A vernacular for living systems: Alternative framings for the future of food

Abstract

Industrialized nations face the imminent need to transform their food systems in service to climate, biodiversity, and humanity, and inroads to such transformation are arguably already being made in pockets of innovation and activism around the world. However, debates rage over the various technologies and values that ought to drive those transformations. In this essay I argue that we are in the midst of a paradigm shift in how we think about and design our food systems, away from the industrial paradigm and toward an approach informed by the nature and function of living systems. As a part of that ongoing change, I argue we need to develop a new set of language to replace the familiar industrial values and concepts that underpin how we think about solutions—including scalability, standardization, efficiency, and control. I offer suggestions for alternative concepts drawn from emerging work in the areas of regenerative design, Indigenous stewardship, and complex systems, concepts that can reframe how proponents of food system transformation design and evaluate new ideas and approaches that are more healthful, sustainable, and just.