Connecting with Unique Mediterranean Landscapes through Food Products
In the current times of globalization and homogenization of landscapes and taste, still many rural places maintain a distinctive character and produce foods that evoke traditions and a sense of quality of life. The landscapes of origin are often affected by dynamics that threaten their persistence — but a growing awareness among producers and consumers creates market niches for traditional food products that contribute to their preservation. In a recent study, we aimed to find out more about these so-called “landscape products”.
Be it olive oil produced in the Greek island of Lesbos, ham from acorn-fed pigs raised in wooded pastures in Extremadura, Spain, or wine produced in the Portuguese Alto Douro region — landscape products are the outcome of unique landscapes and farming practices.
In the Mediterranean, such landscapes and the biodiversity they carry are threatened by diverse current trends, such as the abandonment of land, the conversion of agricultural into urban or infrastructural land, or the intensification of the agricultural practices. These dynamics are typically driven by the socio-economic challenges that producers face, often connected to the competition with cheaper mass market industrial production and a lack of resources, access to markets and organization of smallholders.
As a response, there is growing awareness and willingness among society to preserve these landscapes and associated production practices, which represent an alternative to the paradigmatic industrial production of food that is spreading all over the world with consequences of biodiversity loss and the concentration of power and resources in the hands of few big corporations. It is the appreciation and willingness to pay by consumers and tourists for the values that these landscapes and products bear that contribute to their maintenance and the preservation of the associated traditions.
In order to find out more about these landscape products and their potential for the preservation of the distinct character of the landscapes of origin, we carried out a survey among experts in the fields of food systems and landscape research from several universities across the Mediterranean. 54 landscape products were described and analyzed providing some exciting insights into the dynamics surrounding these food systems and the landscapes of production.
The most common type of landscape products selected by the experts were wine, olive oil and other tree crops such as almonds, but meat and cheese products, cereals and vegetables were also mentioned.
Preserving cultural and ecological diversity
Based on the perceptions of the experts we could identify some general characteristics that most landscape products share. One of our major findings is that they are well-embedded in the landscapes of production, meaning that they are integrated in the cultural, social and ecological territorial context where they are grown.
Most of the products described by the experts are grown using of low production intensity farming practices and involving traditional knowledge and techniques. Thereby, landscape products contribute to preserve the cultural and ecological diversity of the landscapes, especially in association to the preservation of autochthonous species, local culture and traditions and in generating sense of place and identity. This cultural and ecological diversity is fundamental for maintaining the specific character distinguishing them from other landscapes.
Creating bonds across production-consumption chains
In times of a global distribution of products, increasing the distance between consumers and landscapes of production, the shared valorization of the cultural and ecological diversity and values embodied in the landscape product bonds producers and consumers. Therefore the communication of these values becomes very important and helps reconnect people with the landscapes and grow a feeling of stewardship towards them.
We observed different ways these values are communicated:
- In the case of products sold through short value chains, the communication of the authenticity and qualities of the products happens through the personal interaction between producers and consumers.
- At an international level or in the case of longer value chains, well-known programs and labels such as geographic indications or Slow Food are often in place, indicating the uniqueness of these products and emphasizing their values.
Labels for unique landscapes
Geographic Indication labels (GIs) have been very effective in promoting products in their distinctive territorial context and in distinguishing them from mass market equivalents adding value to their final price. However, they are too much single-product-oriented and lack a more integrated approach to the whole of the landscape of production, neglecting other important but less profitable products. This has led in some cases to the overspecialization of entire landscapes on a single product with negative consequences for the preservation of the distinctive landscape character and cultural and ecological values.
International programs that highlight the values of agricultural landscapes as a whole are gaining momentum and might be more successful in preserving their cultural and ecological diversity worldwide than single-product-oriented labels. Some examples are the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) supported by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Socio-Ecological Production Landscapes and Seascapes (SEPLS) promoted under the Satoyama Initiative, or the High Nature Value farmlands (HNV) in Europe. As in the case of GIs, if products can be branded under these programs, they might as well bring these landscapes closer to distant consumers through information and recognition.
Unsolved unfairness and socio-economic threats for small producers
It would be naïve to glorify these landscapes and foods without recognizing the socio-economic challenges their producers face, as highlighted by the experts. When visiting and recreating in the beauty of these landscapes, enjoying the taste and culinary heritage associated to their products, we often do not see how they are affected by the unfair logics of the current market paradigm.
Food systems worldwide are increasingly based on the over-exploitation of local natural resources and labor. Landscape products are often grown by small producers — and the portion of the final price that reaches them is usually ridiculously small in comparison to what other actors along the value chain obtain. Local farmers often lack the empowerment and knowledge that is needed to participate in the operational rules that govern these chains. And even when the product has managed to obtain an advantaged position in the international markets — for example by being labeled under a well-known GI that adds value to the final market price — still the benefits obtained by the farmers remain too low in relation to the costs of production and living that they face.
This poses some further urgent questions that have long been addressed by science, policy and practice — but remain unsolved and highly contested until today:
How can the socio-economic conditions of producers be improved while at the same time preserving the important ecological and cultural values associated to traditional and low intensity farming practices?
This and many other questions are being studied by researchers from diverse disciplines in the frame of the project Landscape Chains. We invite you to visit and contact us for more information!
Full Study: Martín, M. G., Torralba, M. Quintas-Soriano, C., Kahl, J., Plieninger, T. (2020): Linking food systems and landscape sustainability in the Mediterranean region. Landscape Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-020-01168-5
