Scalar Implications of Circular Economy Initiatives in Resource Peripheries, the Case of the Salmon Industry in Chile

The circular economy has become the latest proposal to reduce the effects of prevailing modes of production in the environment. Its premise—that by breaking a linear understanding of production and creating new economic niches the environmental impacts of an economy can be reduced to zero—has attracted numerous industries under the loop for their negative environmental effects. The scalar implications of such policies remain to be fully understood, particularly in what may imply for changing relationships between resource peripheries and consumption centers. This chapter explores the case of the salmon industry to examine these implications critically. The salmon industry is a global production network connecting production sites in the global south and north with markets in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. The ecological impacts of salmon farming are significant, and global environmental networks have pushed for increasing certifications schemes, which include circular economy actions. Thus, it becomes an interesting case to put in dialogue arguments from resource peripheries literature on disarticulations and ecological contradictions, with circular economy arguments on sustainability.