Participatory Guarantee Systems in Peru: Two Case Studies in Lima and Apurímac and the Role of Capacity Building in the Food Chain." Sustainability 10, no. 12: 4644.

Journal article
Published: 07 November 2018 in Sustainability
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The increasing number of producers and consumers of organic products means that there is an increasing need to guarantee the organic characteristics of organic products. Certification is a tool that bridges the information deficit between demand and supply, ensuring that a product complies with the specified standards. Third-party certification (TPC) is the main tool for assessing compliance today. However, there have been criticisms about the suitability of TPC for small-scale producers and alternative certification systems have been developed, such as Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS). PGS are quality assurance systems in which stakeholders are expected to be involved and assure the quality claims being made by producers. This paper presents three PGS initiatives in Spain. The research methods used in this study were semi-structured and structured interviews. Interviewees felt that their PGS initiatives fulfilled the important motivations of building a community and adding value to their products. The main challenges mentioned were the participation of stakeholders and the efficiency of internal organization. The absence of official recognition for PGS in Spain and insufficient dissemination were also perceived as challenges. Although PGS has the potential for further development in Spain, the interviewees believed that more support and official recognition were still required.

ACS Style

Marta López Cifuentes; Christian Reinhard Vogl; Mamen Cuéllar Padilla. Participatory Guarantee Systems in Spain: Motivations, Achievements, Challenges and Opportunities for Improvement Based on Three Case Studies. Sustainability 2018, 10, 4081 .

AMA Style

Marta López Cifuentes, Christian Reinhard Vogl, Mamen Cuéllar Padilla. Participatory Guarantee Systems in Spain: Motivations, Achievements, Challenges and Opportunities for Improvement Based on Three Case Studies. Sustainability. 2018; 10 (11):4081.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Marta López Cifuentes; Christian Reinhard Vogl; Mamen Cuéllar Padilla. 2018. "Participatory Guarantee Systems in Spain: Motivations, Achievements, Challenges and Opportunities for Improvement Based on Three Case Studies." Sustainability 10, no. 11: 4081.

Journal article
Published: 31 October 2018 in Sustainability
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European countries are split over the appreciation of wild berries, fruits, mushrooms, and herbs. While some countries provide public statistics on wild plants, others seem to neglect wild plant gathering and commercialization. In this study, we aimed to understand if wild plant commercialization is neglected or irrelevant in Austria, a country that does not provide statistics. We focus on organic producers, because organic certification of wild plant gathering might have potential for countering frequent concerns about commercial gathering, including destructive gathering and overharvesting. Using a mixed-methods approach with a concurrent triangulation design, databases of six organic certification bodies were analysed concurrently with semi-structured expert interviews of their representatives. We found that organic certification for gathering was issued to 1.5% of organic producers in the year 2016 in Austria and is relevant for three distinct gatherer types: regular, diversified, and single-plant gatherers. Organic gathering is most frequently part of agricultural or horticultural farms and rarely an isolated commercial activity. It is related to mixed farming, deepening on-farm diversification, and contributes to maintaining traditions, as well as the local socio-ecological memory of wild plant products. Organic wild plants are directly marketed to consumers as traditional and innovative products, but also supplied to mass markets. We conclude that from a socio-cultural perspective and a focus on regional economies, organic gathering is neglected in Austria, whereas from an income perspective, wild plant gathering seems to be indeed relevant for few organic producers, although exhibiting potential.

ACS Style

Christoph Schunko; Christian R. Vogl. Is the Commercialization of Wild Plants by Organic Producers in Austria Neglected or Irrelevant? Sustainability 2018, 10, 3989 .

AMA Style

Christoph Schunko, Christian R. Vogl. Is the Commercialization of Wild Plants by Organic Producers in Austria Neglected or Irrelevant? Sustainability. 2018; 10 (11):3989.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Christoph Schunko; Christian R. Vogl. 2018. "Is the Commercialization of Wild Plants by Organic Producers in Austria Neglected or Irrelevant?" Sustainability 10, no. 11: 3989.

Journal article
Published: 29 October 2018 in Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine
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Home gardens are an integral part of many traditional land use systems around the world. They are subject to various conversion processes and undergo a variety of changes. We were interested if change is an ongoing process in farmers’ home gardens of Eastern Tyrol (Austria). In Sillian, 16 farmers’ home gardens (FHGs) were studied. They had been studied in 1998 and were revisited in 2013 including again a botanical inventory of cultivated and non-cultivated plants, and structured interviews on appearance, management and plant use. In 2017, all the 16 gardens were visited again to verify whether any visible change on spatial configuration had occurred. The home garden size had decreased between 1998 and 2013. A wider range of sizes was observed. The occurrence of plant taxa per garden was the same but an increase in the standard deviation of occurrence is seen. Plant diversity (occ./m2) increased between 1998 and 2013. Seventy-nine plant taxa were no longer cultivated in 2013, but 95 new plant taxa were being cultivated. The correlation between garden size and occurrence was not significant, i.e. small gardens might host many different plant taxa or large gardens might have fewer plant taxa. The occurrence for certain use categories was not significantly different between the years, except for the increase in the occurrence of plant taxa used as food and the food subcategory spice. The mean abundance of individuals for all plant taxa showed a significant decrease between the years. In 2013, an increase in standard deviation of abundance is seen. The variation in the different use categories expressed in abundance between the years was not significantly different, except for the decrease in the abundance of plant taxa used as food. Between 1998 and 2017, six home gardens showed a change of their spatial configuration (replacement by raised beds; merging with other structures; conversion to lawn). One FHG shows signs of abandonment. In Sillian, gardens are by no way static agroecological units, but are dynamic and individual in their appearance, composition and function. Farmers’ home gardens in Sillian show a trend towards becoming more individual, i.e. conversion from being a product of a homogenous local cultural script of the community into an area where gardeners define more individually the role that farmers’ homegardens are expected to play for them or their family.

ACS Style

Brigitte Vogl-Lukasser; Christian R. Vogl. The changing face of farmers’ home gardens: a diachronic analysis from Sillian (Eastern Tyrol, Austria). Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2018, 14, 63 .

AMA Style

Brigitte Vogl-Lukasser, Christian R. Vogl. The changing face of farmers’ home gardens: a diachronic analysis from Sillian (Eastern Tyrol, Austria). Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 2018; 14 (1):63.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Brigitte Vogl-Lukasser; Christian R. Vogl. 2018. "The changing face of farmers’ home gardens: a diachronic analysis from Sillian (Eastern Tyrol, Austria)." Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 14, no. 1: 63.

Journal article
Published: 06 April 2018 in Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine
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Food knowledge and consumption in the context of migration is an important topic in ethnobiological research. Little research is done on the process of how external factors impact food knowledge amongst migrants. Taking into account social organisation and power relations of food knowledge transmission and distribution of food knowledge, this study sheds light on how the accessibility of resources, the predominant cuisine in the host country and ethnic tourism influences the food knowledge tradition of Tyrolean migrants and their descendants in Treze Tílias. Field research was conducted in Austria and Brazil in 2008-2009, using free-listing, social network analysis and participatory observation. The collected data was analysed by calculating Smith's Salience index, visualising personal and social networks and qualitative text analysis. Tyroleans in Austria had a different perception and a higher agreement of what Tyrolean food comprises than Tyroleans in Brazil, indicating different developments: Tyrolean migrants adapted their food habits according to available resources and over time in Brazil. Later, ethnic tourism had a strong impact: In Treze Tílias, dishes with the highest Smith's Salience index-forming the core of cultural food knowledge-strongly coincided with Tyrolean food served in ethnic restaurants, whose staff were perceived to be experts in Tyrolean food. Despite most food knowledge in Treze Tílias was transmitted within families, ethnic food prepared in restaurants and hotels determined the shared perception of what Tyrolean food comprises. Perceived as experts, the staff in ethnic restaurants were in a powerful position to transform cultural food knowledge by providing institutionalised and standardised knowledge about Tyrolean food.

ACS Style

Elisabeth Kuhn; Ruth Haselmair; Heidemarie Pirker; Christian R. Vogl. The role of ethnic tourism in the food knowledge tradition of Tyrolean migrants in Treze Tílias, SC, Brazil. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2018, 14, 26 .

AMA Style

Elisabeth Kuhn, Ruth Haselmair, Heidemarie Pirker, Christian R. Vogl. The role of ethnic tourism in the food knowledge tradition of Tyrolean migrants in Treze Tílias, SC, Brazil. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 2018; 14 (1):26.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Elisabeth Kuhn; Ruth Haselmair; Heidemarie Pirker; Christian R. Vogl. 2018. "The role of ethnic tourism in the food knowledge tradition of Tyrolean migrants in Treze Tílias, SC, Brazil." Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 14, no. 1: 26.

Article
Published: 19 December 2017 in Agriculture and Human Values
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Third-party certification (TPC), the most common organic certification system, has faced growing criticism in recent years. This has led to the development of alternative certification systems, most of which can be classed as Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS). PGS have been promoted as a more suitable, cheaper and less bureaucratic alternative to TPC for local markets and are associated with additional benefits such as empowering smallholder farmers, facilitating farmer-to-farmer learning and enhancing food security and sovereignty. PGS have spread rapidly in the past few years, but studies suggest that they are facing numerous challenges that, if not addressed, may jeopardise these benefits. Using the example of three Mexican PGS initiatives, this paper explores the main challenges faced by PGS, specifically those predominantly found in producer-run PGS initiatives. Based on producer and consumer surveys, semi-structured and informal interviews, and participant and non-participant observation, the key challenges that emerged were continuous implementation of the certification process, time constraints, personal conflicts and conflict avoidance. The paper further argues that the requirements for PGS recognition under the Mexican Law for Organic Products may also threaten the continued existence of PGS and suggests that mechanisms for managing conflicts, incentivising PGS participation and mitigating opportunity costs are key if PGS are to continue to develop.

ACS Style

Sonja Kaufmann; Christian R. Vogl. Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) in Mexico: a theoretic ideal or everyday practice? Agriculture and Human Values 2017, 35, 457 -472.

AMA Style

Sonja Kaufmann, Christian R. Vogl. Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) in Mexico: a theoretic ideal or everyday practice? Agriculture and Human Values. 2017; 35 (2):457-472.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Sonja Kaufmann; Christian R. Vogl. 2017. "Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) in Mexico: a theoretic ideal or everyday practice?" Agriculture and Human Values 35, no. 2: 457-472.

E viewpoint
Published: 04 December 2017 in British Food Journal
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Purpose Place-based foodstuffs have gained salience in markets worldwide and geographical indication (GI) products are prominent examples. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the governance (formal and informal institutions) of the European and Japanese GI schemes, discuss the variety of procedures of implementing the features of the governance system (inclusion and exclusion of actors) for six GI cases and reflect on future GI governance. Design/methodology/approach The criteria for assessing the six cases were descriptive and analytical and the information and data come from official documents, literature (scientific and “grey”), interviews, observations and personal communications with key-informants of the GI systems. Three of the cases are categorized as “failures” and are included to provide more insights on the diverse dynamics of GI systems. Findings Registration of GIs seems to be a process rather than a single step, requesting coordination and consensus and an interplay between internal and external actors. “Success” and “failure” are relative and related to self-governance processes and the openness of the social system of the GI to establish transparency on inclusion and exclusion. GI systems require constant management and re-definition of production quality or geographical boundaries to adapt to market, climate or technological change. Originality/value The paper introduces GI systems categorized as “failures” (either products that did not register as GIs in the end or did register but failed to keep the registration) which provides more insights on how to design and manage complex GI systems.

ACS Style

Thanasis Kizos; Ryo Kohsaka; Marianne Penker; Cinzia Piatti; Christian Reinhard Vogl; Yuta Uchiyama. The governance of geographical indications. British Food Journal 2017, 119, 2863 -2879.

AMA Style

Thanasis Kizos, Ryo Kohsaka, Marianne Penker, Cinzia Piatti, Christian Reinhard Vogl, Yuta Uchiyama. The governance of geographical indications. British Food Journal. 2017; 119 (12):2863-2879.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Thanasis Kizos; Ryo Kohsaka; Marianne Penker; Cinzia Piatti; Christian Reinhard Vogl; Yuta Uchiyama. 2017. "The governance of geographical indications." British Food Journal 119, no. 12: 2863-2879.

Book chapter
Published: 11 January 2017 in Sustainable Development of Organic Agriculture
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ACS Style

Christian R. Vogl; Susanne Kummer; Friedrich Leitgeb; Christoph Schunko; Magdalena Aigner. Chapter 6 Keeping the Actors in the Organic System Learning: The Role of Organic Farmers’ Experiments. Sustainable Development of Organic Agriculture 2017, 97 -114.

AMA Style

Christian R. Vogl, Susanne Kummer, Friedrich Leitgeb, Christoph Schunko, Magdalena Aigner. Chapter 6 Keeping the Actors in the Organic System Learning: The Role of Organic Farmers’ Experiments. Sustainable Development of Organic Agriculture. 2017; ():97-114.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Christian R. Vogl; Susanne Kummer; Friedrich Leitgeb; Christoph Schunko; Magdalena Aigner. 2017. "Chapter 6 Keeping the Actors in the Organic System Learning: The Role of Organic Farmers’ Experiments." Sustainable Development of Organic Agriculture , no. : 97-114.

Comparative study
Published: 03 January 2017 in Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine
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Ethnoveterinary knowledge in Europe may play an important role as a basis for sustainable treatment options for livestock. Aims of our study were (a) to compare the ethnoveterinary practices of two culturally and sociodemographically different regions of Switzerland, (b) to compare results with earlier ethnoveterinary studies conducted in Switzerland and in adjacent Italian regions and, (c) to evaluate possible reasons for regional differences in European ethnoveterinary medicine. 25 interviews were conducted in 2014 in all Italian speaking regions (ItR) of Switzerland, and 31 interviews were held in five north-western German speaking Cantons (GeC). Semi-structured questionnaires were used to collect detailed information regarding plant species, mode of preparation, dosage, route of administration, category of use, origin of knowledge, frequency of use, and satisfaction with outcomes of the treatments. A total of 162 homemade remedies in ItR and 219 in GeC were reported, out of which 125 and 145, respectively, were reported to contain only one plant species (homemade single species herbal remedy report, HSHR). 44 ItR and 43 GeC plant species were reported to treat livestock, of which only a half were used in both regions. For each HSHR, we classified the treatment intention of all use reports (UR), leading to a total of 205 and 219 UR in ItR and GeC respectively. While cattle were the most often treated livestock species in both study regions, in ItR 40% of UR were administered to small ruminants. Main indications in both regions were gastrointestinal diseases and skin afflictions, but in ItR a high number of URs were reported as antiparasitics. URs were mainly handed down from the past generation, but in GeC the source of knowledge for 20% of URs were from courses. Regarding the used plant species, ItR showed a higher concordance with Swiss than Italian studies, but with some differences to all regions. A total of 22 (14 ItR; 8 GeC) plant species in this study have not been reported before in ethnoveterinary studies of Swiss and Italian alpine regions. ItR and GeC, show differences and similarities with respect to their own ethnoveterinary practices and earlier Swiss and Italian ethnoveterinary studies. Linguistic, geographical, as well as social and farm-structural conditions influence the regional ethnoveterinary knowledge. However, political borders seem to be more important than language or geographical barriers.

ACS Style

Maria Mayer; Mirjam Zbinden; Christan R. Vogl; Silvia Ivemeyer; Beat Meier; Michele Amorena; Ariane Maeschli; Matthias Hamburger; Michael Walkenhorst. Swiss ethnoveterinary knowledge on medicinal plants - a within-country comparison of Italian speaking regions with north-western German speaking regions. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2017, 13, 1 .

AMA Style

Maria Mayer, Mirjam Zbinden, Christan R. Vogl, Silvia Ivemeyer, Beat Meier, Michele Amorena, Ariane Maeschli, Matthias Hamburger, Michael Walkenhorst. Swiss ethnoveterinary knowledge on medicinal plants - a within-country comparison of Italian speaking regions with north-western German speaking regions. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 2017; 13 (1):1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Maria Mayer; Mirjam Zbinden; Christan R. Vogl; Silvia Ivemeyer; Beat Meier; Michele Amorena; Ariane Maeschli; Matthias Hamburger; Michael Walkenhorst. 2017. "Swiss ethnoveterinary knowledge on medicinal plants - a within-country comparison of Italian speaking regions with north-western German speaking regions." Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 13, no. 1: 1.

Journal article
Published: 01 January 2017 in Ecology and Society
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Kernecker, M., C. R. Vogl, and A. Aguilar Melendez. 2017. Women's local knowledge of water resources and adaptation to landscape change in the mountains of Veracruz, Mexico. Ecology and Society 22(4):37. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-09787-220437

ACS Style

Maria Kernecker; Christian R. Vogl; Araceli Aguilar Meléndez. Women's local knowledge of water resources and adaptation to landscape change in the mountains of Veracruz, Mexico. Ecology and Society 2017, 22, 1 .

AMA Style

Maria Kernecker, Christian R. Vogl, Araceli Aguilar Meléndez. Women's local knowledge of water resources and adaptation to landscape change in the mountains of Veracruz, Mexico. Ecology and Society. 2017; 22 (4):1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Maria Kernecker; Christian R. Vogl; Araceli Aguilar Meléndez. 2017. "Women's local knowledge of water resources and adaptation to landscape change in the mountains of Veracruz, Mexico." Ecology and Society 22, no. 4: 1.

Journal article
Published: 17 October 2016 in Sustainable Agriculture Research
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Farmers’ experiments can be defined as the autonomous activities of farmers to try or introduce something new at the farm, and include evaluation of success or failure with farmers’ own methods. Experiments enable farmers to adapt their farms to changing circumstances, build up local knowledge, and have resulted in countless agricultural innovations. Most research on the topic has been conducted in countries of the south. In this paper, however, we present experiments of randomly sampled organic farmers in Austria, and we discuss implications for agricultural innovation systems. In 76 structured questionnaire interviews we investigated topics, motives, methods and outcomes of farmers’ experiments, and factors related to the frequency of experimentation. From the interviewed farmers, 90% reported experiments, and the majority of experiments (94%) involved monitoring and evaluation strategies. Farmers who reported a high frequency of experimentation showed a significantly higher propensity to plan, document and repeat their experiments, and had a more positive attitude towards experimenting than farmers that rarely experimented. We conclude that experimenting is a common activity among organic farmers in Austria, and that farmers have their own methods to conduct and assess their experiments. The most significant outcome is the creation of new knowledge, stressing the importance of experimentation for learning and adaptive farm management. Farmers’ experiments are significant on two levels, i.e. at individual farm level and at the level of agricultural innovation systems. Taking full advantage of this innovative potential requires a better involvement of farmers as co-researchers into the development of agricultural innovations.

ACS Style

Susanne Kummer; Friedrich Leitgeb; Christian R. Vogl. Farmers’ Own Research: Organic Farmers’ Experiments in Austria and Implications for Agricultural Innovation Systems. Sustainable Agriculture Research 2016, 6, 103 .

AMA Style

Susanne Kummer, Friedrich Leitgeb, Christian R. Vogl. Farmers’ Own Research: Organic Farmers’ Experiments in Austria and Implications for Agricultural Innovation Systems. Sustainable Agriculture Research. 2016; 6 (1):103.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Susanne Kummer; Friedrich Leitgeb; Christian R. Vogl. 2016. "Farmers’ Own Research: Organic Farmers’ Experiments in Austria and Implications for Agricultural Innovation Systems." Sustainable Agriculture Research 6, no. 1: 103.

Journal article
Published: 10 October 2016 in Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine
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Ethically sound research in applied ethnobiology should benefit local communities by giving them full access to research processes and results. Participatory research may ensure such access, but there has been little discussion on methodological details of participatory approaches in ethnobiological research. This paper presents and discusses the research processes and methods developed in the course of a three-year research project on wild plant gathering, the involvement of children as co-researchers and the project's indications for local impact. Research was conducted in the Grosses Walsertal Biosphere Reserve, Austria, between 2008 and 2010 in four research phases. In phase 1, 36 freelist interviews with local people and participant observation was conducted. In phase 2 school workshops were held in 14 primary school classes and their 189 children interviewed 506 family members with structured questionnaires. In phase 3, 27 children and two researchers co-produced participatory videos. In phase 4 indications for the impact of the project were investigated with questionnaires from ten children and with participant observation. Children participated in various ways in the research process and the scientific output and local impact of the project was linked to the phases, degrees and methods of children's involvement. Children were increasingly involved in the project, from non-participation to decision-making. Scientific output was generated from participatory and non-participatory activities whereas local impact - on personal, familial, communal and institutional levels - was mainly generated through the participatory involvement of children as interviewers and as co-producers of videos. Creating scientific outputs from participatory video is little developed in ethnobiology, whereas bearing potential. As ethnobotanists and ethnobiologists, if we are truly concerned about the impact and benefits of our research processes and results to local communities, the details of the research processes need to be deliberately planned and evaluated and then reported and discussed in academic publications.

ACS Style

Susanne Grasser; Christoph Schunko; Christian Reinhard Vogl. Children as ethnobotanists: methods and local impact of a participatory research project with children on wild plant gathering in the Grosses Walsertal Biosphere Reserve, Austria. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2016, 12, 46 .

AMA Style

Susanne Grasser, Christoph Schunko, Christian Reinhard Vogl. Children as ethnobotanists: methods and local impact of a participatory research project with children on wild plant gathering in the Grosses Walsertal Biosphere Reserve, Austria. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 2016; 12 (1):46.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Susanne Grasser; Christoph Schunko; Christian Reinhard Vogl. 2016. "Children as ethnobotanists: methods and local impact of a participatory research project with children on wild plant gathering in the Grosses Walsertal Biosphere Reserve, Austria." Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 12, no. 1: 46.

Journal article
Published: 12 September 2016 in Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine
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The sustainable management of animal health and welfare is of increasing importance to consumers and a key topic in the organic farming movement. Few systematic studies have been undertaken investigating farmers’ local knowledge related to this issue. Ethnoveterinary medicine (EVM) is a discipline focusing on local knowledge and folk methods in veterinary medicine, however most ethnoveterinarian studies primarily address the treatment of animal diseases. Very few studies have explored prophylactic methods. An ethnoveterinary research project in Eastern Tyrol (Austria) was conducted in 2004 and 2005 to gather information about local knowledge of animal husbandry from 144 informants, with the emphasis on plants that maintain livestock health and welfare. Informants mentioned a total of 87 plants and 22 plant-based generic terms in the context of maintaining and improving livestock health and welfare. The most important preventive measures for maintaining and improving animal health and welfare were practices related to “fodder” and “feeding”. In this category the plants mentioned could be grouped according to three different perceptions about their effect on animals: “Good or bad fodder”, “Functional fodder” and “Fodder medicine”. In addition to fodder, environmental management, the human-animal relationship, household remedies and cultural/religious activities were also mentioned. When asked about practices in the past that maintained animal health and well-being, interviewees mentioned, for example, the importance of the diversity of sources that used to be available to obtain feed and fodder. The informants’ approach that feeding is central to livestock welfare is in line with the standard scientific literature on animal health, including in organic farming. Various scientific studies into common fodder evaluate the nutritive and dietary value, efficiency and safety of fodder. Future studies also have to consider the evaluation of traditional, local fodder resources. In fact, the value of ‘food as medicine’ for humans in the context of local knowledge has been widely assessed, but the potential health benefits of fodder and nutraceuticals in local and traditional ethnoveterinary methods require further attention.

ACS Style

Christian R. Vogl; Brigitte Vogl-Lukasser; Michael Walkenhorst. Local knowledge held by farmers in Eastern Tyrol (Austria) about the use of plants to maintain and improve animal health and welfare. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2016, 12, 1 -17.

AMA Style

Christian R. Vogl, Brigitte Vogl-Lukasser, Michael Walkenhorst. Local knowledge held by farmers in Eastern Tyrol (Austria) about the use of plants to maintain and improve animal health and welfare. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 2016; 12 (1):1-17.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Christian R. Vogl; Brigitte Vogl-Lukasser; Michael Walkenhorst. 2016. "Local knowledge held by farmers in Eastern Tyrol (Austria) about the use of plants to maintain and improve animal health and welfare." Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 12, no. 1: 1-17.