With a beekeeping tradition dating back several centuries, Wallonia boasts a unique network of beekeepers, educational apiaries, and local chapters that preserve a true living heritage. It is largely thanks to this strong connection between the product and its terroir that Walloon honey has joined the prestigious list of Walloon products bearing the PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) label. 

“Starting in the early 20th century, the sector became more professional and dynamic, largely thanks to improvements in apiary management and honey quality,” explains Natacha Aucuit, a food history researcher who contributed to this recognition of Walloon honey.

This method, now widely used in Wallonia, produces a spreadable, creamy, uniform honey that retains its natural properties.

“What struck me as I traced the history of this product was its deeply human aspect: knowledge is passed down within beekeeping communities, from master beekeepers to apprentices, embodying the strength of a regional tradition,” notes Natacha Aucuit.

This white sausage has deep roots in the city of Liège, but it is produced throughout the province. It is at the heart of Liège’s folk traditions: “This product is usually eaten cold, sliced. It is sometimes included in the drèssêye, a typical Liège assortment of cold cuts,” explains Natacha Aucuit. 

In addition to Walloon Honey PGI and Liège White Sausage PGI, other Walloon products are the focus of the Agrilabel unit, which is responsible for the recognition process. Currently, two applications are in progress: 

• The revision of the specifications for Ardennes Ham PGI
• The Wépion Strawberry

• Florenville IGP Sausage
• Ardennes Sausage IGP
• Ardenne Collier IGP
• Ardennes Pipe IGP
• Chimay Escavèche PGI
• Gaume Sausage PGI

Founded in 2011 at the initiative of the Wallonia Public Service and supported by the Office of the Walloon Minister of Agriculture, AgriLabel assists producers in obtaining European quality labels (PDO, PGI, and TSG) or regional labels (Label Qualité Plus). This work is based on a partnership between the University of Liège – Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech and UNamur.

In this context, the University of Liège-Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech focuses primarily on product characterization and producers’ expertise, as well as the delineation of the geographical production area. For its part, UNamur is responsible for demonstrating the socio-historical link between the product and its terroir, the designation’s historical recognition, and its reputation—essential elements for the recognition of a designation as a PDO or PGI.

Natacha Aucuit, a researcher specializing in food history at UNamur and a member of ILEE and Transitions, makes a key contribution to the AgriLabel unit under the supervision of Professor Isabelle Parmentier. Since 2013, she has been working on drafting applications for the registration of designations or modifications for products such as the Wépion Strawberry or the Ardennes Ham PGI. Her role consists primarily of establishing a documented historical link between the product and its terroir, based on rigorous research and a scientific approach.

This article is taken from the "Issues" section of Omalius magazine #40 (March 2026).

“August 6, 1945, was Day Zero. The day it was demonstrated that universal history might not continue, that we are in any case capable of severing its thread—that day ushered in a new age in world history,” wrote Günter Anders, considered the first “philosopher of the bomb,” in *Hiroshima Is Everywhere* (1982). 

For many thinkers, the invention of the atomic bomb and its use against Japan by the United States constitute a turning point in the destiny of humanity. The Chernobyl accident in 1986—40 years ago this April—and the Fukushima disaster in 2011, whose 15th anniversary was recently marked, are two other landmark events, serving as a reminder of the potential dangers of nuclear energy. 

“Günter Anders also speaks of ‘globocide,’ that is, the possibility that emerged with nuclear technology to ‘make everything disappear,’” explains Danielle Leenaerts, a researcher in art history at UNamur.  “He also emphasizes the impossibility of separating the risks of military nuclear power from those of civilian nuclear power, since radioactive fallout is a possibility in both areas.” 

Today, however, nuclear energy is ubiquitous in our lives. Every day, for example, many workers are exposed to ionizing radiation. In Belgium, anyone professionally exposed to such radiation must wear a dosimeter at chest level (Article 30.6 of the Royal Decree of July 20, 2001). This data is then centralized, analyzed, and archived monthly by the AFCN (Federal Agency for Nuclear Control). An epidemiologist, researcher at the Faculty of Medicine, and member of the Namur Research Institute for Life Sciences (NARILIS) at UNamur, Médéa Locquet is also a member of the Belgian delegation to the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR), whose mission is to assess the levels and effects of exposure to ionizing radiation on human health and the environment. In this context, she studies in particular the effects of occupational exposure—whether among airline pilots exposed to cosmic rays, uranium mine workers, or healthcare personnel—as well as environmental exposure, and notably the impact of radon, 

“a naturally occurring radioactive gas emitted by the soil that can accumulate in buildings, and which is now the second leading cause of lung cancer after tobacco,” she notes. 

As part of her collaboration with UNSCEAR, Médéa Locquet is participating with her colleagues in Japan in the “Lifespan Study,” which investigates the consequences of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on irradiated survivors and their descendants. While the dangers of acute exposure to ionizing radiation (so-called “deterministic” effects) are well understood, the effects of low-dose exposure (“stochastic effects”) remain more complex to understand and assess. 

“Generally, in medicine, we move from basic research to applied research. Here, it’s the opposite: by observing an application of military nuclear technology, we directly study the effects on human beings to establish radiation protection standards and confirm certain mechanisms of action of ionizing radiation by returning to experimental research,” explains the researcher. 

Cancer cells are, in fact, characterized by their ability to proliferate continuously. 

Radiotherapy traditionally uses an X-ray beam to target the tumor, but today, researchers are increasingly turning their attention to protons. 

“UNamur has the only proton irradiator in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, which allows us to study their advantages over X-rays,” notes Carine Michiels. 

Read our previous article on this topic: ALTAïS – Penetrating the depths of matter to address current challenges

“Protons have a ballistic advantage,” explains Anne-Catherine Heuskin. “When you target a tumor with X-rays, some of the radiation is absorbed and some passes through to the other side. By irradiating upstream, you also affect the downstream area. But the goal is to spare healthy tissue as much as possible: in breast cancer, for example, we try to avoid irradiating the heart.” 

Because they interact differently with matter, protons deposit a small amount of energy continuously as they travel. 

“On the other hand, when they have only a few centimeters or millimeters left to travel, they release all their energy at once,” continues Anne-Catherine Heuskin. “Whatever lies downstream is then spared.” 

Proton therapy is particularly promising for treating pediatric cancers—that is, for patients who still have a very long life expectancy and are therefore at greater risk of experiencing the long-term effects of radiation on their healthy tissues. 

In addition to these external radiation therapy techniques, it is also possible to treat tumors using internal radiation therapy, 

“by attaching a radioactive atom to a ‘carrier,’ such as gold nanoparticles, which will transport this atom to the tumor via the bloodstream,” explains Carine Michiels. 

This technique maximizes the effect on cancer cells while sparing normal cells as much as possible. 

“Over the past 5 to 10 years, the major breakthrough in cancer treatment has been immunotherapy,” she continues. “But we still don’t understand why some patients respond to it and others don’t. One hypothesis is that we need to boost the cancer cells so that they are recognized by the immune system. And this is where radiation therapy has a huge role to play, because by damaging the cancer cells, it helps boost the immune response. The combination of radiation therapy and immunotherapy is therefore set to play a leading role.” 

Today, the scientific community is increasingly concerned about the long-term risks (cancer, leukemia, etc.) associated with medical exposure to radiation. 

“Several recent studies highlight an increased risk of brain cancers and leukemias in patients who underwent repeated CT scans during childhood,” explains Médéa Locquet. “During childhood, the high rate of cell proliferation and differentiation makes cells more radiosensitive, which increases the risk of late effects, particularly in adulthood.” 

Similarly, radiation therapy treatment can increase the risk of certain diseases, even though these risks are now well understood and generally well managed. 

“My research hypothesis,” says Médéa Locquet, “is that the effects of exposure to ionizing radiation mimic the aging process, since what we will find are mainly complications such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, as well as endocrine or neurodegenerative disorders—that is, diseases that appear in the general population with advancing age. Confirming this hypothesis would allow us to optimize doses to prevent this accelerated aging and the onset of treatment-related late effects. We could also try to prevent it by using senomorphs (editor’s note: agents that block the harmful effects of senescent cells), as well as through physical activity and nutrition programs in post-cancer care.”

What is nuclear energy?

Nuclear energy is a form of energy released by the nucleus of atoms, which is composed of protons and neutrons. It can be produced by fission (the splitting of an atomic nucleus into several parts) or by the fusion of several nuclei. The nuclear energy used today to generate electricity comes from nuclear fission. Energy production through fusion (as occurs in the cores of the sun and stars) is still in the research and development phase.

How does nuclear fission work?

In nuclear fission, an atom’s nucleus splits into several smaller nuclei, thereby releasing energy through a chain reaction. For example, when a neutron strikes the nucleus of a uranium-235 atom, it splits into two smaller nuclei and two or three neutrons. These neutrons then strike other uranium-235 atoms, which in turn split, producing more neutrons, with a multiplier effect that releases energy in the form of heat and radiation. 

What are the applications of nuclear energy?

Since the discovery of radioactivity, the properties of nuclear energy have been used in numerous applications, notably in nuclear weapons, as well as in military ships and submarines. But nuclear energy also has numerous applications in research, medicine, industry, the food industry (combating insect pests and pathogenic microorganisms), and even archaeology and museology (dating and authenticating certain artifacts).

This is particularly evident in the work of Belgian artist Cécile Massart, who explores landfills as sites of memory, and that of photographer Jacqueline Salmon, who documented the decommissioning of the Superphenix power plant (Isère), “offering a form of knowledge” that is distinct from and complementary to that of scientists. Both are featured in the exhibition curated by Danielle Leenaerts at the Delta, *(Faire) face au nucléaire*, and in her eponymous book (published by La Lettre Volée).

This is a thread that Jean-François Nieus has been pursuing for some twenty years, as part of research into the uses of writing, which elevates documents to objects of history in their own right. This approach, developed over several decades, sheds light on medieval society in all its dimensions: cultural, of course, but also social, political, economic, and religious. "Writing was rare in the early Middle Ages. It gradually gained importance in social practices, with a clear shift in the 12th and ^13th centuries—i.e., during the High Middle Ages—when people began to write much more and diversify the formats and functions of writing," he explains. 

Jean-François Nieus is particularly interested in documentary productions associated with the exercise of princely power and seigneurial management, within an area stretching from the Anglo-Norman world to the Southern Netherlands. Princely and noble archives are essential for understanding the relationships of domination in the so-called "feudal" age, that of territorial principalities and seigneurial lordship, but also issues of family identity and lineage, which were central concerns of the aristocracy. "After the mid^-12th century, most noble families began to keep archives, initially consisting of a few received charters, but soon enriched with their own administrative productions. Although the majority of these secular collections have now disappeared, there is evidence of their existence," he explains. The vicissitudes of the history of the great families and the French Revolution contributed to the loss of these fragile documents, so that today only a handful of archives from ^the 12th and 1^3th centuries remain.

Those studied by Jean-François Nieus nevertheless cover a wide range of types: they include "chartriers" (collections of original charters), "cartulaires" (collections of copies of charters), "formulaires " (collections of model charters and letters), "censiers" (descriptions of the property and income belonging to a seigneury), lists of vassals and fiefs, accounts, etc.

Jean-François Nieus also carries out critical editing work. He will soon publish the archives of the Béthune family (now Pas-de-Calais), as well as those of a small abbey linked to these lords, Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Chocques, whose collection, destroyed during the French Revolution, he is reconstructing.

This patient and meticulous work of discovery, deciphering, studying, and publishing sources that are sometimes very scattered helps to restore the memory of an era and enrich the documentation available to researchers.

In addition to administrative writings, Jean-François Nieus is also passionate about an auxiliary science of history: "sigillography," the study of seals. These small wax discs attached to official documents provide a unique window into the cultural representations of the time. In particular, they show how, after 1066, under the influence of William the Conqueror, a new image emerged: that of a knight on his galloping horse, weapon in hand. This motif, which was completely new at the time, quickly spread among princes and nobles, becoming a powerful symbol of chivalry.

Following this evolution, Jean-François Nieus also traces the spread of coats of arms—heraldry—which he sees emerging in the early ^12th century in northern France and the Anglo-Norman region. Equestrian seals, heraldic signs, and chivalric rites such as tournaments thus formed a cultural community that invented and asserted itself in this area.

If the Middle Ages fascinate Jean-François Nieus so much, it is undoubtedly because of their strangeness: a world very distant from our own, often distorted by stereotypes. "It's a difficult period to popularize because it's so different from our own, even though, in reality, we owe it a great deal. What's more, perceptions of it are marred by numerous clichés, and the general public still views it very negatively, as reflected in everyday language by the sinister adjective 'medieval,'" observes the researcher.

What are the reasons for this negative view? The perspective of intellectuals in subsequent eras, who saw it as the origin of all the archaisms they wanted to combat. Nineteenth-century historians, who gave the discipline its scientific foundation, also passed on erroneous interpretations, which contemporary research is gradually correcting. 

Jean-François Nieus appeared in episode 1 of season 3 of the documentary series "Batailles de légende" (Legendary Battles), which focused on the great battle of Bouvines between King Philip II Augustus of France and a coalition led by King John of England (1214).

To understand how the transition to Christianity came about, researchers generally turn to the great authors, and in particular Saint Augustine, the key figure of Christian antiquity whose writings have been preserved the most. Alongside his best-known works (such as The City of God or The Confessions), Saint Augustine is also the author of short treatises on practices such as marriage or baptism. "In my early post-doctoral research, I sought to understand how these short texts by Augustine, and other North African sources, circulated in the West between late antiquity and the early Middle Ages. This was a period of religious mixing when the first Christian communities were setting up systems of initiation and teaching", explains Matthieu Pignot.

Very quickly, the researcher's interest also turned to anonymous or pseudepigraphic texts (erroneously attributed to a known author), which had fallen into oblivion in favor of writings by authors, and which also addressed these questions of religious education. "This is the starting point for my research project. These texts are difficult to study because, circulating under several names, we don't know their true author. We don't know who wrote them, and we know little about their ancient and medieval transmission. It is precisely these grey areas that make them so interesting", continues the historian.

To address this question, Matthieu Pignot starts from two bodies of texts: on the one hand, a collection of 80 sermons wrongly attributed to Fulgence of Ruspe and, on the other, a Latin translation of an anonymous collection of Greek philosophical maxims by Rufinus of Aquileia (IV-V^th century), an author who played an important role in the transmission of Greek thought in late antiquity in the West.

The methodology favored by Matthieu Pignot for this research involves the use of digital publishing. The aim? "To bring into existence and enhance the value of these texts, which don't have the privilege of having an author's name, and some of which haven't even been printed. What's more, stylistic and linguistic analysis tools will perhaps make it possible to provide clues about the author, or at least to group texts together, based on recurring writing tics."

With this project, Matthieu Pignot also aims to develop the automated manuscript transcription component, which is still under development. "My aim is to contribute to the improvement of these tools through my own transcriptions and to participate in the dynamic of interest in medieval manuscripts in archives and libraries", concludes the researcher.

Matthieu Pignot is a member of the research center PraME("Pratiques médiévales de l'écrit"), part of the research institute PaTHs ("Patrimoines, Transmissions, Héritages"). He also collaborates with the Institut d'études augustiniennes (Paris) and the University of Nijmegen.