Producing and marketing of organic animal products: a driving force for the agroecological transition?

Abstract

Organic farming is a mode of production, certified by a third party and associated with market segmentation for livestock products, under an official quality sign. With its rise at the end of the 20th century, this approach, structured above all by the ban on synthetic inputs, is seen as a major tool for the agroecological transition of livestock farming systems. This article aims to question this position. It first presents how the AB specifications structure, in certain aspects lead to an agroecological transition. Using the example of meat production, it also presents how the market weighs on the production systems, slowing down this transition, struggling to stop the expansion of livestock farms and the adoption of practices aimed at increasing animal productivity. Then it calls on two situations: the production of sheep milk in the Causses du Sud, South of France, partly intended for the PDO Roquefort, and beef and sheep meat from the eastern Pyrenees mountains. It questions the need to have strong territorial governance tools, which could be developed through existing approaches, for example, ones of the geographical indication type. It invites reflection on the reterritorialization of all or part of the organic farming sectors.