Presentation short abstract

A series of mechanisms contribute to the invisibility of the ecological and ethical impacts of animal production. We offer an original conceptual tool to identify regimes of invisibility and illegibility, thus deepening our understanding of contemporary socio-ecological dynamics.

Presentation long abstract

On the one hand, some ecological effects like South American soybean cultivation for livestock feed on deforestation has received some media attention. One the other hand, European agricultural practices, including forms of intensive farming that generate poor animal welfare remain largely hidden from public view. A series of mechanisms contribute to the invisibility of the ecological and ethical impacts of animal production: the geographical remoteness of industrial farms, marketing discourse idealising animal welfare, and the opacity and complexity of global supply chains.

The struggle over the visibility of industrial farming is not new. Citizens and consumers have long been distanced from the violence of meat production, even as they are regularly confronted with attempts to make these realities visible.

To better understand these asymmetries of visibility and highlight the strategies employed by different actors, we propose an analytical framework for examining how certain social and environmental realities are systematically obscured or blurred, while others are granted with increased exposure. Applying this framework to the livestock sector, we aim to reveal the underlying mechanisms through which invisibility and visibility are produced. In doing so, we offer an original conceptual tool to identify regimes of invisibility and illegibility, thus deepening our understanding of contemporary socio-ecological dynamics. Ultimately, this framework shed light on how relations between humans and non-humans are shaped and mediated by these processes.