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We Don’t Want to Be Officially Certified! Reasons and Implications of the Participatory Guarantee Systems

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  • Mamen Cuéllar-Padilla

    (Agroecology, Food Sovereignty and Commons Research Group, Cordoba University, Sociology Unit, C5 Building, Campus Universitario Rabanales, Universidad de Cordoba, 14080 Cordoba, Spain)

  • Ernesto Ganuza-Fernandez

    (IESA/CSIC-JA, Campo Santo de los Mártires 7, 14004 Cordoba, Spain)

Abstract

Official organic regulation in Europe is based on the third-party certification system to guarantee organic products. Many critics and dissatisfactions have motivated the emergence of other guarantee systems, based on an intense implication of producers and, in some cases, consumers and other local actors, involved in localised agri-food systems. They are called Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS), and are not recognised as valid guarantee systems by the official organic regulation. In the present paper, we analyse the main differences between the PGS and the third party certification system, deepening on their differentiated social and political implications. We conclude that the procedures behind PGS generate numerous positive impacts in the territories related to local producers (and consumers) empowerment and localised agri-food systems drive, while their implications make them not considered as a substitute to third party certification system, unless certain conditions of social consolidated groups and agroecological and food sovereignty perspective of food system take place.

Suggested Citation

  • Mamen Cuéllar-Padilla & Ernesto Ganuza-Fernandez, 2018. "We Don’t Want to Be Officially Certified! Reasons and Implications of the Participatory Guarantee Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-15, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:4:p:1142-:d:140420
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    Cited by:

    1. Yuna Chiffoleau & Tara Dourian, 2020. "Sustainable Food Supply Chains: Is Shortening the Answer? A Literature Review for a Research and Innovation Agenda," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-21, November.
    2. Pablo Aránguiz & Guillermo Palau-Salvador & Ana Belda & Jordi Peris, 2020. "Critical Thinking Using Project-Based Learning: The Case of The Agroecological Market at the “Universitat Politècnica de València”," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-23, April.
    3. Biancamaria Torquati & Sergio Pedini & Fabio Maria Santucci & Riccardo Da Re, 2021. "Participatory Guarantee System and Social Capital for Sustainable Development in Brazil: The Case Study of OPAC Orgânicos Sul de Minas," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-18, October.
    4. Alexander Wezel & Stéphane Bellon, 2018. "Mapping Agroecology in Europe. New Developments and Applications," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-3, August.
    5. Mamen Cuéllar-Padilla & Isabel Haro-Pérez & Mirene Begiristain-Zubillaga, 2022. "Participatory Guarantee Systems: When People Want to Take Part," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-18, March.
    6. Farreras, Verónica & Salvador, Pablo F., 2022. "Why do some Participatory Guarantee Systems emerge, become effective, and are sustained over time, while others fail? An application of the Ostrom social-ecological system framework," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    7. Giovanna Sacchi & Lavinia Romanello & Maurizio Canavari, 2024. "The future of organic certification: potential impacts of the inclusion of Participatory Guarantee Systems in the European organic regulation," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 12(1), pages 1-19, December.
    8. Gamze Gurler & Birtan Bozlu, 2022. "A Field Study on Food Communities in the Context of Ecological Habitus," Journal of Economy Culture and Society, Istanbul University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 65(65), pages 181-201, June.
    9. González-Azcárate, Mario & Cruz-Maceín, José Luis & Bardají, Isabel, 2022. "Certifications in short food supply chains in the region of Madrid. Part of the alternative?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    10. Sonja Kaufmann & Nikolaus Hruschka & Christian R. Vogl, 2020. "Bridging the Literature Gap: A Framework for Assessing Actor Participation in Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-26, October.
    11. Salvatore Ammirato & Alberto Michele Felicetti & Massimiliano Ferrara & Cinzia Raso & Antonio Violi, 2021. "Collaborative Organization Models for Sustainable Development in the Agri-Food Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-22, February.

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