ABSTRACT

In the face of longstanding social and technological trends, the application of agroecological insights at beef farms in Flanders may at first seem a curious proposition. We found, however, that beef farmers pursue agroecological principles through an impressive diversity of practices in this context. In 37 semi-structured interviews, we asked farmers how they put into practice a set of principles which covers many themes addressed in agroecological literature. Inspired by a grounded theory approach, but also based on literature and consultation of fellow researchers, we conceptualized for each principle distinctive pathways of action to categorize relevant practices. By documenting farmers’ practices, we show that an agronomic interpretation of agroecology as a practice obfuscates the many ways farmers can contribute to the social dimensions of agroecology too, which also problematizes those food systems approaches that undervalue the farmers’ agency in changing their social context themselves. This grounded conceptual framework may be used to further assess how each beef farmer addresses these different principles together in practice. Given these results and perspectives, we contend that empirical inquiries such as these are instrumental in maintaining the connection between agroecological theory and practice, allowing both to move dialectically forward.

摘要

面对长期的社会和技术趋势，农业生态学见识在法兰德斯牛肉农场的应用乍一看似乎是一个奇怪的主张。但是，我们发现，在这种情况下，牛肉种植者通过令人印象深刻的做法来追求农业生态原则。在37次半结构化访谈中，我们询问农民如何将一套涵盖农业生态文学中涉及的许多主题的原则付诸实践。受到扎根理论方法的启发，但也基于文献和研究人员的咨询意见，我们为每种原理概念化了独特的作用途径，以对相关实践进行分类。通过记录农民的做法，我们表明，对农业生态学的一种农艺学解释混淆了农民也可以为农业生态学的社会方面做出贡献的许多方式，这也使那些低估农民自身改变其社会环境的粮食体系方法产生了问题。这种扎根的概念框架可用于进一步评估每个肉农如何在实践中共同解决这些不同的原则。鉴于这些结果和观点，我们认为，诸如此类的经验性查询有助于维持农业生态理论与实践之间的联系，从而使二者能够辩证地向前发展。这种扎根的概念框架可用于进一步评估每个养牛户在实践中如何共同解决这些不同的原则。鉴于这些结果和观点，我们认为，诸如此类的经验性查询有助于维持农业生态理论与实践之间的联系，从而使二者能够辩证地向前发展。这种扎根的概念框架可用于进一步评估每个肉农如何在实践中共同解决这些不同的原则。鉴于这些结果和观点，我们认为，诸如此类的经验性查询有助于维持农业生态理论与实践之间的联系，从而使二者能够辩证地向前发展。