Researcher(s):
Savannah Weinstock
ENVS course(s): 499 Initiated: January 2014 Completed: May 2015 Go to project site
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My thesis asks: or what purpose, and in what manner, does the Scotch whisky industry commodify nature and culture in the construction of the sign/myth of Scotch whisky, and how does this inform the way the industry defines sustainability?
My methodology consisted of informal interviews with industry participants, literature review, theory analysis and application, commodity chain construction, and case study creation.
I concluded that due to the nebulous meaning of the term ‘sustainability’, true sustainability can never be achieved, only sustainability as defined by one stakeholder or another. The Scotch whisky industry, as self-policed by the Scotch Whisky Association, can surely remain economically successful; this is due to its power over the myth of Scotch whisky, and its strong belief in the Triple Bottom Line. This neoliberal attitude functions in the current global economic paradigm because it exists within its confines. As long as ‘sustainability’ is defined within this framework, the industry will deem itself a success. However, due to the endemic flaws of capitalism, sustainability remains void of any true meaning--simply a vehicle for capitalist ventures to use to promote their own growth. Whisky and Scotland itself become commodified and mythologized in order to create and sustain cultural capital and economic value--to support the neoliberal vision of Scotch whisky.