Fair Trade Milk Initiative in Belgium: Bricolage as an Empowering Strategy for Change

Abstract

In a context of multiple crises, dairy farmers struggle to receive a fair remuneration for their work. This situation led to the creation of fair milk projects in Europe. But fair trade projects often suffer from ambiguous interpretations that place them simultaneously in and against the market. This study focuses on a Belgian milk label in order to analyse how dairy farmers developed a particular strategy to create their own fair milk. Based on semi-structured interviews and using the multi-level perspective, we propose that articulating the concepts of lock-ins, bricolage and ambiguity enables us to analyse the potential of this innovation for the transition of the Belgian dairy system. The study shows that fairness is often a matter of divergent interpretations, and its final actualisation is the product of emergent and negotiated relations. By using bricolage practices, the stakeholders reinforced their capacity to gain market power and act within the system they want to change. within the fair trade movement 'wish to use market mechanisms as a tool to increase their social impact, but at the same time promote a political project that questions the functioning of the market'. It thus appears that fairness is not a norm that can be realised in a self-evident manner: it is necessary to make a series of adjustments ('bricolage') to give it concrete effect, but this generates a tension between the divergent interpretations of the project. These adjustments are always specific: they vary according to the socio-historical context and the socio-technical network in which the project takes place.This article aims to contribute to the reflection around this tension, which frequently appears in fair trade. The article will juxtapose this reflection with the question of the transition to sustainable agro-food systems. Using the tools of the multi-level perspective (MLP), we will analyse how Belgian farmers have developed a distinctive strategy in order to create their own brand of fair trade milk (Fairebel) as a response to the milk crisis of 2009. The analysis demonstrates how the tension was created in the particular context of the dairy sector, which is characterised by a high degree of 'lock-in', which forced the farmers to use bricolage to realise their project. This bricolage is the source of the tension in which the project finds itself: at once 'in' and 'against' the market; at once in conflict and continuity with the system. We demonstrate how this tension generates an ambiguity, in the sense that the interpretation depends on the perspective taken.The case is interesting because of the manner in which the stakeholders of the fair milk project responded to the ambiguity by showing their commitment to letting one interpretation of the project (political commitment) prevail over another (market expedience). In doing so, they were able to maintain their project despite the tension. This article contributes to the reflection about the transition of the agro-food system; it does so by taking into account the fact th...

Allowing for the Projective Dimension of Agency in Analysing Alternative Food Networks

“…The fair trade project is “fuzzy”, “vague”, and “ambiguous” (for comparable findings for a domestic fair trade project, see Feyereisen et al . , and for food sovereignty, see Wald ). Implementing it through specific rules entails arbitrating and establishing a hierarchy of its various components.…”

The Multi-Level Perspective in Research on Sustainability Transitions in Agriculture and Food Systems: A Systematic Review

“…The concepts of 'lock-in' and 'path dependency' [116][117][118] are recurring themes in analyses of agro-food regimes [53,55,64,65,78,83,90,99,104] to explain its resistance to change. For instance, in the case of pig farming in the Netherlands, system lock-ins take the form of barriers in the meat supply chain and market that hinder improving animal welfare in pig production [55].…”

“…Nevertheless, some of the selected papers address various external trends and exogenous factors that affect transition towards sustainable agro-food systems. These trends and factors include globalization and agro-food market internationalization [55,90,98], population growth [90], global financial crisis [108], changes in diets and lifestyles [55], (neo)-liberalization [88,90], international treaties and conventions [97,111], the Common Agricultural Policy [79,99] in the context of the European Union, increasing concerns about animal welfare and the environment [55,88], climate change [73,90]. According to Immink et al [55], " .…”

“…Audet et al [65] Montreal seasonal food markets Canada Belmin et al [98] Geographical Indications France Feyereisen et al [99] Fair trade milk Belgium Hauser and Lindtner [82] Organic agriculture Uganda Isgren and Ness [78] Agroecology Uganda Jacobs et al [64] Phosphorus use Multi-country/North America Loconto and Barbier [100] Agriculture sustainability standards Undefined Meynard et al [74] Agri-food sector Multi-country Paschen et al [101] Privatised agricultural extension Australia Seoane and Marín [83] Organic apiculture Argentina Vivero-Pol [92] Food Multi-country Vlahos et al [86] Integrated peach farming Greece…”

“…. are simultaneously 'in' and 'against' the market" (p. 312), that they want to change [99]. In fact, Huybrechts [114] explains that actors within the fair trade movement " .…”