The leftovers: a rural weaving of field care practices, taste and value within a local food-producing network

Abstract

ABSTRACT More than two-thirds of Denmark's rural landscape is comprised of agricultural fields, mostly conventionally used. The wastage resulting from food production has increased throughout the last 50 years. This article is empirically based on an in-depth ethnographic study of Herslev, an organic Danish farm-based brewery specialising in ‘natural beer brewing.’ Herslev uses ingredients grown locally on biodynamic fields, flavours from plants growing in the wild around the brewery, and ‘leftover’ resources from a local rural network of producers. The article analyses its field-factory practices to explore its understanding of the relationships between landscape care, taste, and value. We suggest the concept of the ‘producer-citizen’ as characterising a food producer operating in a pericapitalist form and space, while exploring and negotiating eco-social ethical landscaping.