ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors turn our focus to eco-chic producers, rather than consumers, to highlight a crucial and distinct component of the commodity chain. They draw from two complementary long-term research projects in the Basque region of southwestern France to examine the emergence and consequences of eco-chic practices and ideologies among farmers. Although the Basque region has never constituted a formally recognized nation-state, it has endured as a distinct cultural region. The Basque region occupies a distinctive place in the Pyrenees Mountains, separating the Iberian Peninsula from the rest of continental Europe. The Protected Designation of Origin Ossau-Iraty brand has certainly aided in marketing the mountain in general, and in the marketing of Basque cheeses in particular, by establishing a more visible connection between product, producers, and place. Kosoy and Corbera argue that market environmentalism, particularly when dealing with ecosystems and ecosystem services, erases complexity and denies other ways of understanding and valuing what is being marketed.
