This editorial lays out the core themes of the special feature and provides an overview of the contributions. It introduces the main argument, namely that the promises of far-reaching change made by recent bioeconomy policies are in fact strategically directed at avoiding transformative change to existing societal arrangements. Bioeconomy discourse showcases technological solutions purported to solve sustainability ‘problems’ while sustaining economic growth, but avoids issues of scalability, integration or negative consequences. Thus, bioeconomy policies, and particularly the latest versions of the predominantly European ‘bio-resource’ variety that have rhetorically integrated a lot of previous sustainability-minded criticism, serve to ward off or delay challenges to an unsustainable status quo, in effect prolongating the escalatory imperatives of capitalist modernity that are at the root of current crises. The editorial’s second part highlights the contributions that the 13 featured articles, based on theoretical considerations as well as policy analyses and empirical case studies from a range of countries, make to this argument.
The olive sector in Jaén in the South of Spain serves as an example of what happens when a centuries-old bio-based economy reaches its biophysical limits. The Andalusian Bioeconomy Strategy seeks to reform the sector by modernizing it, i.e. investing in technological innovation and increasing the efficiency of mechanization. This paper first considers recent data on the olive sector in Jaén before comparing its historical evolution with the demands of the 2018 Andalusian Bioeconomy Strategy. The comparison yields several results: first, the history of olive cultivation in the province is characterized by a strong peasantry that continuously grew on a large scale and consisted of thousands of small farmers; thus, it is not a typical story of land concentration and technological modernization. Second, there is potential for conflict between what the paper depicts as a historical, “old” bioeconomy and the bioeconomy envisioned by the Andalusian strategy.
Bioeconomy policies claim to contribute to socio-ecological transformations and decreasing rural-urban inequalities. Based on examples of four bioeconomies in rural Europe, we argue that contrary to these claims, such policies to date have not de-escalated existing social conflicts
but instead have often further contributed to polarization tendencies. To live up to those proclaimed goals, bioeconomy research and policy need to deprioritize economic growth and turn to more comprehensive considerations of socio-ecological contexts and the integration of the local population
and alternative practices.
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