New ‘old’ risks on the small farm: Iconic species rewilding in Europe

Increasing production to meet the growing demand for food whilst conserving biodiversity and reducing pressure on natural ecosystems is a dual planetary challenge of the highest order. The world’s small farmers are at the forefront of this challenge, being asked to make greater contributions to both enhancing food and nutrition security, and to the stewardship of natural assets. We focus on rewilding involving the conservation, management, and reintroduction of species, and how the praxis impacts small farmers in Europe, simultaneously being encouraged to increase food production. We present empirical data from four European case studies featuring Norwegian wolves, Scottish Sea Eagles, and wild boar in both Spain and Italy. We adopt Beck’s World Risk Society concept to situate what small farmers report as trade-offs, within a broader sociological schema, to show underlying features of a new landscape. •Trade-offs between species reintroductions (rewilding) and food and nutrition security are explored.•Case studies from European small farms are presented.•The World Risk Society is deployed as a conceptual framework.•Iconic Wolves, Sea Eagles and Wild Boar are presented.