Within France, the Languedoc-Roussillon region (now part of Occitanie) is home to about one third... more Within France, the Languedoc-Roussillon region (now part of Occitanie) is home to about one third of the nation's area of certified organic vineyards. Each year, the world's largest organic wine fair, Millésime Bio, takes place in the city of Montpellier. This trade fair is an important site where organic wine is not only sold but also given meaning in the market, and importantly, differentiated from but made com- mensurate with conventional wine. In this paper, we exam- ine processes and practices of ‘qualifying’ organic wine, including by means of relational processes of association and dissociation. Drawing on collaborative event ethnogra- phy and other qualitative methods, we focus on individual and institutional actors engaged in creating forms of com- modified meanings that circulate with organic wine. In Languedoc-Roussillon, these meanings reflect and reinforce a longer-term so-called shift to quality in wine production, yet also emphasize continuity over change, particularly through emphasis on ongoing role of artisanal, independent growers. We argue that qualification thereby works not only through association with independent growers but also by dissociation, specifically from Languedoc-Roussillon's agrarian tradition of generic wine production and from the central role played by wine cooperatives in the social repro- duction of the region's small-holding grower class.
Highlights
• Transition toward quality wine production in the Midi region of southern France refl... more Highlights • Transition toward quality wine production in the Midi region of southern France reflects wider norms in French quality agro-food production and regulation but also departs from it.
• Diverse practices and policies comprising a move toward more sustainable wine production in the Midi are highly relevant to the shift to quality wine making but are not synonymous with it.
• The Midi shift to quality wine production involves a dynamic re-articulation of independent and cooperative modes of vinification and includes important changes to cooperative practices and governance.
• Cooperative growers have been slower than independent growers in the uptake of more sustainable agronomic practices, owing in large measure to economic and logistical challenges.
• In-depth profile of three ethnographic subjects highlights ways that individuals negotiate and give shape to broad changes in the Midi winescape but also the ways these individuals make choices constrained by broader social, institutional and environmental context.
Despite emerging appreciations of con textual knowledge systems‚ elem ents of diversity in m ou n... more Despite emerging appreciations of con textual knowledge systems‚ elem ents of diversity in m ou ntain farm ing systems are often characterized as irrational and as obstacles to achievin g the production goals of 'modernized ' agricultu re. In this paper‚ I suggest that these negative representations are produced at least in part as a fun ction of the norm alization of a large-scale agricu lture as ration al. A case-stu dy of a m ou ntain farm ing system in the Karakoram m ountains of northern Pakistan is presented to expose a contextual rationality in relation to risk m in im ization and to challenge characterizations of this system as 'backward ‚' un soph isticated and irrational. Specifically I exam in e the risk m ediating characteristics of practices such as field dispersal‚ delayed plan tin g‚ in tercropping‚ and polyvarietal plan tin g an d con clude that the characteristic feature of this local farm ing system is a con textually rational diversity. This con flicts with the m odern ist paradigm of ration ality an d econom ic growth subscribed to by a local developm ent agency. Intervention based on ill-inform ed in terpretations of "tradition al" practice have the poten tial to increase vulnerability of villagers by failin g to appreciate the con textual ration ality of diversity.
Over the past two decades, the incorporation of market logics into environment and conservation p... more Over the past two decades, the incorporation of market logics into environment and conservation policy has led to a reconceptualization of “nature.” Resulting constructs like ecosystem services and biodiversity derivatives, as well as finance mechanisms like Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, species banking, and carbon trading, offer new avenues for accumulation and set the context for new enclosures. As these practices have become more apparent, geographers have been at the forefront of interdisciplinary research that has highlighted the effects of “green grabs”—in which “green credentials” are used to justify expropriation of land and resources—in specific locales. While case studies have begun to reveal the social and ecological marginalization associated with green grabs and the implementation of market mechanisms in particular sites, less attention has been paid to the systemic dimensions and “logics” mobilizing these projects. Yet, the emergence of ...
This special issue introduces readers to collaborative event ethnography (CEE), a method develope... more This special issue introduces readers to collaborative event ethnography (CEE), a method developed to support the ethnographic study of large global environmental meetings. CEE was applied by a group of seventeen researchers at the Tenth Conference of the Parties (COP10) to the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) to study the politics of biodiversity conservation. In this introduction, we describe our interests in global environmental meetings as sites where the politics of biodiversity conservation can be observed and as windows into broader governance networks. We specify the types of politics we attend to when observing such meetings and then describe the CBD, its COP, challenges meetings pose for ethnographic researchers, how CEE responds to these challenges generally, and the specifics of our research practices at COP10. Following a summary of the contributed papers, we conclude by reflecting on the evolution of CEE over time.
Slope instability and occasional devastating landslides are well-known hazards in high mountain a... more Slope instability and occasional devastating landslides are well-known hazards in high mountain areas. This paper describes and discusses an example of extensive and recurring damage associated with agricultural settlements around the lower reaches of the rapidly flowing Bualtar and Barpu Glaciers in northern Pakistan. These landslides occur over a zone about 20 km long in response to erosive processes at the ice-slope interface, and slowly descend 150–300 m from the edges of cultivation to the glacier margins. Damage is evident in the loss and/or abandonment of approximately 10 km2 of land, and in the destruction of dwellings and irrigation channels. The daily routine of local villagers is affected because alterations of both the slope and the ice surface destroy frequently used transport routes. Although the landslides have a history decades long, the landslide problem has more recently assumed heightened significance in relation to rapidly occurring economic and social change suc...
In writing about Barack Obama's efforts to entice Republicans into ending US Congressional gridlo... more In writing about Barack Obama's efforts to entice Republicans into ending US Congressional gridlock, news columnist John Avalon wrote, "All politics is personal and at the end of the day, in a representative democracy, decisions are made by people in a room." 1 While he focused on the role of personal relationships in "a representative democracy," political decisions are made by "people in a room" across diverse forms of government. Accounting for what happens in that room, and theorizing how and why it happens, is a critical challenge for policy researchers. It requires focusing on the conduct of politics in everyday practice, and it necessitates studying the individual motivations, relationships, and agency that shape policies, institutions, and regimes. It also demands attention to the ways in which bureaucratic norms shape who can speak and how, as well as the ways in which multiple political, social, and cultural phenomena converge, conditioning which ideas, narratives, and practices subsequently become institutionalized. We argue that such details are best captured in real time, * CEE relies on collaboration, and the authors listed here were involved in the actual writing of this article. However, the arguments presented reºect four years of ongoing conversations with members of CEEs of the WCC, CBD and Rioϩ20, including J. Peter Brosius and Noella J. Gray, as well as . We also thank three anonymous reviewers, and individuals who have provided critical and supportive feedback to improve the methodology over the years, including Dan Brockington, Bram Büscher, Rosaleen Duffy, Jim Igoe, Paige West, and many others.
Over the past two decades, the incorporation of market logics into environment and conservation p... more Over the past two decades, the incorporation of market logics into environment and conservation policy has led to a reconceptualization of “nature.” Resulting constructs like ecosystem services and biodiversity derivatives, as well as finance mechanisms like Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, species banking, and carbon trading, offer new avenues for accumulation and set the context for new enclosures. As these practices have become more apparent, geographers have been at the forefront of interdisciplinary research that has highlighted the effects of “green grabs”—in which ‘‘green credentials’‘ are used to justify expropriation of land and resources—in specific locales. While case studies have begun to reveal the social and ecological marginalization associated with green grabs and the implementation of market mechanisms in particular sites, less attention has been paid to the systemic dimensions and “logics” mobilizing these projects. Yet, the emergence of these constructs reflects a larger transformation in international environmental governance— one in which the discourse of global ecology has accommodated an ontology of natural capital, culminating in the production of what is taking shape as “The Green Economy.” The Green Economy is not a natural or coincidental development, but is contingent upon, and coordinated by, actors drawn together around familiar and emergent institutions of environmental governance. Indeed, the terrain for green grabbing is increasingly cultivated through relationships among international environmental policy institutions, organizations, activists, academics, and transnational capitalist and managerial classes.
Despite emerging appreciations of contextual knowledge systems‚ elements of diversity in mountain... more Despite emerging appreciations of contextual knowledge systems‚ elements of diversity in mountain farming systems are often characterized as irrational and as obstacles to achieving the production goals of ‘modernized’ agriculture. In this paper‚ I suggest that these negative representations are produced at least in part as a function of the normalization of a large-scale agriculture as rational. A case-study of a mountain farming system in the Karakoram mountains of northern Pakistan is presented to expose a contextual rationality in relation to risk minimization and to challenge characterizations of this system as ‘backward‚’ unsophisticated and irrational. Specifically I examine the risk mediating characteristics of practices such as field dispersal‚ delayed planting‚ intercropping‚ and polyvarietal planting and conclude that the characteristic feature of this local farming system is a contextually rational diversity. This conflicts with the modernist paradigm of rationality and economic growth subscribed to by a local development agency. Intervention based on ill-informed interpretations of “traditional” practice have the potential to increase vulnerability of villagers by failing to appreciate the contextual rationality of diversity.
The extension of consumption under contemporary capitalism is aided by a capacity to qualify prod... more The extension of consumption under contemporary capitalism is aided by a capacity to qualify products as cultural, with the ability to reproduce nature, community and tradition. In this paper, I consider this 'economy of quality' as dependant on the work of mediators that circulate models of consumption and articulate production practices with those models through practices of qualification that attach consumers to those products. Qualification requires an institutional and organizational structure responsible for attributing, stabilizing and objectifying qualities. Slow Food International provides just such a structure. I use the case of cheese (the product) and Cheese! (a biennial Slow Food festival) to: (1) identify practices of qualification that characterize cheese as a moral good; (2) describe the institutional mechanisms of Slow Food that articulate qualification with models of consumption grounded in a new politics of distribution and recognition; and (3) analyze the ways in which qualification not only configures (and is configured by) practices of consumption but demands the reorganization of practices and locales of production in order to meet the multiple and often contradictory demands of actors brought into relation by the transnational circulation of cheese. The paper highlights the ways in which a diversity of actors actively configures material and symbolic resources across space to produce and circulates new discourses and prescriptive models of consumption grounded in cultural practice by attending to invocations of culture, configurations of power, and the way in which the production and defense of ''the local'' and ''local'' commodities is tied to translocal networks. 1 Unless otherwise indicated, when I use the word cheese in this paper, I am referring to what is commonly known as artisanal, farmstead, or 'fine' cheese. 2 In the Maitre Fromager classes I take as part of my research, many of my
This article uses theories of virtualism to analyse the role of The Economics of Ecosystems and B... more This article uses theories of virtualism to analyse the role of The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) project in the production of natural capital. Presented at the 10th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, the project seeks to redress the 'economic invisibility of nature' by quantifying the value of ecosystems and biodiversity. This endeavour to put an economic value on ecosystems makes nature legible by abstracting it from social and ecological contexts and making it subject to, and productive of, new market devices. In reducing the complexity of ecological dynamics to idealized categories TEEB is driven by economic ideas and idealism, and, in claiming to be a quantitative force for morality, is engaged in the production of practices designed to conform the 'real' to the virtual. By rendering a 'valued' nature legible for key audiences, TEEB has mobilized a critical mass of support including modellers, policy makers and bankers. We argue that TEEB's rhetoric of crisis and value aligns capitalism with a new kind of ecological modernization in which 'the market' and market devices serve as key mechanisms to conform the real and the virtual. Using the case of TEEB, and drawing on data collected at COP10, we illustrate the importance of international meetings as key points where idealized models of biodiversity protection emerge, circulate and are negotiated, and as sites where actors are aligned and articulated with these idealized models in ways that begin further processes of conforming the real with the virtual and the realization of 'natural capital'.
Intensified relations between biodiversity conservation organizations and privatesector actors ar... more Intensified relations between biodiversity conservation organizations and privatesector actors are analyzed through a historical perspective that positions biodiversity conservation as an organized political project. Within this view the organizational dimensions of conservation exist as coordinated agreement and action among a variety of actors that take shape within radically asymmetrical power relations. This paper traces the privileged position of "business" in aligning concepts of sustainable development and ecological modernization within the emerging institutional context of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Global Environment Facility in ways that help to secure continued access to "nature as capital", and create the institutional conditions to shape the work of conservation organizations. The contemporary emergence of business as a major actor in shaping contemporary biodiversity conservation is explained in part by the organizational characteristics of modernist conservation that subordinates it to larger societal and political projects such as neoliberal capitalism.
Biodiversity conservation, in practice, is defined through the institutionalised association of i... more Biodiversity conservation, in practice, is defined through the institutionalised association of individuals, organisations, institutions, bodies of knowledge, and interests. Events like the World Conservation Congress (WCC) constitute political sites where much of that institutionalisation is rendered legible and where struggles over the organisational order of conservation are acted out. Over the past decade one source of struggle has been the role of private sector actors and markets. This paper treats the WCC as a site where tension over marketbased mechanisms of conservation becomes visible and where it becomes possible to watch durable institutional arrangements form and enter standard operational practice of organisations like IUCN. This paper builds upon recent work on the performative aspects of governance and analyses the WCC as an integral mechanism in achieving a renegotiated 'order' of conservation with 'private sector engagement' as a core operational practice. It describes how this performative work is predicated, in part, on the act of meeting; and the ways meetings serve both as sites for the formation of associations and as vehicles that privilege certain positions in renegotiating an organisational order under which the interests of capital accumulation receive an unparalleled degree of access and consideration in conservation planning and practice.
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Papers by Ken MacDonald
• Transition toward quality wine production in the Midi region of southern France reflects wider norms in French quality agro-food production and regulation but also departs from it.
• Diverse practices and policies comprising a move toward more sustainable wine production in the Midi are highly relevant to the shift to quality wine making but are not synonymous with it.
• The Midi shift to quality wine production involves a dynamic re-articulation of independent and cooperative modes of vinification and includes important changes to cooperative practices and governance.
• Cooperative growers have been slower than independent growers in the uptake of more sustainable agronomic practices, owing in large measure to economic and logistical challenges.
• In-depth profile of three ethnographic subjects highlights ways that individuals negotiate and give shape to broad changes in the Midi winescape but also the ways these individuals make choices constrained by broader social, institutional and environmental context.
in part as a function of the normalization of a large-scale agriculture as rational. A case-study of a mountain farming system in the Karakoram mountains of northern Pakistan is presented to expose a contextual rationality in relation to risk minimization and to challenge characterizations of this system
as ‘backward‚’ unsophisticated and irrational. Specifically I examine the risk mediating characteristics of practices such as field dispersal‚ delayed planting‚ intercropping‚ and polyvarietal planting and conclude that the characteristic feature of this local farming system is a contextually rational diversity. This conflicts with the modernist paradigm of rationality and economic growth subscribed to by a local development agency. Intervention based on ill-informed interpretations of “traditional” practice have the potential to increase vulnerability of villagers by failing to appreciate the contextual rationality of diversity.