Production autonomy and sustainability. On the conventionalization of Mediterranean organic livestock

Conventionalization of organic farming calls into question its sustainability. No consensus has been reached on the criteria allowing evaluation of this conventionalization. We propose a methodology based on autonomy – a major sustainability attribute from an agroecological perspective. It was applied to Mediterranean beef cattle and pig livestock systems in Spain and led to the differentiation of five models based on their degree of closeness to conventional systems. Semi-intensive white pig systems were the most conventional compared to the extensive dehesa pastureland systems. In most cases, conventionalization derived from the farms’ socioeconomic and institutional context. It is essential to adapt and change public policies in order to improve livestock farm sustainability and to prevent the most vulnerable farmers from disappearing: they are the ones who generate the most valuable ecosystem services. The proposed methodology, based on environmental and socioeconomic indicators, is applicable to assess the conventionalization of other organic systems beyond the Mediterranean.