Les émotions comme lien entre l'action collective et l'activité professionnelle: Le cas de l'agriculture biologique

Abstract

Our paper investigates the role of emotions in the organic farming movement which we consider as a "new social economic movement" comprised of two components: "collective action" and "professional activity". This duality may generate tensions that can be tempered or heigthened by emotions. Our research shows that, as far as the organic farming movement is concerned, the first scenario applies. Relying on in-depth interviews with 21 organic farmers in the French region of Alsace, we compare the emotions experienced in the field of collective action and those experienced in the field of professional activity (farming). We successively consider the challenges, the conflicts and the sense of social belonging (identity) experienced in both areas. Our analysis shows that the emotions experienced are particularly close in terms of their nature (we refer to a typology which distinguishes between "emotional fulfillment" such as pride and joy, "emotional approach" such as hope or interest, "emotions of resignation" such as sadness or fear, and "antagonistic emotions" such as envy or anger). Their valence, either positive or negative, and their intensity are also very close. Due to this proximity (in nature, valence and intensity), we consider that the emotions experienced contribute to reducing tensions between the two components of the organic farming movement, thus strengthening the movement. Our analysis also leads us to reconsider the typology of emotions which we mobilized, adding a new category, i.e., "sensory emotions" which includes taste, touch, visual pleasure, etc. © NSS-Dialogues, EDP Sciences 2012.