Sustainable Farming, Terroir and Food
Traditions
1. Sustainable Consumption and Cultural Goods
2. How can these Approaches be implemented ?
Conclusion
Box 1: Local Public Goods
Box 2: Barbizon
Box 3: Defining the word Terroir
Box 4: "Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée"(A.O.C.):
French Appellation of Origin
France was surprisingly absent from United Nations' Sustainable Development
Commission (SDC) on tourism in 1999. The French Minister in charge of Tourism
could have defended the most valorisable features for sustainable development
such as cultural tourism, green tourism, coastal conservatories... The Session
was most probably considered to be a purely environmental affair. In 2000,
the SDC deals with agriculture and the integrated management of land. For
the moment, the only official French approach seems to focus on maintaining
public subsidies while subjecting them to certain environmental regulations
or to refer to the land management contracts (contrats territoriaux
d'exploitation - CTE). These are undeniably important aspects, but France
thus leaves aside the cultural dimension of the problem and the economic
valorisation of its "terroirs". The French contribution to the FAO
seminar on the Multifunctional Character of Agriculture and Land made
no mention of either the concept of terroir or the French A.O.C. labels
of origin (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée).
This paper aims to structure a reflection in the framework of sustainable
development, which goes far beyond regulating acute agricultural pollution.
The objective is not to defensively uphold a "French cultural exception",
but to develop a positive and strategic rhetoric that could evoke a favourable
response in many Southern countries. The paper simultaneously addresses
agricultural and tourism issues as the two are closely linked.
From this point of view, the terroir (i.e. the mix of ecological,
geographical and cultural features that gives a particular area of land,
i.e. a "territory", its specificity) is considered as a component of production
in its own right. Most modern approaches to agriculture use the term
sustainable development to define production methods controlling the
inputs and outputs of material flows only, whether this control is strict
(organic agriculture), or extremely weak (integrated agriculture). Integrated
agriculture could be subjected to procedures such as ISO 14001, that is,
based on management methods, financial commitments and no obligatory
results (1)
[R] 1. Sustainable Consumption and Cultural Goods
The search for identity and diversity is becoming stronger and stronger in
industrialised countries, as a reaction to globalisation of exchanges and
the uniformity of products consumed by the general public, as well as to
the ideal life styles promoted by the media and multinational companies.
New expanding economic activities are based on the products and services
provided in the areas of leisure, tourism, the food-processing and craft
industries.
This diversity is often based on an artificial differentiation of products
through marketing images, although they are all basically the same. However,
there is also a real and authentic diversity of production. These products
are often associated with the past, and advertised with reference to local
history through images and tales and to a certain local savoir-faire. We
consume symbols and the role of marketing and advertising is to create an
image, and give meaning to a product.
However, mere marketing images cannot help move these trends towards sustainable
development: the sustainability of these activities must be considered, that
is to say, their perreniality in the long term and their contribution to
local and global sustainable development. A further question must also be
raised: how can this demand contribute to the development of the poorer
Southern countries in the present context of economic globalisation?
From an environmental point of view, sustainable consumption is thought to
proceed from the creation and consumption of plain and clean products that
use little energy or resources and are risk-free throughout their life cycle.
Tourism for example, must keep within the limits of the carrying capacity
that can be tolerated by the host environments. The problem is not, however,
restricted to the environment: sustainability must also be cultural and
social.
Sustainable tourism was at the centre of an important debate during the 7th
session of the Sustainable Development Commission. The missions conferred
to it were twofold: "increasing the benefits derived by the host communities
tourism resources, while maintaining the cultural and ecological integrity
of these communities". Tourism must thus preserve "the legacy of the past,
the natural heritage and integrity of touristic regions, while respecting
their socio-cultural standards, in particular those of native communities".
The issue is thus pervaded by the nature/culture duality.
Historical cultural "objects" and exceptional natural areas must be protected
and their use controlled so that they do not deteriorate as they can never
be fully replicated, even though their partial restoration is feasible. I
shall not deal here with these specific protective measures: they need to
be reinforced, not weakened, by sustainable development. We should adopt
a wide vision of culture, of cultures, as Edgar Morin suggests: "People justly
speak of Culture, and of cultures. Culture consists of all the knowledges,
savoir-faire, rules, norms, taboos, strategies, beliefs, ideas, values and
myths that are handed over across the generations; it reproduces in each
individual, controls the very existence of society and maintains its social
and psychological complexity. No human society, be it archaic or modern,
is devoid of culture, but each culture is singular. Thus culture is always
present in cultures, but culture only exists through the diversity of cultures.
[…] This dual phenomenon of the oneness and diversity of cultures is
crucial. Culture maintains the specific features of human identity; while
cultures maintain the specific features of social
identities."(2). In this sense, cultures
are essential components of universal culture. These living cultures are
immersed in modern times even though the past holds a significant place in
them.
Let us now consider the cultural and ecological foundations of products that
have a strong identity and strong patrimonial value, and explore their
relationship with local sustainable development, on the one hand, and
globalisation, on the other. We naturally consider that public cultural goods
cannot be produced for a commercial purpose only, as they play an essential
role in the social sphere and the informal sector.
1.1. Example: Barbizon
This example highlights two essential features: that of typicality and of
identity founded on both the historical heritage and the modern reconstruction
of artistic and leisure activities. In this case, the historical component
is the (fortuitous) presence of painters. This component is, however, often
linked with social practices that have developed out of local resources or
constraints.
A good example is that of mineral or plant materials which give a specific
character to the local buildings and thus to the landscape. Maintaining
traditional activities (roofing stone slabs, slate or thatched roofs in some
parts of France, for example) provides local employment and promotes the
use of local materials. These will often have a lesser impact on the environment
than imported industrial materials. Renovating old house instead of building
new ones economises on raw materials. The development of self-catering cottages
helps maintain and rehabilitate the existing architectural heritage, as well
as creating homely conditions for visitors and increasing contacts between
tourists and the local population and local products.
At the same time, these practices contribute to maintaining, instead of
denaturing, the ecological or cultural resources and the original features
of landscapes that are liable to attract tourists and thus become a source
of income for the local communities. This approach does nevertheless not
prevent the evolution of traditional technical savoir-faire, through new
knowledge or as a result of new needs. Traditional housing must, for example,
be made more comfortable with modern insulating techniques.
The underlying aim is to preserve the complex social and cultural systems
whose components reinforce each other. The agri-food field offers a good
illustration of the balance between local resources and food traditions.
"Local resources are the privileged point of articulation between biological
facts and social facts. Within a wide framework and with a varying degree
of intensity, local resources will play on a range of factors: their belonging
to a geographic locality, a particular tie with history, local uses, knowledge,
technical practices, attitudes and representations of their own. […]
Most of these resources were long marginal to the market economy and would
have disappeared. What saved them were social factors such as food traditions
or sense of identity."(3)
As a matter of fact, three types of economic production are concerned by
this approach to local development based on cultural and environmental heritages:
traditional activities, the agri-food industry and leisure/tourism. These
three areas are interlinked and should be dealt within an integrated manner
through a system approach. Indeed, the economic impact of tourism is not
limited to the number of nights spent locally and direct income from tourist
infrastructures (museums, theme parks, sport activities, etc.). Tourism also
stimulates the consumption of local foods and the purchase of traditional
or cultural products.
Figure 1 illustrates this issue. Each area includes both local and national
or international activities (in grey).Obviously tourism addresses chiefly
consumers from far away. However local leisure activities are quite important
also and should be developed, as one of the main impacts of tourism on the
environment is due to increased mobility and therefore increased use of transport
means. These local cultural activities contribute to personal development
and to local social development seen as a collective practice.
Figure 1. The relationships between cultural products at
a local level
The impact of transport on the environment can also be reduced by having
people spend more time in a given area; this would reduce energy consumption
and give tourists time to discover the host locality in depth and as a result
to develop more responsible attitudes. The diversity of activities (ecotourism,
educational activities, etc.) also allows tourist infrastructures to be used
over a longer period of time thus making them profitable all year round and
contributing to more balanced local development (e.g. the problem of seasonal
workers).
On the other hand, traditional activities and agri-food aspects are more
specifically aimed at local consumers, which in a way guarantees their
authenticity. "Against all expectations, regional food traditions have survived
and contribute to maintaining the diversity of cultivated plants and of breeds
of domestic animals. A specific fruit or vegetable will be cultivated because
it is part of a local recipe, is used as seasoning or is transformed to suit
other needs"(4). This diversity is what
generates the typicality of local restaurants and auberges.
Before dealing with the integration and organisation mechanisms of these
specific markets, let us examine the conditions for the production of these
local specificities, which have both a cultural and a natural dimension.
It must be added that these environmental and social dimensions will be
considered in terms of synergy and not of opposition, as is all too often
the case.
1.2. Local Products
The sustainable exploitation of these patrimonial resources should be submitted
to three conditions:
a) preserving the conditions that permit their renewal; that is, minimising
the impact of their exploitation while promoting a sufficient level of
production.
b) equitably sharing the resulting income among the local actors who produce
these cultural and natural features (positive externalities or public
goods).
c) implementing good local governance systems, which tie the production of
specific products to local sustainable development strategies shared by all
the local actors and thus avoiding the evicting effect resulting from monoculture
development.
a) Preserving their Ability to be Renewed
As René Dubos said, "each locality has a spirit of its own, which
gradually influences its physical aspect and the genius of its population
[...] I am of the same opinion as those who believe that landscapes deeply
affect the existence of human
beings"(5). So as to sustainably develop
these local cultural resources certain conditions need to be respected, and
in the first place the environmental and social structures at the base of
their production. If these conditions are not respected, we will end up with
a sham culture displayed in leisure parks and inauthentic supposedly artisanal
objects or, worse even, we will completely destroy these characteristics.
The "marketing" of native or local culture must thus be carried out with
care, and by involving the social groups concerned in all the decisions taken.
One central factor in the process is the revalorisation of the local culture
in the eyes of those involved in it and who wish to share it with
outsiders.
Does this mean that all traditions are sound for sustainable development
? Definitely not. Modern knowledge has disclosed problems that must be taken
into consideration: problems linked with human rights for instance or
environmental problems. Modern management methods should neither reconsider
them entirely nor ignore them: they need to be revisited in the context of
modern knowledge (especially by assessing their environmental impact) and
by involving the local actors concerned. It is thus necessary to reach a
balance between tradition and modernity.
The SDC was asked the following question by certain delegations: "How
can knowledge, culture, practices and traditional life styles integrate the
modern approaches promoting sustainable consumption and production
modes?"(6)
b) Sharing the Profits
Sharing the profits is part of the exploitation of any heritage. In this
instance, the value added by the collective cultural heritage should also
be shared. It is not just a case of copyright in the conventional sense,
but a case of remunerating an "impure" public good, produced by private and
public actors. Non-exclusivity and non-rivalry are two other qualities required
when referring to public goods, but these are, of course, limited by the
carrying capacity of the different environments. Although ecological and
cultural diversities are international public goods, they are mainly produced
on a local scale.
Moreover, these public goods are mainly created by local actors. The added
value should therefore be attributed to the locality itself thereby increasing
its contribution to local sustainable development. The problem is not so
much to promote the extensification of agricultural production in difficult
areas, as to maximise the added value of the land. The French law on
"appelations d'origine", a government certification guaranteeing the
quality of a French wine (see Box 4), requests that wine is bottled where
it is produced, thus providing employment for the local artisans.
A local product must, therefore, benefit from an equitable share of the life
cycle of a commodity: this requires providing adequate legal structures but
also encouraging local producers to associate in order to manage the
specificities and negotiate the marketing and distribution of their products,
and even to distribute these themselves when necessary. Small circuits are,
for instance, well suited to market local production as the producers themselves
control the marketing of their products, in a structure where commercial
transactions and distribution are closely linked. This system is now extended
through new marketing channels such as Internet, where transactions remain
capillary and made-to-measure, but where the product travels greater
distances. The resulting increased mobility of products could, however, create
some problems at the international level.
A good illustration of this issue is to be found in the biodiversity of domestic
species, which is at the base of food production. This biodiversity results
from the slow evolution of relationships between humankind and the environment.
Indeed, so as to adapt to the environment, people have developed specific
production types, specific practical knowledge; they selected and bred the
species best adapted to their land and developed processing techniques, which
resulted in the development of specific local products. We view this process
as the production of public goods. Indeed, humans have worked at developing
species and selecting genes: this amounts to a collective intellectual creation
that can be valorised by all and sundry. Each contracting party of the Convention
on Biological Diversity must respect, preserve and maintain "knowledge,
innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities embodying
traditional lifestyles relevant for the conservation and sustainable use
of biological diversity and promote their wider application with the approval
and involvement of the holders of such knowledge, innovations and practices
and encourage the equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the utilisation
of such knowledge, innovations and
practices."(7) The sharing of benefits
must primarily take place at a local level.
The second condition for the sustainability of these heritages is thus an
equitable sharing of income among the local actors who produce these public
goods.
c) Local Governance
The production of public goods and the equitable distribution of the resulting
income, necessarily requires implementing or reinforcing the capacities of
local actors. By this, we mean "a process in which individuals, groups,
organisations, institutions and countries develop their abilities, so as
to acquire further functions, resolve problems and meet their
objectives."(8) The first people concerned
by capacity reinforcement are the actors involved in the production of cultural
goods. However, the long-term perenniality of these resources would be seriously
threatened if they were to become a mono-activity. A balance needs to be
maintained between the local inhabitants and their economic (formal or informal)
and social relationships, which means preserving a balanced development of
local territories. To do so, one must take into consideration the local
governance mechanisms allowing a conciliation of different interests: public
(local communities), economic and individual interests at both the regional
and national levels. These good governance mechanisms, whose aim is
to collectively allocate and manage resources, "are characterised by
participation, transparency, responsibility, the primacy of rights, efficiency
and equity".(9) The local Agenda 21 programmes
are amongst the most important of these governance mechanisms, as they act
as a reference framework facilitating the cooperation between the different
parties concerned.(10)
The third condition is thus the implementation of efficient local governance
that enables specific types of production to be embedded in sustainable land
development strategies shared by all the actors concerned.
All local territories are concerned to a greater or lesser degree by such
approaches. The most vulnerable territories or those having original features
would be the ones to benefit the most from such approaches: mountain regions,
islands and coastal areas, as well as centres of biodiversity.
These approaches can apply to the Southern countries that are greatly dependent
on the export of their natural resources. The marketing of more elaborate
products, and the contribution of added value, would decrease the impact
resulting from the exploitation of their resources while increasing the income
they produce.
[R] 2. How can these Approaches be implemented ?
As mentioned above, the economic exchange of goods endowed with a strong
cultural identity concern, above all, the local populations. They are deeply
embedded in an intimate relationship between producers and consumers and
the raw products are transformed at the domestic level. Food traditions
(generally cultural) are in accord with local production practices. The nature
of the problem changes when considering more distant consumers, in other
words, the international market. Marketing of these goods on the international
market can contribute to the income needed to develop these areas. Let us
then consider their relationship with economic globalisation. Economic
globalisation is generally criticised as it entails the standardisation of
production and consumption modes. Governments, international organisations
and large industrial groups often hold forth on the consequences of globalisation
on consumption and production modes. They search for mechanisms encouraging
sustainable consumption while avoiding to set up invisible trade barriers.
The aim is obviously to valorise products and services having a strong local
identity. Yet being able to do so is not easy. Regulatory approaches can
be used at the country level, but these are often unilateral and can be called
into question by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) if they appear to be
invisible trade barriers At the local level, it is nevertheless possible
to resort to complementary regulatory or financial measures as these have
no direct influence on international commerce: land use, town planning
regulations, building standards, local infrastructures, etc.
Similarly, ecological taxing of resources and charging the use of natural
areas can also be a means of moving closer to a resource cost that reflects
the true price of goods and services. Such taxes are however not accepted
to the same degree by the different countries and this could induce
distortions.
The aim of the land management contracts (contrat territorial
d'exploitation - CTE) being set up in France is specifically to finance
the activities of farmers who produce positive externalities (landscape,
pollution control, etc.). An interesting approach, which could however accentuate
a detrimental duality. In this model, patrimonial values would be guaranteed
by the State, while the market would continue being driven by purely quantitative
criteria. The two approaches could be usefully combined, as long as the market
is approached from a strategic point of view. Indeed, the production and
consumption modes can only be changed by increasing the consumers' awareness
of their responsibilities and providing them with the information needed
to orient their consumption towards sustainably produced goods.
2.1. A Sustainable Development Labelling Mechanism
So as to preserve, reinforce and even produce public goods, i.e. social,
cultural and ecological diversity, consumers must be made aware of the added
value of these features when buying a product. Local consumers can easily
understand the issues at stake, immersed as they are in their environment
and sensitised through education for instance. Distant consumers on the other
hand, who buy the product from a standardised and impersonal market, find
this far more difficult. It thus boils down to a matter of information. If
price is what defines the product, then the price signal must be relevant
and include all the external effects on the environment and on culture. As
seen above, this is not a generally accepted course, and in addition raises
assessment problems. Labelling would be a possible solution for an economic
development of these specific features.
In the field of tourism, industrialists can inform their clients of the possible
consequences of their stay on the environment and on local societies and
inform the tourists of the ecological and cultural values of the regions
they are going to visit, so as to encourage them to adopt a more responsible
behaviour. Consumer awareness of sustainable consumption attitudes can be
raised through interesting information (stories), their sense of ethical
responsibility, personal implication and personal experiences
…(11)
The consumer should also be informed through a labelling system that could
be based on voluntary approaches. "The idea is for consumers to have access
to reliable information on the impact of products and services on the environment
by defining a clear description of products, by asking industrialist to establish
ecological reports, by creating information centres for consumers, by elaborating
voluntary and clear programmes to attribute ecological
labels."(12). These proposals often
concern the environment, but rarely include cultural aspects. Yet, we have
just seen that they are essential.
The Internet can also serve as a source of information on products. Indeed,
consumers can get extremely detailed information on production methods from
the Internet. Consumer groups could be set up on a world basis to test local
products according to their affinities, images, and history… and communicate
with the producers. This interactivity could shorten the commercial circuit
and thus increase the added value at the producer end.
2.2. Defining the Concept of Terroir
This brings us to the concept of terroir. This is a concept mainly
used in France and which has no equivalent in other
languages (13)
A series of concepts are linked to the terroir concept: the history of a
local community, its traditions that are reflected in its savoir-faire and
uses, and its specific productions, which constitute public goods and produce
amenities for a large group of parties concerned. The term "produits du terroir",
i.e. terroir products, is a commonly used word. We propose to give
it an operational meaning similar to that of the appellation d'origine
contrôlée (AOC) system applying to wine, cheese and some
other food products.(14)
2.3. The Choice of Consumers
Consumers in general, and especially food consumers, wish the taste and sanitary
quality, as well as the safety of the products they consume to be guaranteed
by identification (labelling) and traceability systems. The image and reputation
of a product rest on symbolic representations closely linked to cultural
practices. The point is thus to encourage the meeting of consumers and
"terroir products" (see Fig. 2, below). Locally, contact is easy and
close: there is a balance between consumer food habits and terroir
products. However, as consumers move away, they are no longer immersed in
this culture nor exposed to informal exchanges of information. A framework
of operational and institutional procedures and mechanisms then needs to
be set up, which takes account of two new aspects: the territory considered
as political and institutional space and the products and services controlled
by economic, as well as social and cultural mechanisms.
Figure 2. The territory/product
problematic
While normalisation and standardisation are necessary to move towards distant markets, these processes may also lead to a decline of diversity as observed in the French certification procedures. "Orality allows and even encourages variants, creativity and in certain cases, innovation; the written word leads to conformity and loyalty, which entails a degree of impoverishment and fixity. The systematic exploration and inventory of savoir-faire that is occurring in France in order to typify and protect products, will unavoidably result in the loss of a certain biological and cultural diversity, which may eventually lead to a form of disappropriation."(15)
Although this is probably a minor risk as compared to international
standardisation, the portion of local products to be integrated in a distant
market dynamic (thereby evolving from informal to formal, from domestic and
traditional to industrial) is a choice involving the entire community. Following
the logic of sustainable development, this procedure must be incorporated
into a logic of territorial development that is, of good local governance,
of reinforcing the capacities of the parties concerned, and of local Agenda
21 negotiation and evaluation procedures. "The ruling class and general public
have a wide long term perspective of good governance and human development,
as well as an idea of what is needed for such a development to take place.
Moreover, they understand the full complexity of the historical, cultural
and social data surrounding this perspective. These essential features are
interdependent, respectively reinforce one another and cannot exist
independently."(16) Excessive opening
to the international market could lead to an agricultural or tourist-oriented
monoculture which would be harmful for local sustainable development and
could jeopardise the conditions of sustainability themselves, as seen above.
These choices must definitely be made within the framework of a development
project for the local territory as this is the level at which eviction phenomena
can be prevented.
Capacity strengthening should primarily target the product production lines:
product specificities and characteristics should be developed through voluntary
labelling indicating that they are "terroir products". The legal and
institutional framework offers a range of solutions - quality labels, brand
marks, etc… according to the relative roles which the public authorities
and the private sector are asked to play in the process: the underlying issues
remain the same, however. Regarding brand marks, public authorities must
protect consumers from misleading advertising.
The consumer is the last link in the chain. Euromontana
(17) has defined two mountain "consumer models": the
non-participative and the participative models. The first most probably
corresponds to the behaviour of winter tourists. Those belonging to the second
model are possibly more sensitive to the notion of local heritage in mountain
areas, and thus more aware of the specificity of local foods. However, the
participative consumer must be given the right conditions to participate.
Consuming terroir products can be risky, therefore they must be correctly
assessed. "The very specific nature of many food products, which are often
unknown to consumers from outside the production locality, means that unless
detailed information is made available on how to prepare them, they will
not be eaten. […] Ignorance of practices and culinary know-how on the
way to prepare local products can result in predictable disappointment on
the consumer's part. […] Should the product be adapted to the consumer
or the consumer to the product? […] We are tempted to insist on the
fact that consumers must be initiated about the product, its originality,
the way it is to be prepared, in order that they are able to appreciate it
fully".(18)
If we want consumers to consume "terroir" products and services, we
need to set up procedures allowing the identification of their characteristics
and to foster synergies between the action of the local bodies in charge
of local development and the production and distribution economic networks.
Acting on the offer end is however not enough; one also needs to work on
the demand end by advocating consumption modes and life styles that contribute
to personal development. In consuming "diversity" we increase our personal
"diversity". Diversity encourages human development and is thus an essential
component of sustainable development. Consumers must therefore be given the
capacity to orient their consumption modes in this direction.
The need to inform and educate consumers is a basic condition for fostering
the joint evolution of production and consumption modes. On the other hand,
the cultural and symbolic meaning of food must also be rehabilitated in the
process.
Christian Brodhag is Head of Research at the École
des Mines in Saint-Étienne (Agora 21) and former president of
the French Commission for Sustainable Development.
This article is taken from the "Courrier de l'environnement
de l'INRA, n°40", by C.Brodagh.
Translated from French by Nicole Scott.
It is worth considering the dual nature of human culture (international public
goods) and diversified cultures (local and community goods) in detail.
Traditional public goods are defined as having three qualities, as opposed
to private goods: they are at the base of public production, their consumption
is non-exclusive as everybody has access to it, and last but not least, they
have no competitors as there is practically no risk of them becoming rare.
If culture itself can be considered as a pure public good, the goods in question
here are impure public goods. They are often produced privately. Although
the methods and techniques are not exclusive and have no direct rivals, these
goods can be denatured or exhausted by over-consumption. The debate taken
up by the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) on international public
goods, must thus be extended to the level of localities.
*Public goods on an international scale, international cooperation in
the XXIth century", a study carried out by Inge Kaul, Isabelle Grunberg,
Marc A. Stern, published for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP),
New-York Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1999.
The village of Barbizon is a good example of local development based on cultural
values linked to nature. This village of 1200 inhabitants lies some 60 kilometres
outside Paris and its main street runs into the Fontainebleau forest. The
village has no historical monument, castle or other architectural heritage.
Some 150 years ago, some ten painters settled down there. The village's identity
is now based on this event and the village itself has become a listed site.
In 1850, in reaction against classicism, painters such as Millet, Théodore
Rousseau, Diaz, and several others settled d at the Ganne Inn (now a museum)
to paint realistic representations of nature and peasants. This was the beginning
of pre-impressionism, later called Ecole de Barbizon. From then on the village
also attracted poets, writers and other artists who went there for short
breaks. After 1940, the Parisians started to go to Barbizon for weekends.
The village now possesses a dozen of art galleries, as well as antique shops,
hotels, restaurants and even a night-club at the edge of the forest. Second
homes have now become first homes. The nearby market farmers continue to
produce vegetables, lettuce and also cut flowers. The fields change colour
along the seasons and with the crop rotations: wheat, sunflower, alfalfa,
cabbage, etc.
This cultural village provides the Paris region with interlinked consumptions
(rambling or bike rides in the forest) and with culture along the "Route
de tous les arts", the Art Road which stretches out over forty kilometres
around Fontainebleau.
[R] Box 3:
Defining the Word Terroir
Defined by the French Sustainable Development Commission:
A terroir is a territorial entity with patrimonial values that stem from
the complex and long term relationships between cultural, social, ecological
and economic features. As opposed to natural areas little submitted to the
influence of humans, terroirs depend on the particular relationship between
human societies and their natural habitat that has shaped the landscape.
From an international point of view, they preserve biodiversity, as well
as cultural and social diversities, in accordance with the objectives of
sustainable development.
[R] Box 4:
"Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée"(A.O.C.): French Appellation
of Origin
The French National Institute of Appellations of Origin (Institut national
des appellations d'origine - INAO) was set up in 1935 and was first in
charge of identifying wines and brandy (eaux-de-vie), encoding their uses
and protecting them against usurpations in France and abroad. In 1990, its
competences were extended to all raw or transformed agricultural and food
products under the A.O.C. label.
The law implemented on 2 July 1990 established an accurate definition:
appellations of origin "means the geographical name of a country, region,
or locality, which serves to designate a product originating therein, the
quality and characteristics of which are due exclusively or essentially to
the geographical environment, including natural and human factors."
In 1992, Community regulations established the A.O.P. (appellation d'origine
protégée), protected appellation of origin, stating that
products submitted to this label must be produced, transformed and elaborated
in a delimited geographical designation. To benefit from the AOC label, a
product must be conform to the above definition, have a pre-established
reputation and must be submitted to an approval procedure guaranteeing the
way the product is produced. In this concept, the notion of "origin" first
covers a geographical area, defined according to the soil, subsoil and climate.
The whole system is based on this essential element.
These geographical areas of production are highly protected against aggressions
of all kind. The threats can be material: the delimited areas can be directly
endagered (motorways, railroads, quarries, etc), the climate can change due
to insalubrious industries, pumping stations, etc. These threats can also
be intellectual: the image of these labels of origin can be threatened by
changes in the landscape, of the environment or the site.
In France, 133 000 farms are concerned by the A.O.C. label of origin. A.O.C.
wines represent 11.3 billion euros, that is, over 80% of French production
(in terms of value) and brandy represents 1.5 billion euros. It is the main
credit line in the foreign trade balance of the French food industry. Dairy
products, especially cheese, represent a turnover of 1.7 billion euros. The
A.O.C. label of origin is developing in various other sectors: fruit, vegetables,
oil… The turnover of these products is roughly of 150 million euros.
These labels of origin are generally protected via international conventions,
however they are now also protected thanks to a multilateral agreement concerning
the trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS - trade-related
aspects of intellectual property rights), signed at Marrakech on 15 April
1994. Henceforth, the protection principle of geographical indications is
set in the framework of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The TRIPS Council
(Geneva) deal with the legal implementation of this protection principle.
(1)
According to the proposals made by Guy
Paillotin, Report to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, February
2000, available on Internet:
www.ladocfrancaise.gouv.fr/cgi-bin/multitel/CATALDOC/.[VU]
(2) Edgar Morin, Seven Complex Lessons in Education for
the Future, © UNESCO, October 1999, available on Internet:
www.agora21.org/unesco/7savoirs/index.html..[VU]
(3) Laurence Bérard, Philippe Marchenay: Ressource
des terroirs et diversité bio-culturelle, perspectives de recherche
("terroir resources and bio-cultural diversity, research perspectives"),
Journal d'agriculture traditionnelle et de botanique appliquée (JATBA),
1994, vol. XXXVI (2), 87-91..[VU]
(4) see note 2..[VU]
(5) René Dubos, Spiritual Ecology, Fayard,
1973..[VU]
(6) Resolution project recommended to the Economic and Social
Council by the Sustainable Development Commission, in relation with the work
on the seventh session, 9-30 April 1999, Economic and Social Council, official
documents, 1999, supplement 9 E/1999/29 E/CN.17/1999/20
(www.agora21.org/cdd7/csd7fsup.pd), §52. p. 42, and Conference work
on sustainable consumption modes: trends and traditions in East Asia and
the Korean Republic, January 1999..[VU]
(7) Convention on Biological Diversity, Article 8 j : On
site conservation. Bilingual version available on the Agora 21 web site:
www.agora21.org/cdb..[VU]
(8) Governance for sustainable human development. A UNDP
policy documents (United Nations Programme for Sustainable Development).
January 1997, New York..[VU]
(9) see note 6..[VU]
(10) A memorandum agreement has been signed between the
International Environmental Agency for Local Governments (ICLEI) and the
World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) to implement the Agenda 21 based
on sustainable development, at a local level, in most worldwide tourist regions.
Sustainable Development Commission, see note 8, §12. p.
61..[VU]
(11) OECD: Education and Learning for Sustainable
Consumption. OECD's Environmental Direction, Centre for Educational Research
and Innovation, Paris, 1999..[VU]
(12) see note 8, §24, p.
5..[VU]
(13) On an international scale, we could use the French
term "terroir"..[VU]
See The stakes of information on sustainable development in French, Christian
Brodhag, French speaking summer university on sustainable development and
information systems, Saint-Étienne, 5-9 July 1999, available at
www.agora21.org/univ-ete-fr/Christian-Brodhag.html.
(14)
www.agriculture.gouv.fr/alim/sign/appe/welcome.html.[VU]
(15) Laurence Bérard: Legal acknowledgment of
"terroir production": dealing with the cultural aspect. Workshop:
Representations of quality through legal
devices..[VU]
(16) see note 10..[VU]
(17 )Identification and distribution of quality mountain
products, synthesis and the main points of the debates. .Euromontana,
seminar, 3rd and 4th September 1999, Saint-Etienne. Based on the work of
Olivier Beucherie (ISARA) - version 24, September
1999..[VU]
(18) Laurence Bérard and Philippe Marchenay:
Heritage and Modernity: terroir products in the limelight, an anthropology
of food choices. Anthropologist Journal, 74, 1998,
AFA..[VU]
