| Abstract | In this Discussant Workshop, we address the issues of the emotional and social-political factors contributing to farming communities’ ability to adapt to a changing environment.
In the livestock industry, farmers have experienced many intrinsic and extrinsic threats to their way of life in recent years: handing down the farm and knowledge, the removal of quota (e.g. EU milk quota), the ripple effects of climate change such as crop failure and the rising price of fodder, and the emergence of zoonotic diseases and antimicrobial misuse linked to intensive production. All these threats and consumers’ demand for more ethical and sustainable diets are posing challenges for rural communities with extended periods of relative stability and minimal need to re-examine their way of working, as well as fuelling the debates regarding alternative meat farming practices (e.g. backyard and organic farming).
Previous studies have examined how farmers' emotions, which are embedded into their individual and collective identity, affect behaviour and mitigate against change (Holloway et al., 2021; Maye and Chan 2021). In some cases, emotion is bound up with notions of masculinity and being the ‘keeper’ of the land. This example of bounded thinking can act to limit openness to new views of the farmer’s role and expected behaviour (Driver, 2018; Visser et al., 2018), especially if combined with attachment to old ways and a fear of the new.
The breaking down of habitus practices and beliefs to be replaced by new ones is a demanding process, which makes the adoption of new ways socially controversial and emotionally taxing. We are interested in examining the emotional and social-political factors that influence the ability to adapt to changing circumstances, whether these are positive (happiness with the potential benefits of any change) or negative (fear of being able to cope in a new environment) emotions; whether they are capable to ‘tinker’ or trigger alternative pathways to cope with the challenges.
Given this context, we are hoping to build a research community to discuss key theoretical concerns, learn about potential new methodologies and approaches, with the aims of co-authoring papers and building future international research, and broadening interdisciplinary collaborations. Topic
We focus on the emotional and socio-political factors involved in driving or hindering to adaptation in the livestock farming industries. Within this topic we can identify a number of sub-themes, such as:
1. How do farmers perceive their identities and understand their emotions when they encounter a fast-changing farming environment?
2. What are the drivers and barriers to innovation in rural communities to response to the circumstance changes (Bruce et al., 2022; Snijders and Rieple, 2020)
3. How do the process of commercialisation, corporatisation and consumer expectations influence on the operation of animal farms? |
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