Økologipolitikken og de økologiske interesseorganisationers kapaciteter i Danmark, Sverige og Tyskland [The ecological policy and the capacities of the ecological interest organizations in Denmark, Sweden and German]

In Northern Europe, in the 1980s, organic farming was put onto the political agenda. This significantly changed the conditions for the associations representing the organic farming industry and influenced the way in which they developed. In Denmark organic farming was defined as a niche industry and it was not until later that environmental concerns were given some priority. In Sweden organic farming was defined as an environmental measure. In Germany it was initially seen as a measure to decrease surplus production in the EU and later as a consumer protection measure. These divergent perceptions of the policy problems which organic farming was to address have influenced the development of the capacities of organic interest groups differently. The Danish organic interest group has developed substantial capacities in marketing of organic produce, while its Swedish and Germans counterparts have developed such capacities only to a limited extent and have remained relatively weak groups.