Magic and Muck: On Chicken and Egg Problems When Framing Organic Conversions as Transformations,and the Importance of the Personal Sphere

Abstract

This comment aims to further develop James and Brown proposal of framing organic conversions as transformations, referring to “the three spheres of transformation” (practical, political, and personal). Particularly, I address the dynamic interactions between the three spheres during the transformational process, and challenge James and Brown’s emphasis on the political sphere. To this aim, I first make explicit the temporal logic underlying James and Brown’s analysis, which is consistent with other conceptualizations in literature, also giving importance to the political sphere. Then, I mention an alternative approach, highlighting the potentially initiating role of key individuals and farmers’ epiphanies in the transformational process. This makes a strong difference in the narratives that can be made around organic conversions, by shedding light on the personal sphere and the “co-arising” of the three spheres. This proposal raises both methodological and theoretical questions, which can be addressed by introducing insights from quantum theory.