The Coexistence of Multiple Worldviews in Livestock Farming Drives Agroecological Transition. A ...

13 Pages·2017·7.17 MB·English

sustainability
Article
The Coexistence of Multiple Worldviews in Livestock
Farming Drives Agroecological Transition. A Case
Study in French Protected Designation of Origin
(PDO) Cheese Mountain Areas
PatriceCayre1,*,AudreyMichaud2,Jean-PierreTheau3andCyrilleRigolot4
1 AgricultureMinistry,Reserachandteachinggeneraldirection,AgroParisTech,9avenueBlaisePascal,
63171Aubiere,France
2 UniversitéClermontAuvergne,INRA,VetAgroSup,UMRHerbivores,F63122SaintGenèsChampanelle,
France;[email protected]
3 AGIR,UniversitédeToulouse,INRA,F-31326Castanet-Tolosan,France;[email protected]
4 UniversitéClermontAuvergne,INRA,VetAgroSup,UMRTerritoires,F63122SaintGenèsChampanelle,
France;[email protected]
* Correspondence:[email protected]
(cid:1)(cid:2)(cid:3)(cid:1)(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:6)(cid:7)(cid:8)(cid:1)
(cid:1)(cid:2)(cid:3)(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:6)(cid:7)
Received:27February2018;Accepted:3April2018;Published:6April2018
Abstract: Livestocksystemscontributesignificantlytoenvironmentalissuesandneedtoundergo
anagroecologicaltransition. Thistransitionisnotonlytechnical,butalsoinvolvesanevolutionof
farmers’waysofseeingandinterpretingtheworld,i.e.,worldviews. Weinvestigatelivestockfarmers’
worldviewsandtheirrelationshipswithfarmingpractices(grazingandmowingmanagement)in
threeProtectedDesignationofOrigin(PDO)cheeseareasintheFrenchmountains. Thestudyis
based on quantitative and comprehensive qualitative surveys in 37 farms. We identify entities
typicallyconsideredbyfarmersandthekindofrelationstheyhavewiththeseentities,aswellas
theontologicalbackground,sourcesofknowledge,andworldsofjustifications. Fourideal-typical
worldviews emerge: Modern; Traditional; Ecological Intensive; Holist. These four worldviews
coexist in each area and also at the farm scale. Three selected farmer monographs illustrate this
complexityindetail. Thefourworldviewsareconsistentwithothertypologiesinliterature. Both
EcologicalIntensiveandHolistworldviewscanbeconsideredas“agroecological”;however,they
correspond to very different conceptions of agroecology. Different worldviews imply different
sustainability indicators and pathways, as well as alternative knowledge-management systems.
Finally,thecoexistenceofmultipleworldviewsisakeydriveroftheagroecologicaltransition,which
canbeenhancedbyfacilitatingconfrontationandexchangesbetweenworldviews.
Keywords: livestockfarmingsystem;worldview;agroecology;transformations;sustainability;dairy
system;grazingsystem;foragingsystem
1. Introduction
Duringthesecondhalfofthe20thcentury,agriculturalyieldsandfoodproductioninWestern
Europeincreasedtremendously. Yet,inthelastdecades,agriculturalactivitieshavealsoincreasingly
contributed to numerous environmental issues [1]. In particular, the livestock sector globally
currently uses 30% of the Earth’s land, 32% of water, and contributes 18% of greenhouse gas
emissions[2]. Livestockfarmingalsocontributestoseveralotherkeyenvironmentalissues,suchas
eutrophication,landdegradation,deforestationandassociatedbiodiversitylosses[3].Thecontribution
oflivestocksystemstoecosystemservicesanddisservicesishighlyspecific,dependingonregional
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characteristics.InWesternEurope,thereisalargediversityofcontexts,fromveryintensivetoextensive
animal-productionareas,thelatteroftenassociatedwithqualitylabels[4]. InEuropeanmountain
areas,livestockfarmingcontributessignificantlytobiodiversityaspects,eitherpositivelyornegatively,
dependingonmanagementpractices[5,6]. Theecologicalcrisiscallsforamajortransitiontowards
moresustainablepracticesinlivestockfarmingsystems.
In the search for sustainable pathways, the term agroecology has increasingly come to the
fore [7]. Agroecology has been defined as a scientific discipline, a movement and a practice [8].
Theinitialfocusofagroecologywastobetterintegrateecologicalprocessesinagriculturalsystems.
AccordingtoStassart[1],thescopeofagroecologyevolvedfromthisinitialfocustotheconsideration
ofbroadersocio-ecologicalprocesses,includingbothecologicalandhumandimensions[9]. Following
this evolution, it is now increasingly acknowledged that agroecological transition is not only a
technical matter, but also involves evolutions of values, knowledge systems and networks [10,11].
Moreover,theagroecologicaltransitionreferstotheadoptionoffarmers’practicesbasedonon-farm
biologicalprocesses,insharpcontrastwiththeideaofmodernization,whichaimsatthestabilization
of environmental conditions and living processes through technical and chemical inputs [12].
The substitution of these inputs by ecological processes implies social processes, as described by
DemeulenaereandGoulet[13].
Onadeeperlevel,modernityhasbeenassociatedwithanontologicaldividebetweennatureand
culture[14],aswellasspecificworldsofjustifications[15]. AccordingtoBonneuilandFressoz[16],
themodernwayofseeingandinterpretingtheworldisresponsibleforthecurrentecologicalcrisis
andsustainablepathwaysrequirethedevelopmentofalternatives. Thisideacanbeexpressedthrough
the concept of worldview, defined as a “structuring system of meaning, informing how humans
interpretandco-createreality”[17]. Inadifferentresearchcommunity,someauthorshavedevelopeda
complementaryevolutionaryapproachofworldviews[17,18],whichhasbeenappliedtoagricultural
transformationsinRigolot[19]. Inthisliterature,fourmajortypesofworldviewhavebeenidentified:
Traditional;Modern;Postmodern;Integral[18]. Thesefourtypescanbeseenassuccessivestagesof
individualandcollectivedevelopment,althoughnotypecanbeconsideredasintrinsically“better”
thananother[17].
In the agroecological literature, publications began to consider livestock systems only very
recently,comparedtocroppingsystems[7,20]. Asintheagroecologicalfieldmoregenerally,theinitial
focuswasratherontheecologicaldimension. Forexample,theseminalpaperofDumontetal.[20]
considers five agroecological principles for the design of sustainable animal production systems:
(i) adopting management practices aiming to improve animal health; (ii) decreasing the inputs
neededforproduction;(iii)decreasingpollutionbyoptimizingthemetabolicfunctioningoffarming
systems; (iv) enhancing diversity within animal production systems to strengthen their resilience;
and(v)preservingbiologicaldiversityinagroecosystemsbyadaptingmanagementpractices. Later,
WezelandPeeters[7]extendedthisapproachtoincludesocialdimensions,suchasknowledgeand
social relations. However, only a few studies have investigated values and value changes in the
agroecologicaltransitionindepth,andagainfirstlyforcroppingsystems[21]. Interestingly,however,
Fleuryetal.[22]studiedbothtechnicalandvalue-changedynamicsinlivestockfarmingsystemsin
threeFrenchmountainproductionareas. Theirapproachisbasedonmoralandpolicysociology[15]
andtheActornetworktheory(ANT,[23]). ThestudyofFleuryetal.[22]isclosetotheconceptof
worldview,howeveritislimitedtounderstandingagriculturaltransformationsmorebroadly. Indeed,
thestudyfocusesonaspecificagro-environmentalmeasureforbiodiversity(“floweringmeadows”).
BleshandWolf[24]proposeanintegratedsocioecologicalanalysisofagroecologicaltransitions(grain
farmersandrotationalgraziers)intheMississippi,buttheydonotrefertotheconceptofworldview.
Boogaardetal.[25]showhowthesocioculturalsustainabilityoflivestockfarmingsystemsissocially
andculturallyconstructedbypeopleinspecificcontexts,buttheydonotrefertotheagroecological
transition. Furthermore,Plumecocqetal.[26]havestudiedthepluralityofvaluesinsixagriculture
modelsinrelationwithagroecology. Theseauthorsuseamoralandpolicysociologyframework[15]
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andidentifydiverselock-inandcoevolutionpatterns. However,thisstudyonlyconsiderslimited
aspectsofworldviewsandmoreresearchisneededtounderstandingreaterdetailthischaracterization
ofagriculturalmodels[26]. Moreover,theevolutionaryapproachproposedbyRigolot[19]remains
mostlytheoretical.
Theaimofthepresentpaperistocharacterizeworldviewsinlivestockfarmingandassociated
dynamicsinrelationtotheagroecologicaltransition. AstudywasinitiatedinthreeFrenchProtected
DesignationofOrigin(PDO)cheesemountainareas. PDOareasareparticularlyrelevanttothestudy
oftheagroecologicaltransition. Indeed,theymustdifferentiatefromthedominantsystemandsearch
alternatives to standardization and globalization, as the consumer is expecting typical and more
“natural”productsfromPDOsystems. Tosomeextent,PDOsystemscanberegardedalreadyasan
alternativetodominantmodernproduction,butnotyetasfullyagroecological. Inthefirstpart,we
presentthecasestudiesandmethods. Tocharacterizehowfarmers“viewtheworld”,ourapproach
isfirsttoidentifywhichentitiestheytypicallyconsiderordistinguishandthepredominanttypesof
relationstheyhavewiththeseentities(the“cosmology”inanthropology,[14]). Inparticular,Hedlund
de Wit [17] has identified several dimensions for characterizing a worldview, notably ontological,
epistemologicalandaxiological(values)dimensions. Tointegratethesedimensions,weconsiderthe
ontologicalbackground,thesourcesofknowledge,andworldsofjustifications[15]associatedtothe
cosmologies. Onthisbasis,fourideal-typicalworldviewsarecharacterizedforafarmerpopulation
and related to specific management practices. Then, from three farmers’ monographs, we show
thattheseideal-typicalworldviewscoexistnotonlyattheterritorialbutalsoattheindividualscale.
Finally,wediscusswhythiscoexistenceofworldviewsshouldbeconsideredasakeydriverofthe
agroecologicaltransition.
2. CaseStudiesandMethods
2.1. CaseStudies
Aresearchanddevelopmentprojectwascarriedoutfrom2014to2017withtheaimofstudying
thelinksbetweentheforageautonomyofmountainPDOdairyfarmsandnature. Thisworkwas
undertakeninparticularintheCentralMassifandtheAlps,focusingonthreePDOcowcheeseareas:
SaintNectaire(CentralMassif),TomedesBauges(Alps)andBeaufort(Alps)(Figure1).
Figure1.LocalizationofthethreeProtectedDesignationofOrigin(PDO)areas(SaintNectaire,Tome
desBauges,Beaufort)andsurveyedareas.
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IneachofthethreePDOareas,thePDOlabeldefinesspecificfarm-managementpractices,which
areallowedorforbidden(Table1). ThethreePDOlabelsaimatencouraginggrass-basedfeeding,
withapreferenceforlocalpermanentgrasslands. Cowsupplementationislimited,aswellasmilk
productionpercowinTomedesBaugesandBeaufort. Localcowbreedsareimposedandfermented
forageareforbiddeninTomedesBaugesandBeaufort.
Table1.SomespecificationsoffarmmanagementforTomedesBauges,BeaufortandSaintNectaire
PDOcheese.
TomedesBaugesPDO BeaufortPDO StNectairePDO
AbondanceandTarine(atleast Nobreedimposed.Cowsand
Breed Abondance,Tarine
50%oftheherd),Montbéliarde heifersborninthearea
Maximummilkproduction
6000kg 5000kg Nomaximum
percowperyear
Summer:1,5kg/cow/day
(summermountain)or
Maximumsupplementation 1500kg/cow/year 2,5kg/cow/day 1800kg/cow/year
Winter:Maximum1/3oftotal
feedamounts
Minimumamountofforage
70% 75% 70%
fromthePDOarea
Allowedfor15%ofthetotal
Fermentedfodder Forbidden Forbidden
yearration
Fromsnowmeltaslongas
Minimumgrazingperiod minimumof120days/year bearingcapacityandgrass minimumof160day/year
growtharepossible
Maximum500kgdriedalfalfa; Winter:Minimum13kg
Maximumotherfeedstuff
Otherfeedingspecifications Maximumotherfeedstuff1800 hau/cox/day;Maximum3kg
1800kg/cow/year
kg/cow/year driedalfalfa/cow/day
Forthisstudy,thewholeTomedesBaugesareawasconsideredandsmallerareasweretargeted
withinBeaufort(Maurienne)andSaintNectaireareas(Figure1). Thedairyfarmerscontributedtothe
studyonavoluntarybasis(10farmersintheTomedesBaugesarea,12farmersintheBeaufortarea
(Maurienne)and15farmersontheSaintNectairearea).
2.2. Methods
2.2.1. QuantitativeSurveys
Ineachofthethreecasestudies,allthevoluntaryfarmswerefirststudiedbyquantitativesurvey.
Foreveryfarm,quantitativedataonfarmmanagementandthefoddersystemwerecollectedbymeans
oftwoexistingtools: DIALOG[27]tocharacterizegrasslandsmanagement(grazingandmowing)
andDIAM[28]tocharacterizethewholefarmingsystem(productionandenvironmentalindicators).
Thesesurveyswereperformedbytheusualagriculturaladvisersfollowingeachfarm. Particularly,
thesetoolscalculateaquantitativeindicatoronthepercentageofdiversifiedmownmeadow. Amown
meadowisconsideredasdiversifiedwhengrassspeciesrepresentlessthan75%ofthemeadowand
whenthereisnoinvasivedominantspecies(under20%ofthemeadow).
In the Beaufort area (Table 2), the size of farms range from 56 ha to 203 ha. The maximum
sizeofthecattleherdis74Livestockunits(LU)andtheaverageannualstockingrateis0.5LU/ha.
Theaveragemilkproductionpercowis3950Lfor1080kgofsupplement. Inthisareaofhighaltitude
(1446monaverage,Figure1),thepercentageofforagepurchasedcanreach57%withinafarm. Inthe
TomedesBaugesarea,thealtitudeislower(675m)andfarmsaremoreautonomousforforage. The
sizeoffarmcanbeimportant(223ha),aswellasherdsize: 100LUonaverage. Theannualstokingrate
isalsohigher: 0.84LU/ha. Dairycowsproduce5000Lofmilkfor1288kgofsupplement. IntheSaint
Nectairearea(950mheight),farmsizeisclosetotheTomedesBaugesarea: 111haonaverage. Herd
sizeishigher(118LUonaverage)andtheannualstockingrateis1.1LU/ha. Dairycowsproduceon
average6900Lofmilkfor1620kgofsupplement.
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Table2.Farmcharacteristicsinthethreesurveyedareas.
BeaufortPDO TomedesBaugesPDO SaintNectairePDO
mean min max mean min max mean min max
Utilizedagriculturalarea(ha) 125 56 203 130 51 223 111 65 195
Numberoflivestockunitonthefarm(LU) 52 33 74 100 56 154 118 61 211
Altitude(m) 1446 1350 1550 675 550 900 958 800 1050
Milkproductionpercowperyear(L) 3953 2369 5000 5037 4375 5818 6902 4000 9000
Quantityofconcentratepercowperyear(kg) 1084 625 1260 1288 900 1800 1628 927 2710
Quantityofconcentrateperlitermilkyear(kg) 270 174 411 259 189 411 242 168 392
Annualstockingrate(LU/ha) 0.5 0.26 0.77 0.84 0.52 1.41 1.1 0.8 1.5
%Foragebought 20 0 57 10 0 32 3 0 8
%Mownmeadowsdiversified 32 0 100 8 0 16 43 4 85
2.2.2. QualitativeSurveys
Inasecondstep,comprehensiveinterviews[29]wereperformedinthestudiedfarms. Becauseof
thedurationoftheinterviews(about2h),onlytheavailablefarmers(N=27)duringthissecondstep
weresurveyed(6farmersintheBeaufortarea,11farmersintheSaintNectaireareaandall10farmers
in the Tome des Bauges area). Comprehensive interviews used the method of the daily schedule
and multiannual schedule to reach the farmers’ vision on their forage system. The interview was
conductedinsuchawaythat“letcome”keyentitieswereconsideredandtherelationshipswiththem.
Everyinterviewwasfullyrecordedandliterallytranscribed. Fromeachinterview,adeepanalysishas
beencarriedoutwithstudentstoidentifyspecificcombinationsofentitiesandassociatedworldsof
justificationsandontologicalbackgrounds. Then,ideal-typicalworldviewshavebeencharacterized
fromthewholefarmerpopulation(poolingallinterviewstogether). Anideal-typeisdefinedasa
constructionoftheresearcherfrompotentiallydisparatephenomena,whichareconnectedbyabstract
and simplified ideas, whose features are accentuated and contrasted [30]. Emerging ideal-typical
worldviews have been associated to specific management practices (grazing and forage-making
strategies,keyindicators... )andstabilizedthroughmultipleexchangesandworkshopsbetween
farmers,researchersandadvisers. Quantitativeindicators(milkproductionpercowperyear(L)and
mown meadows diversified) have been estimated by expert judgment, as an average of the most
representativefarmsofeachideal-typicalworldviewinthethreecasestudies. Finally,returningto
individualinterviews,weperformedmonographstoidentifyhowdifferentworldviewsmightcoexist
attheindividualscale. IntheResultssection,wepresenttheideal-typicalworldviewsidentifiedand
threeparticularlyrelevantmonographs,oneineachcasestudyarea.
3. Results
3.1. CharacterizationofFourIdeal-TypicalWorldviews
Four ideal-typical worldviews emerged from the analysis. Their names have been chosen to
conveyageneralideaoftheirmaincharacteristics,summarizedinTable3. TheModernmanagement
ischaracterizedbyasearchforamaximizationandcontrolofpasturesandanimals’productions. For
pasturemanagement,thefarmeriswatchfulaboutgrassleaves,theirdensityandtheirgreencolor.
Thesecharacteristicscorrespondingtoyounggrassareessentialforgrazingandmowingmanagement:
“Therightstageiswhenthereareleaves,whenitisdenseandverygreen”. Throughafastrotational
grazing,thesearchedqualityishighpalatabilityforanimals, whichenableshighmilkproduction
“Wehavetotakethecowsoutearlybecausemilkincreasesimmediately(... )younggrasshasahigh
palatability,whichiswhatwearesearchingfor,becauseanimalswhodon’teatdon’tproduceeither
... Wehavetolookatthemilktank”. Conversely,flowersandseedsareseenassignsofanexcessively
latestage,whichshouldbeavoided: “Therightstageisnotwhenthereareflowersandears... . Then
itistoolate: forsureifyouwantagoodhaytheremustnotbeflowersinit”. Animalsaremainly
seenandmanagedthroughthemilktheyproduce(quantity,fatandproteincontent,germs),aswell
asbiologicalcharacteristicsrelatedtomilkproduction(suchastheabilitytowalkinafast-rotating
system):“Thegeneticselectionismainlybasedonmilk,production,theudderandteatsandalsothose
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whoareeasytomilkandwithgoodaplomb,becauseheretheyhavetowalk”. Technicalequipment
isadaptedandefficienttoactfast, asrequiredbythevegetationstagetargetedbythefarmerand
thespecializationofpastures: “Wehavetodowiththeweather, butwearewellequippedandas
soonthereisanopportunity,wecanmowthepaddocks”. Naturalresourcesarecontrolledthrough
quantitativeanalysisoffeed,forageandmanure. Theseanalysesareperformedbyexpertswhoare
trustedbythefarmerandsetthenorms. Predominantwordsofjustificationareindustrialandmarket.
ThePDOlabelisconsidered,firstly,asaneconomicbenefit: “PDOrepresentsanimageandthisis
thisimagewhichmakesadifferenceinmilkprice”. However,thelabelisalsoseenasaconstraint:
“TheevolutionofthePDO,Igrumble,butwehavetodowithit,thereareproductswecouldmake
(... )butitisforbidden(... )thelabellimitusforanimalsupplementation”. Finally,theanalysis
of how entities are distinguished clearly show that human and non-human entities are separated
(naturalistontology).
Table3. Descriptionofthefourideal-typicalworldviewscharacteristics, implicationsforpasture-
managementpracticesandsomequantitativeindicators(initalics)(seetextforfurtherexplanations).
Modern Traditional EcologicalIntensive Holist
FarmingPrinciple Maximization Habits Optimization Care
PredominantTypesof Continuitywithfamilial Production,protection,
Production,control Productionefficiency
RelationwithEntities andlocalwayoffarming transmission
EntitiesTypically Domesticworldclearly Hugediversityofclosely
Homogeneous
Consideredor distinguishedfrom Heterogeneouspastures connectedfarmingand
pastures
Distinguished naturalworld natureentities
Pastureandsoil Pastureandsoil
Densityandgreen
TypicalIndicatorsfor Dates,Mooncycleand potential(acidity,clay potential
colorofvegetation
PastureManagement calendar content,rocks,bearing Animalhealth,Flowers
leaves
capacity... ) andseeds
Fastrotationalgrazing
GrazingStrategy Continuousgrazing Slowrotationalgrazing Slowrotationalgrazing
(paddock)
Forage-Making
Earlyforage Lateforage Earlyforage Earlyandlateforage
Strategy
SourceofKnowledge Experts Family Expertsandpeers PeersReflexivity
Worldsof
Industrial,Market Domestic,Renown Renown,Civic Renown,Civic
Justification
Ontology Naturalist Animistintuition Naturalist Analogistintuition
Milkproductionpercow
5619 5068 5532 5291
peryear(L)
Mownmeadows
14 36 14 49
diversified(%)
The Ecological Intensive is characterized by a logic of optimization (Table 3). Although he
activelysearchesforgoodproductivityforgrasslandsandanimals,astheModerndoes,theEcological
Intensive is also particularly sensitive to the heterogeneity and the specific potential of pastures.
Forhim,“Wehavetolivelocally,wehavetodowithlocalresources”. Pasturemanagementtypically
integratesthesoilcharacteristics(acidity,claycontent,rocks... ). UnliketheModern,theEcological
Intensivedoesnotaimtocontrolhisenvironment: “Thefarmerhastoacceptfluctuations... there
are some farmers, they don’t like this”. Rather, animal and pasture production is associated with
efficiency: “Whenwestartedfarmingwewanttoproducemilk,wecalculateasmuchmilkmakesas
much[money]... butitisfinishednow,whenweseethosewhoproduce10,000L(percow)andwho
can’tgetarevenue”. TheEcologicalIntensiveisnotagainsthigh-techtechnicalequipment,providedit
isconsistentwithanefficientsystem: “Ithinkwemusn’tbeagainstthemilkingrobot. Thetechnic
ofmilkingwitharobotisnotstupid(... ). Theproblemtodaywiththemilkingrobotisthatcows
don’tgooutinthefield”. Thedominantsourceofknowledgeforthefarmerisrelatedtoexchanges
in groups of peers who have already developed a slow rotational grazing strategy. Interviewed
farmershavebeentoJura,SwitzerlandandeventoNew-Zealand. Worldsofjustificationsaretypically
renowned and civic. The PDO label is essential for the identity of the Ecological Intensive, which
hasconsequencesformilkandanimalmanagement: “FortheTommedesBaugesyouneedtokeepa
natural(microorganism)flora. Otherwiseyoucanallsanitizeandthenreseedbutthereisnomore
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naturalflora”;“(Thecows)needtohavenicehorns,anicecolor... theyaretheimageofourPDO”.
AstheModern,theEcologicalIntensiveacknowledgestheeconomicbenefitprovidedbythelabel;
however,inthiscaseheiswellawareofthecontributionofhisownfarmingpracticestotheimageof
thePDO.
AstheEcologicalIntensive, theHolistclearlyperceivepasturesasheterogeneous. Moreover,
pasturesarealsoseenascloselyconnectedwithanimals,milkandnatureentities: “ThePDOitisa
whole,itconnectspastureswithecologywithflowerdiversity,landpreservationsoeverybodyisfine
withit”. Farmingactivityisseenaspartofnature,whoseprotectionandtransmissionareessential:
“Weshoudn’twanttodomorethanwhatnaturewantstogiveus(... )wetakesomepartofwhat
naturewantstogiveus”. Seedsandflowersareessentialforpastures’sustainability: “There,seeds
havefallen,wehavesownthepasturefor20years”;“ifthereisnomorebees,itissaidwearedead
... Ihavenoticedthatsincewehavebeeswehavemorecloverthanbefore(... )somefarmers,they
cuteverything,butinafewyearstheywillcry”. Forforagemaking,hedoesnottargetmainlyyoung
greengrass,whichisassociatedtoanimalhealthissues. Rather,hisaimistodiversifygrassgrowth
stagesforhaymaking: “Forhaymaking,wedon’thurry,weletmature,wechange,wedon’talways
beginthesameway ... ”,“Wedon’tdolikeotherswhoabsolutelywanttomakethreecuts( ... )
todayweseealotoffarmsmakingveryveryyounghay(... )FormyconcernIpreferhayspreadout
intimeforanimalfeeding”. Inparticular,“Agoodhayiswhenthereareflowersandseedsinside...
nottoorichfromanutritionpointofview,itisnotwiththatthatalotofmilkwillbeproduced,but
theanimalslikeitmore”. AsfortheEcologicalIntensive,theHolist’sdominantworldsofjustification
arerenownandcivic. Moreover,asregardsthePDOidentity,hedoesnotemphasizeonlytherelation
ofhispracticesandtheproduct’simage,butalsothestrongconnectionstonature,“Whenitisfullof
flowers,yellow,purple... forthetasteofthecheese,itisnotthesame(... )Theycansaywhatthey
want(otherfarmers),grassgrazedinournaturalpasture,theperfumeofthecheeseisnotthesame”.
Humanandnon-humanentitiesareclearlyseenasdifferentiatedbutcloselyconnected,whichcanbe
consideredasananalogistintuition.
The Traditional clearly distinguish a domesticated world and a natural world: “Grass, it has
alwaysbeenthere,wehavejusttopreserveit,otherwisespikesinvadeeverything,wearelessand
less(farmers)andwecansee,themountainiscomingdown”. Forbothgrazingandforage-making
management,productioncriterionsarenotthemostimportantfordecision-making,comparedtowhat
ones’“fatherwasdoing”ortodatestraditionallysetup: “Theytelluswemustlettheanimalsgo
outearlier,itistrueIcoulddothis,thegrasswouldbelesshigh(... )butIhavealwaysdoneitlike
that(... )”;“WealwaysmakehayattheendofJune,weneverstartearly,wetrustthedate”. Asa
consequence,grazingandcuttingperiodsareparticularlylateandthereareoftenalreadyflowersand
earsinthegrass. Interestingly,foroneofthefarmersinterviewed,grasspalatabilityisnotevaluated
fromthevegetationcompositionorgrowthstage,butfromtheperiodofmanurespreadingaccording
totheMooncalendar: “Ifwedon’tspread(themanure)duringthegoodMoon,they(thecows)don’t
wantit,Idon’tknow,itmustsmell”. Moreover,tointeractwithhisanimals,theTraditionalfarmer
takestheirpointofview:“Wehavetoputourselvesinthepositionofthecows(... )thegoats,theyeat
everythingthattheyareunwillingtoeatandthemoretheycomparethemselvestothecow,themore
theyarehappy”. Non-humanentities,particularlyanimals,aregiventypicallyhumancharacteristics,
whichcanbeinterpretedasananimistintuition.
Quantitativeindicatorsmustbeconsideredwithcareforillustrativepurposesonly,becausetheir
estimationsrelyoncrudemethodologicalsimplifications. Despitetheselimits,itisinterestingtonote
thatmilkproductionpercowtendstobehigherfortheModernandEcologicalIntensive,whereas
mownmeadowdiversitytendstobehigherfortheHolistandTraditionalworldviews.
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3.2. CoexistenceofWorldviewsinIndividualFarmers(Monographs)
3.2.1. EcologicalIntensivePracticesbutHolistDesires(SaintNectaireArea)
ThisfarmerhasstartedfarmingactivityintheSaintNectairePDOareathreeyearsago. Hehas
80dairycowsand110hapastures,mostlynatural. Farmmanagementtypicallycorrespondstothe
EcologicalIntensiveideal-type.Indeed,theforagingsystemisassociatedwithaslowrotationalgrazing
system,takingintoaccountpastureheterogeneityandaimingatanearlyforage. Herdmanagementis
associatedwithhighmilkproductionobjectives: “Itwouldbegoodtohaveafatcontentof40g/kg
andacorrelatedproteincontentat32g/kg”. However, whentalkingabouthissystem, heisvery
criticalabouthisownpractices: “IhavetheimpressionIhaveanimpoverishmentofmyflora(... )
IhavetheimpressionIhavemutilatedmostofmypastures,becauseIcutthemtooearly;therefore
theydon’thavetimetoreproducethemselves(... )insteadofhogweed,ifonlyIhadaniceredclover,
Ithinkitwouldbebetter”. Moreover,heworriesabouttheconsequencesofearlyforageonanimal
health: “Thereisnotenoughfiber,me,Iforgotthisinmysystem(... )Iamfedupmanagingthe
pathologiesofmyanimals(... )Iwanttobecomeananimalfarmeragain!”. Forthisfarmer,agood
wayoffarmingisdifferentfromwhathedoeshimself. Hetakesasareferenceaneighbor,considered
byhispeersasamarginal: “Thereitis,whenIcomebyhisfield,thepastureisbeautifulanditsmells
nice, it’s a hay like this I would like to make ... ”; however, he goes on by expressing his lack of
practicalexperience“... buthowdoeshedoit?”. ThisHolistdesireisadriverofchange. Indeed,
thefarmerhasengagedhimselfinapeergroupofpracticalexchangesinanassociationcalled“Eleveur
autrement”(“livestockfarmeranotherway”)andheiscurrentlytesting“alternativemethods”.
3.2.2. EcologicalIntensiveforGrazingManagementandHolistforHayMaking(LesBaugesArea)
Thefarmhas200haand154livestockunits. Thefarmerconsidershispasturesasheterogeneous:
“Therearedifferentaltitudes,somefieldsaremoreorlesssunny,othersaremorehumid... therefore
thefieldsdon’tstartthesametime”. Grazingmanagementisrotationalandrelativelyfast,“weturn
after 30 days, it is rotational grazing and we move the string every day, in the morning and the
evening”. Thismanagementaimsforyounggrassandgoodanimalproductivity: “themoreitisshort
(thegrass),themoretheylikeit,formilkproduction,itisbetter”. However,whentalkingabouthay,
thefarmerdoesnotusethesameattributesanymore: “hereisagoodlittlemountainhay(... )not
toorichfromanutritionpointofview,itisnotwiththatthatalotofmilkwillbeproduced,butthe
animalslikeitmore”. Moreover,thenhehighlightsthetypicallyHolistnotionsoftransmissionand
protection: “weshoudn’twanttodomorethanwhatnaturewantstogiveus(... )wetakesomepart
ofwhatnaturewantstogiveus... us,wehaveremained‘nature’”. ThecoexistenceofEcological
IntensiveworldviewforgrazingandHolistworldviewforhaymakingleadstoseeminglydiscordant
statements: “grassgrazedinournaturalpasture,theperfumeofthecheeseisnotthesame”andlater
“theymustproducemilk,theymustbeeasytomilkandoperational”.
3.2.3. FromTraditionaltoModern: TemporalCoexistence(BeaufortArea)
Thisfarmerstartedfarmingactivityin2009withhisparentsandthenwithhissister. Theyhave
about60livestockunitsand117ha. Whentalkingabouthispractices,thefarmeroftenreferstothe
familialtraditions: “Ithasalwaysbeenlikethis(... )Wehavealwaysdonelikethis,itisthepractical
way”. However, for three years the farmer has been willing to produce a younger hay and make
theanimalsgrazeearlierinordertoincreasemilkproduction(asaModerntypicallydoes): “Itwas
our will to come around faster, every three weeks roughly”. Yet, the rationale for earlier grazing
stillintegratesjudgementstakenfromthecows’pointofview: “Beforetherewastoomuchgrass,they
didn’teatwell,itwasfieldstheydidn’tenjoytogoin,theycouldn’tseeanything”. Thefarmerexpressesthe
technicaldifficultiesraisedbythetransition: “Wearetooslowatthebeginning,everytimeweare
fooled,weturnat35–40daysandthenwhenwecomebackforthesecondtime,themilk,itdecreases,
Sustainability2018,10,1097 9of13
itisobvious,becausethegrassistooold”;“Everyyearwearefooledandthisyearagainwehave
beenfooled”.
4. Discussion
4.1. ConsistencyandSignificanceoftheResults
Definingideal-typicalworldviewsrequiresanemphasisuponcharacteristicattributesfroma
populationoffarmers. NoindividualfarmercanbesaidtobeModernorHolistasawhole,although
individualsgenerallyhaveadominantworldview. Thethreemonographsclearlydemonstratethis
complexityattheindividualscale. However,fourcontrastedideal-typicalworldviewsclearlyemerged.
The entities and relations considered are very different, as well as knowledge sources, worlds of
justificationandontology. Thesecontrastedbackgroundsareassociatedwithdifferentgrazingand
forage-makingstrategies, eachwithveryspecificindicators. Thefourworldviewsidentifiedhave
interestingsimilaritiesanddifferenceswithothertypologiesinliterature. Inparticular,Plumecocq
et al. [26] identify six types of agricultural models with different underlying values and different
forms of organization. Some types are close to those identified in this paper (for example, the
“historical-conventionalmodelbasedonanindustrial/marketcompromise”withtheModern). Other
typescorrespondtoverydifferentagriculturalsystemscomparedtolivestockfarmingsystemsinPDO
areas,sothereisnoobviouscorrespondence(forexample,the“biotechmodel”). Nevertheless,the
biggestdifferencebetweenbothtypologiesliesinhowtheyhavebeenelaborated. Indeed,thetypology
ofPlumecocqetal.[26]hasbeenelaboratedinaseriesofworkshopswithspecialistsinnaturaland
socialsciences. Bycontrast,thetypologyproposedinthispaperisdirectlybasedonwhatfarmers
sayabouttheirownactionsandthemeaningtheygivetothem. Thefourideal-typicalworldviewsof
thispaperarealsoconsistentwiththefourmajortypesbroadlyidentifiedinliterature(Traditional;
Modern;Postmodern;Integral)[17,18,31]andspecifiedforagriculturebyRigolot[19]. Inparticular,
theTraditionalandModernworldviews’ofourstudyverywellmatchwithworldviewsofthesame
nameinliterature(forexample,theTraditionaltypeisassociatedwithanontologicalanimistintuition
and a domestic world of justification, the Modern type with a naturalist ontology and industrial
andmarketworldsofjustification). TheEcologicalIntensiveisclosertothePostmoderntypeofthis
literature,butdoesnotfullycorrespond. Indeed,althoughcriticalaboutmodernity,theEcological
IntensivestillsharesimportantcharacteristicswiththeModern(particularly,anaturalistontology).
TheHolistalsosharesmanycharacteristicswiththeIntegraltypeinliterature(deepconnectionwith
nature... ),butnotall(suchasthemajorfocusonspiritualityandconsciousness)oftheIntegral[32].
Rather,EcologicalIntensiveandHolistcorrespondtointermediarytypes,suchasproposedbyBeck
andCowan[33]intheir“spiraldynamics”.
4.2. WorldviewsandAgroecology
Asillustratedbythe“Mownmeadowsdiversified”quantitativeindicator,allthefourworldviews
can contribute to biodiversity. Yet only the Ecological Intensive and Holist worldviews can be
considered somehow as “agroecological”, because only these two explicitly integrate ecological
processes,tosomeextent. Inparticular,bothworldviewsacknowledgetheheterogeneityandspecific
potentialoflivingentities,whichisessentialforintegratingecologicalprocesses. Notably,wechoose
the phrasing Ecological Intensive in reference to the concept “ecological intensification”, defined
by [34] as “the use of biological regulation in agroecosystems to achieve both a high level of food
production and provide ecosystem services”. However, these two worldviews also correspond to
twoverydifferentconceptionsofagroecology,ratherconformistandtransformational,whichisalso
consistentwithliterature[35]. Particularly,onlytheHolistworldviewproposesadeeprenewalof
the meaning of man existing together with nature [14]. This new meaning is not only based on a
relationofproduction(dominantintheEcologicalIntensive),butonacomplexrelationshipbetween
thefarmerandnature,involvingproduction,transmissionandprotectionfromhumansandagift
Sustainability2018,10,1097 10of13
fromnature[36]. Theoverallsustainabilityofalivestockfarmingsystemisbeyondthescopeofthis
paper,butotheraspectssuchasanimalwelfare,arealsocloselyrelatedtoworldviews.
Contrary to more theoretical worldview studies (such as [19]), the results proposed in this
paper are based on real field data from comprehensive interviews with farmers. Moreover, each
worldviewhasbeenassociatedwithspecificknowledgesourcesandtechnicalmanagementpractices,
such as continuous and slow or fast rotational grazing. This has important practical implications
forfarm-advisingsystems. ThecurrentFrenchadvisorysystemhasbeentypicallyassociatedand
adaptedtoModernagriculturaldevelopmentsinceWorldWarII.Sincethe1980s,however,boththe
advisoryandeducationsystemshaveincreasinglyintegratedtheenvironment,pluridisciplinarityand
systemicapproaches[37],correspondingrathermoretoanEcologicalIntensivedevelopmentmodel.
Fromthefarmer’spointofview,expertssuchastechnicaladvisersarestillanimportantsourceof
knowledgeintheEcologicalIntensiveworldviewandasecondarysourceofknowledgeintheHolist’s
worldview. Therefore,expertshaveasubstantialroletoplayintheagroecologicaltransition. Forthem,
different worldviews imply different success indicators and different pathways. Our results give
usefulinsightsfortechnicalexpertstoadapttheiradvicetoeachfarmer. Aproposalofthisworkisto
communicateideasonworldviewstoexpertswithsimpleinformationsheets. Atalargerlevel,the
developmentofagroecologicalworldviews(EcologicalIntensiveandHolist)implymoredistributed
knowledgemanagementsystems,wherefarmersthemselveswouldplayamuchmoreactiverole[38].
Intheeducationsystem,Cayre[39]showthatstronglyinvolvingstudentstogetherwithotheractors
constitutesrelevantdistributedknowledgemanagementwhenitcomestoenhancingreflexivityabout
valuesandworldviews.
4.3. TheCoexistenceofMultipleWorldviewsisaKeyDriveroftheAgroecologicalTransition
Each of the four ideal-typical worldviews has been identified in the three studied PDO areas
(TomedesBauges,SaintNectaireandBeaufort). Becausewedidnotperformquantitativeanalysis,
exactproportionsarenotknown. However,itappearsclearthatthedominantworldviewsinthethree
areasaretheEcologicalIntensiveand,toalesserextent,theModern,whereasTraditionalandHolist
worldviewsarefarlesswidespread. ThisisconsistentwithanunderstandingofPDOasanalternative
todominantsystem,butnotyetfullyagroecological. Tofurtherstrengthenourapproach,quantitative
approachescouldbeused[40]toassesstherespectiveweightofeachideal-typicalworldviewand
theirgeographicalrepartition.
Attheindividualscale,thethreemonographsclearlyshowthatdifferentworldviewsalsocoexist:
afarmercanbeEcologicalIntensiveinpracticebutHolistindesires,EcologicalIntensiveforgrazing
managementandHolistforhay-making,orhaveaModerntendencywitharemainingTraditional
wayofdoing. Inthefirstcase,thegapbetweenpracticesanddesiresisasourceofsufferingforthe
farmer,whichdrivestheexperimentationof“alternativepractices”. BecauseaHolistworldviewalso
coexistsatthescaleofthePDOarea,thisfarmercanrelyonapeergroupofpracticalexchanges. The
twoothermonographsshowthattransitionsarecomplexanddonottransformthesystemasawhole
inthesametime. ThefarmerintheBeaufortareacanbeseenasstartingatransitiontomodernity,
butthemonographshowhowitisdifficulttechnically,becauseofremaininghabits. Thesituationof
thefarmerinLesBaugescanbeseenasamoreadvancedstageoftransition,leadingtoseemingly
discordantpractices. Asmosttypologiesofagriculturalsystemsoftendonotexplicitlyrecognizethis
complexityatthefarmscale,webelievethisisaparticularlyimportantinsightofthisstudy.
Thekeyroleofthecoexistenceofmultipleworldviewstofostersustainabletransformationshas
alreadybeendevelopedinliterature[41]. Thisrolecanbeenhancedbyfacilitatingtheconfrontationof
worldviewsandexchangesbetweenthem. Interestingly,thepresentstudyhasclearlycontributedin
revealingthepluralityofvaluestotheactors,particularlyduringcollectiveworkshops. Forexample,
thefarmerintheSaintNectaireareawithHolistdesires(firstmonograph)hasbeenconfrontedina
workshopbyamapproducedbyresearchersshowingtheintensificationofhispractices,whichhas
generatedreflexivity. Importantly,however,theconfrontationofworldviewsrequiresmethodological