Presentation short abstract

This paper focuses on the expansion of biomethane production through the anaerobic fermentation of animal waste in Northeastern Italy. It examines the shifting distinctions drawn between edibility and inedibility, safety and toxicity, value and waste, in the name of a European energy transition.

Presentation long abstract

This paper considers the implications of the expansion and development of biomethane production through the anaerobic fermentation of animal waste in Northeastern Italy. In the European context, not only has “Factory farm gas” been framed as a renewable energy source and a crucial transitional tool in moving away from fossil fuels, but it has also been positioned as critical infrastructure—essential for both national and EU-wide energy security and independence from Russian natural gas. What are the consequences of rendering a diverse and messy array of animal substances—such as feces, urine, gut contents, paunch, and slaughterhouse grease—into energy like any other, yet, also supposedly unlike any other? What kinds of ideological, ethical, and organizational work are required to reduce these highly varied substances into a generic energetic substance like methane? Drawing on ethnographic research in and around biomethane facilities, I consider three microbially saturated vantage points: the proxy discourses used by biomethane entrepreneurs promoting renewable energy solutions; the experiences of rural residents navigating uncertain environmental exposures; and the leaks from containment infrastructures that purport to separate farmed animal matter from their wider surroundings. In doing so, I examine the implications of the shifting distinctions drawn between edibility and inedibility, safety and toxicity, value and waste, in the name of a European energy transition.