Cheeses Lying Fallow. The Difficult Revival of Cheese Production in a Post-industrial Ariège Valley (Pyrenees, France)
Throughout the 20th century, the development of the Vicdessos valley (department of Ariège, French Pyrenees) was oriented almost exclusively towards the aluminum industry, leading to the decline and then total disappearance of local cheese production. Once renowned, Auzat cheese, made from sheep and...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Institut de Géographie Alpine
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Revue de Géographie Alpine |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/rga/10702 |
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| author | Tristan Fournier Olivier Lepiller Guillaume Simonet |
| author_facet | Tristan Fournier Olivier Lepiller Guillaume Simonet |
| author_sort | Tristan Fournier |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Throughout the 20th century, the development of the Vicdessos valley (department of Ariège, French Pyrenees) was oriented almost exclusively towards the aluminum industry, leading to the decline and then total disappearance of local cheese production. Once renowned, Auzat cheese, made from sheep and then cow's milk, was an important resource in the local economy until the middle of the 20th century. Based on documentary research, interviews and ethnographic observations, this article traces the social biography of this cheese since the middle of the 19th century. It analyzes the conditions of the decline of its production and the blurring of its memory. While, for the last twenty years, this post-industrial valley has turned towards the development of tourism, the article provides an understanding of the constraints that have prevented any renewal of cheese production until recently. Indeed, since the end of the 2010s, several initiatives have emerged, without the link with the valley's cheese-making past being cultivated for the moment. These initiatives show the new favorable conditions, but also the persistent obstacles, to the relocation of food circuits in this post-industrial rural territory. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3d9b0329a50d4997a7e394afd98f207d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0035-1121 1760-7426 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | Institut de Géographie Alpine |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Revue de Géographie Alpine |
| spelling | doaj-art-3d9b0329a50d4997a7e394afd98f207d2025-01-10T15:54:55ZengInstitut de Géographie AlpineRevue de Géographie Alpine0035-11211760-74262022-12-01110210.4000/rga.10702Cheeses Lying Fallow. The Difficult Revival of Cheese Production in a Post-industrial Ariège Valley (Pyrenees, France)Tristan FournierOlivier LepillerGuillaume SimonetThroughout the 20th century, the development of the Vicdessos valley (department of Ariège, French Pyrenees) was oriented almost exclusively towards the aluminum industry, leading to the decline and then total disappearance of local cheese production. Once renowned, Auzat cheese, made from sheep and then cow's milk, was an important resource in the local economy until the middle of the 20th century. Based on documentary research, interviews and ethnographic observations, this article traces the social biography of this cheese since the middle of the 19th century. It analyzes the conditions of the decline of its production and the blurring of its memory. While, for the last twenty years, this post-industrial valley has turned towards the development of tourism, the article provides an understanding of the constraints that have prevented any renewal of cheese production until recently. Indeed, since the end of the 2010s, several initiatives have emerged, without the link with the valley's cheese-making past being cultivated for the moment. These initiatives show the new favorable conditions, but also the persistent obstacles, to the relocation of food circuits in this post-industrial rural territory.https://journals.openedition.org/rga/10702Pyreneescheesefoodrelocationrural territory |
| spellingShingle | Tristan Fournier Olivier Lepiller Guillaume Simonet Cheeses Lying Fallow. The Difficult Revival of Cheese Production in a Post-industrial Ariège Valley (Pyrenees, France) Revue de Géographie Alpine Pyrenees cheese food relocation rural territory |
| title | Cheeses Lying Fallow. The Difficult Revival of Cheese Production in a Post-industrial Ariège Valley (Pyrenees, France) |
| title_full | Cheeses Lying Fallow. The Difficult Revival of Cheese Production in a Post-industrial Ariège Valley (Pyrenees, France) |
| title_fullStr | Cheeses Lying Fallow. The Difficult Revival of Cheese Production in a Post-industrial Ariège Valley (Pyrenees, France) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cheeses Lying Fallow. The Difficult Revival of Cheese Production in a Post-industrial Ariège Valley (Pyrenees, France) |
| title_short | Cheeses Lying Fallow. The Difficult Revival of Cheese Production in a Post-industrial Ariège Valley (Pyrenees, France) |
| title_sort | cheeses lying fallow the difficult revival of cheese production in a post industrial ariege valley pyrenees france |
| topic | Pyrenees cheese food relocation rural territory |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/rga/10702 |
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