Biosecurity and more‐than‐human political economy: Veterinary interventions as productive economic forces in the ‘mozzarella landscape’ in Italy

Abstract

AbstractThe importance of veterinary interventions has been longstanding in animal farming. The intensification of farming methods, recurrence of infectious diseases and food quality concerns have made veterinary practices and expertise even more relevant. By engaging recent literature on more‐than‐human political economy, this paper explores how veterinary interventions, through political economic and biosecurity practices, become productive economic forces in intensive animal farming and the wider agri‐food production. Empirically, the article focuses on the challenges of buffalo farming in the ‘mozzarella landscape’ in Southern Italy, and it draws from multi‐sited and multispecies ethnography of water buffalo farming and mozzarella cheese production in the Campania region. One of the main elements of my fieldwork is a seven‐week‐long internship on a buffalo farm where participant and direct observation has been conducted. From a theoretical perspective, the article aims to bring the concept of veterinary bioeconomy to the forefront of animal geographies and political ecology.