CRPR Seminar Series: Thomas Vetter - (Un-)learning through new communities of practice

This paper presents a qualitative case study analysis of the Pasture-Fed Livestock Association, (PFLA) which seeks to ‘kick the grain habit’ in ruminant farming by promoting, certifying and legitimizing purely pasture-fed production systems. Read through a social learning perspective, the paper traces how the PFLA has become established as a new and distinct community of practice. The role that unlearning plays in legitimizing new communities of practice such as the PFLA is highlighted. The PFLA case study informs debates about the potential role that new communities of practice can play in bringing alternative practices, knowledges, and products to peoples’ minds and markets. Thomas Vetter is a PhD candidate at the University of Neuchâtel (Switzerland) and was conducting fieldwork in the United Kingdom. His research interest lies in the transformation of agri-food systems and its implications for society, economy, state and the environment.