The Socio-Ecological Transition on a Crop Scale: The Case of Olive Orchards in Southern Spain (1750–2000)

Abstract

In Europe, pre-industrial economies were fully dependent on agrarian production to meet most demands. The agricultural system provided the bulk of food, fibres, construction materials, medicines and fuel. It is estimated that 95 % of energy requirements during this period were met by means of noncoal organic sources (Fischer-Kowalski and Haberl 2007:225–227). With the onset of industrialization, agriculture was relegated to providing food or raw materials, for which it now requires significant external inputs. In recent years, interesting theoretical approaches have been developed to analyze the Socio-Ecological Transition (SET) in agriculture (Fischer-Kowalski and Haberl 2007; Gonzalez de Molina 2010) supported by case studies conducted on a national scale (Krausmann et al . 2008). The aim of this paper is to study the SETon a crop scale through an examination of olive groves in Southern Spain, given their major role in contemporary agriculture and that the fact that little is generally known about this type of crop. Olive trees have made a decisive contribution to the industrialization of agriculture and agrarian growth in the Mediterranean world through the application of technologies that chiefly aimed to increase the production of olive oil for human consumption (Infante-Amate 2011; Zambrana 2000). However, we also aim to demonstrate the radical change that took place in the socioeconomic and environmental functions of this crop. The use of the crop as a scale of analysis provides insights into aspects of the SET that are not apparent at more aggregated scales. Case Studies and Timeframe