Discursive and institutional shifts in the attention to animals in sustainable food policies: A case study of Gelderland
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2026-02-05
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en
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Transformative change is needed to confront the destructive impacts of human activity on the future of all life on earth. This requires change in paradigms, goals and values, including relationships between humans and non-humans. While there seems to be increasing attention for non-human animal concerns, animals are still largely overlooked in sustainability debates, including the transition to sustainable agriculture. Examining stability and change in this system and the role of animals therein, can shed light on different ways in which animal-using systems change towards sustainability and the extent to and ways in which non-human animal concerns are taken into account. This study answers the following research question: How have discourses on non-human animals within developments in sustainable agriculture changed or stayed the same over the last 12 years in Gelderland, the Netherlands, and to what extent and why has this translated into institutional change? Using a discursive-institutional approach through the analytical framework of the Policy Arrangement Approach, this thesis combines desk research and semi-structured interviews to analyze how current discourses, actors, formal and informal rules, and power dynamics align with shifting societal discourses on animals. The findings indicate that while sustainable agriculture has become an important policy goal in Gelderland, animal interests are rarely considered beyond traditional anthropocentric perspectives. The dominant discourse still frames animals primarily in terms of their utility for humans, and despite some emerging attention to concepts like dierwaardigheid (animal-worthiness), there is limited institutionalization of more progressive discourses emphasizing intrinsic or relational animal value. The research identifies key forces of stability, including power of regime actors, political culture, coordination effects, fixed costs, learning effects, law and strong historical narratives, which hinder transformative change. At the same time, pressure from civil society creating new discourses which resonate could act as forces for change. In this case, the identified forces of stability are more powerful than the identified forces of change. This study contributes to the literature on discursive-institutional change by highlighting the challenges of integrating non-human animal concerns into sustainability transitions. It underscores the need for stronger institutional mechanisms to translate changing societal discourses into concrete policy shifts that genuinely consider animal interests within sustainable agriculture.
Key words: sustainable agriculture, animal interests, Policy Arrangement Approach, forces of stability and change
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen