Landscape elements: Can they help in selling ‘Protected Designation of Origin’ products?

Abstract

Abstract This paper investigates the links between landscape material dimensions (‘objective’ landscape qualities) and the way people represent (the ‘subjective’ qualities) both the product and the landscape. The paper analyses how emblematic elements of landscape are used to valorise products of Protected Designation of Origin in the area of production of Saint-Nectaire cheese in France. We show that emblematic elements of landscape depend both on institutional stakeholders and on geographic contexts (the Cézallier plateau and the Sancy Mountains). Whereas the stakeholders of tourism remain attached to the past and to a traditional view of the natural and man-made heritage, producers emphasise current conditions of production (buildings, cattle breed). A price difference exists between different producers' networks, mainly because of their ability to stress some specific landscape elements (tied in part to dairy production).