The Confederation of Consumers and Users in Spain (CECU) has joined forces with Justicia Alimentaria and Friends of the Earth Spain to weave new narratives for the Spanish livestock farming and agricultural sector, paving the way for an agroecological transition. In early November 2022, they organised a seminar titled Ruralism or Barbarism, bringing together over 50 different voices.

Spain is one of the top agricultural producers in Europe and a hotspot for factory farming. The intensive industrial model is being backed by the main political parties, conventional farmer unions and mainstream media. Fortunately, new voices are emerging, bringing fresh perspectives coming from agroecology, health, peasants' rights and/or labour rights. Hence, the timing is perfect for a new beat to sound!

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Gathered in the city of Jaca, in the province of Aragon, the participants shared their journeys of frustration and despair when speaking outagainst the agro-industry. One such voice came from Jornaleras en Lucha Huelva, a self-organised group of women farm workers, employed as day labourers onfruit farms. The women shared painful stories of exploitation, inequality and racism, and explained how these drove them to set up a feminist collective to denounce these injustices. Unfortunately, their voices have often been silenced or they have lost their jobs lost because of the enormous power wielded by the businesses.

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Adding strength to the frustration was Asociación Hacenderas, another organisation, protesting the construction of a mega livestock farm in Soria, a small town of 40,000 inhabitants in a rural area in Castilla y León. The megafarm would cause environmental pollution equivalent to the city of Valencia, with its 800,000 inhabitants! For over six years, the association has been in dialogue with local residents, politicians and scientists, thus far with little progress.

These rural, anti-racists, feminist, and some may argue, anti-colonial struggles are also shared by Fridays for Future, the youth movement demanding action on climate change.  One of their members, shared the youth’s struggles due to the rising cost of living, precarious jobs and more difficult access to education in rural areas. All this has been aggravated by the Covid pandemic, which has affected the mental health of many young people.

The smaller group discussions offered glimmers of hope on how to start weaving a different narrative. There was an emerging consensus on “less and better” meat for a more sustainable food system, promoting the meat produced by smallholders rather than industrial livestock, at the same time protecting rural areas from the growing urbanisation. Giving agency and communicating the sense of urgency of those most impacted by the current food system would be critical, for example of people working on the farms. And continuous dialogue between opposing voices would be key to also counter rising xenophobia and racism in the rural areas.

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Ruralism or Barbarism may not have seen a moment of Eureka (yet), but one thing is sure: there is a need for pluralism – both in people and solutions!

"To build a future with more ruralism than barbarism, with more justice than financial markets, with proposals to put life at the centre, that are feminist and sustainable."

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