Speaker: Joselyne Porcher, researcher at INRA (Institut national de la recherche agronomique) (National institute for agronomic research).

Debaters: Roxanne Mitralais, project researcher on animal health issues within the confédération paysanne (smallholder farmers’ union), and Josian Palach, national secretary responsible for the confédération paysanne’s centre for the environment.

Utopia conference on July 14 2014, at la Maison des Sciences Economiques, Paris.

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The modernisation of agriculture after the war, conducted in the name of science and progress, was not imposed without resistance. Sheep farming, which has been spared up until recently, is beginning to feel the first shocks of the push for industrialisation.

Recently, a new piece of legislation is obliging sheep farmers to tag their animals electronically. From now on they will have to insert a RFID microchip, (in truth a little electronic spy), into their animals to identify them, rather than the usual earring or tattoo. Behind the RFID chip, the computers and machines, the world of smallholder farming is dying.

In the mechanised world, an animal is no more than a meat factory, and a farmer is a simple pawn in the service of industry. However, some amongst them are standing up against this.

With:  Jocelyne Porcher (sociologist), Alain and Mathias Guibert, Jean-Louis and Danièle Meurot, Antoine de Ruffray, Sébastien Pelurson (farmers) – the Drôme contre le puçage (Drôme against microchipping) and PACA pour la liberté de l’élevage (Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur for freedom in farming) associations, Jean-Michel Loubry (centre for traceability, Valence),and Edmond Ricard (INRA).

The 1 hour and 14 minute documentary was produced in 2012 by Antoine Costa and Florian Pourchi for the Synapx Audio-visual Association.

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This third discussion dedicated to human-animal relations considers the question of our ethical right to modify animals. Four speakers debate the question: Jocelyne Porcher, sociologist and director of research at INRA, Thomas Heams, lecturer in genomics at AgroParisTech, Léo Coutellec, philosopher at Paris-Sud and Olivier Sandra, researcher into animal reproduction at INRA.

To view, click here