Grass-power: the political ecology of the grass crop in Ireland

Abstract Utilising actor-network theory, this paper conducts an analysis of the grass crop in Ireland’s political ecology – showing the ability of non-human agents, in the words of Bruno Latour, to ‘make us do things’. In particular, it examines the mutually beneficial and extended interests of the grass crop with the dairy industry – this is well represented by the state and herein termed grass-power. This shows how Ireland is staged as a ‘grass country’ to a global audience, making dairy consumption appear neutral and inevitable. To date, the role of the grass crop in Ireland’s political ecology has been neglected, although it is shown here to be at the centre of environmental harms. This analysis reveals the contradictions and competing aims of Irish food strategies and suggests that to build sustainable landscapes, the imaginary that grass-cover is the only legitimate form of land use must be displaced and unravelled from political interests.