La transition agroécologique permet-elle de renouer le lien aux non-humains ? Regards croisés d’écologue et de juriste

Abstract

The objective of this article is to contribute to the analysis of the evolution of our relations with non-human living beings, by attempting to reveal the nature of the changes that are at work today within the plurality of paths of the so-called ecological transition. Our approach consists in analysing these changes in the field of agriculture, which covers a wide range of life management practices, the most intensive of which are strongly questioned. We chose the case of alternative seed selection practices and the consideration of animal sensitivity in breeding, for which the transformations are accompanied by a discourse on an evolution of the link to living organisms. Our cross-eye view of lawyers and ecologists has shown that the changes in the nature of this link are not necessarily correlated to changes in practices that may appear radical for which living organisms remain a resource object. The relationship to living organisms that is built in the sensory practice of living animals or plants pre-exists and develops, but often remains invisible because it is difficult to qualify and categorize. This non-recognition is part of the resistance, observed in the two cases studied, to make the changes necessary to build a "relational" relationship with living beings. In the discussion, we propose to explore the perspectives provided by the notion of community and responsibility to radically overcome the question of human and living - non-human distance.

Keywords

• agriculture
• ecological transition
• animal welfare
• human-non human relationships
• peasants seeds
• biotic communities