Abstract
The newly-emerged ethical foodscape includes multiple expressions of innovation around food. With reference to the Italian context, this paper focuses on the transformative potential of the experiences of social innovation, innovative grassroots initiatives, which have been significantly contributed to shaping the food culture and production-consumption practices during the last two decades. While still consolidating their fundamentals and facing the challenge of growth, the networks behind them continue to be engaged in an effort of innovation, inside and outside their niche. The paper explores these dynamics. Understanding how these networks are managing their transformative capacity and what are the opportunities and challenges arising in the relation with the mainstream system may help to better capture and value the potential of this innovation niche, drawing useful lessons for fostering its expression and for a broader transition to more equitable and sustainable food systems.
Highlights
The newly-emerged ethical foodscape includes multiple expressions of innovation around food
Grassroots innovations [1] around food practices, promoted collectively by actors inhabiting the fringes of the conventional agri-food system, hand in hand with the action of movements fighting for specific food issues, have been important drivers of these processes
They have initiated processes of diversification in cultural patterns and food practices, introducing greater food democracy [7,8]. They have strengthened the efforts of food movements in drawing attention to the ills and shortcomings of the mainstream food production/consumption patterns and the need for alternatives. Within this social innovation trajectory, the growing interest in more sustainable food practices has led to the development of an array of new local food initiatives, strategies, forms of entanglement and cooperation
Summary
Trends of food reconnection, inspired by ethical principles and sustainability goals, are deemed a significant evolutionary trajectory in the development of agri-food systems. In line with the many scholars who argue the importance of overcoming dualistic views of the agri-food system development, some underline that all of the above-mentioned dynamics are making the boundary between conventional and alternative forms increasingly difficult to identify, with knowledge, practices and politics around food being affected by a multiplicity of boundary-crossings, or “transgressions” [34] In another perspective, some point out the diffusion of accommodative market-based alternatives rather than radical ones, as the effects of the mainstreaming, stressing the meaningful difference between the two proposals [14,18,35]. This normative embeddedness has triggered a redefinition of the identitary elements, overcoming, in the cases of greater awareness, the clear division of roles between producers and consumers and the role as economic actors themselves, towards a shared sense of responsibility and a common idea of ”food citizenship” [7,13] It has underpinned the transition from a utilitarian-private vision to a solidarity-collective logic of production and consumption practices [39,40]. The mutually-reinforcing action of these interaction levels is important to create new elements of collective identity and drive coherent and more robust development processes
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