Paper short abstract:

An analysis of a local debate on how to deal with the increasing need for sustainable food production with open sea fish farming as an example. How do the opponents argue their way of preparing and preserving for future and present needs using affect?

Paper long abstract:

This paper examines two opposing practices of preparing for the future through analysing a local debate about open sea fish farming in the Gulf of Bothnia, just off the Finnish west coast. Ostrobothnia is a region known for its glacio-isostatic uplift, and the Kvarken archipelago nearby is listed as a World Heritage Site by Unesco. In 2017 a local fisherman founded an open sea fish farming company to produce locally farmed fish in the sea outside Jakobstad. The aim is to meet the increasing demand for domestically produced fish. The establishment of the fish farm has been challenged and defended in several debate articles. The supporters stress the importance of economic growth, as well as the need for increased fish production due to the growing demand for a more sustainable protein, while the ones resisting the establishment worry about the environmental impact and its consequences. I view the debate as a local example of a global debate on how to deal with an increasing need for sustainable food production. The ongoing environmental challenge for the Gulf of Bothnia is the impact from various nutrient emissions. In the local debate the two sides may be regarded as both preparing and preserving for the future, and the present, but in opposing ways. The aim of this paper is to analyse how the two sides in the debate argue their way focusing on affect.