Abstract
Drawing on transition theory, we conceptualize local food networks as innovations that initially function and develop in local niches within a given food regime. As niche-innovations local food networks induce socio-ecological changes on the local level and they have the potential to foster wider transformations of the dominant food regime. Many local food networks adopt the concept of food sovereignty as a kind of “leitmotif”. At the core of this concept lies the question of how to create an agro-food system that, (i) allows for democratic participation and civic engagement in food production, and (ii) sets up new relationships that avoid social inequity and the exploitation of both humans and nature. In this paper we shed light on how the Austrian local food network “SpeiseLokal” addresses the challenge of operationalizing the concept of food sovereignty. The case study captures the strategies which local food networks embark on and depicts the difficulties they encounter. The paper aims to identify critical points of intersection that either strengthen or constrain local food networks from becoming established, operating, and up-scaling in the ways they wish; that is, in accordance with the principles and aims of food sovereignty, while avoiding a later assimilation into the dominant food regime.
Highlights
It has often been stated that our food system is ecologically, economically, and socially unsustainable [1,2,3,4]
In the following discussion we start by introducing the Multi-Level Perspective (MLP) which serves as an analytical framework, conceptualizing SpeiseLokal as a niche-innovation
Eggs and chickens are difficult to source locally as farmers would have to invest in slaughtering and packaging facilities or in expensive equipment for marking the eggs. This mirrors the fact that Speiselokal, as a niche-innovation, struggles with the legal structures and infrastructures provided by the dominant food regime that mainly supports retailing on a larger, often global scale
Summary
It has often been stated that our food system is ecologically, economically, and socially unsustainable [1,2,3,4]. Given the conventionalization of organic agriculture [15,16,17,18], it becomes evident that organic or other “environmentally friendly” production methods are insufficient to providing a sustainable food system [19] Rather, it is argued, food should be environmentally friendly but locally and fairly produced, sourced, distributed, and consumed [20,21]. One can observe a shift towards “green capitalism” [9] in the sense that supermarket-led agro-food capitals create “localized” foods [24] or “food from somewhere” [25] These localized foods are not necessarily produced close to where they are sold and consumed; rather they provide “flexible and traceable supply chains based on standard norms of quality” [26]. This paper should thereby help in finding measures that would encourage local food networks and a transition towards food sovereignty
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