ABSTRACT
In Chapter 16 of the Routledge Handbook of Ecocultural Identity, Hallgren, Bergeå, and Källström identify and problematize mediated constructions of dichotomist ecocultural identities. The authors present the case of Swedish media ascribing identities of environmental heroes and environmental villains to livestock farmers in Sweden. The authors’ examination of Swedish media coverage reveals that, after the publication of an international report titled Livestock’s Long Shadow, there was a substantial change in media framing of Swedish farmers’ practices and identities. Swedish media constructed the ecocultural identity of conservation hero when farmers were recognized by themselves and others as people taking responsibility for more than their own benefit for both human and more-than-human sustainable futures. Swedish media constructed the ecocultural identity of environmental villain when farmers or their farm management procedures were recognized by themselves and others as being responsible for sustainability problems. The authors show ways the ascribed ecocultural identities of environmental hero and villain, when constructed as a binary pair, may lead to decreased farmer motivation to engage in sustainability efforts.
