Abstract
Growing food for personal and family consumption is a significant global activity, but one that has received insufficient academic attention, particularly in developed countries. This paper uses data from the European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) to address three areas of particular concern: the prevalence of growing your own food and how this has changed over time; the individual and household context in which growing takes place; and whether those who grow their own food are happier than those who do not. Results showed that there was a marked increase in growing your own food in Europe, in the period 2003–2007. This increase is largely associated with poorer households and thus, possibly, economic hardship. In the UK however the increase in growing your own food is predominantly associated with older middle class households. Across Europe, whether causal or not, those who grew their own were happier than those who did not. The paper therefore concludes that claims about the gentrification of growing your own may be premature. Despite contrary evidence from the UK, the dominant motive across Europe appears to be primarily economic — to reduce household expenditure whilst ensuring a supply of fresh food.
Highlights
Much has been written about the political nature of food security and food growing for personal consumption in developing nations (Altieri and Toledo, 2011; Premat, 2009; Yu and You, 2013)
Just as in developing countries, writers and activists have argued that people growing their own food can play an important role in resisting the power of globalised agribusiness and promoting a more socially just and ecologically sustainable world (Nabhan, 2002; McKay, 2011; Ray, 2012; Ravenscroft et al, 2012, 2013). This approach to integrating food growing into urban societies is part of a new food geography that addresses increasing demand for fresh food through sustainable food production, whilst enhancing food security and sovereignty (Mees and Stone, 2012; Morgan et al, 2006; Wiskerke, 2009; Wiskerke and Viljoen, 2012)
The European Quality of Life Surveys aim to capture both the objective circumstances of European citizens' lives and how they feel about those circumstances and their lives in general (Anderson et al, 2012)
Summary
Much has been written about the political nature of food security and food growing for personal consumption in developing nations (Altieri and Toledo, 2011; Premat, 2009; Yu and You, 2013). Just as in developing countries, writers and activists have argued that people growing their own food can play an important role in resisting the power of globalised agribusiness and promoting a more socially just and ecologically sustainable world (Nabhan, 2002; McKay, 2011; Ray, 2012; Ravenscroft et al, 2012, 2013) This approach to integrating food growing into urban societies is part of a new food geography that addresses increasing demand for fresh food through sustainable food production, whilst enhancing food security and sovereignty (Mees and Stone, 2012; Morgan et al, 2006; Wiskerke, 2009; Wiskerke and Viljoen, 2012). This survey was conducted across 15 European Union countries and included items on domestic and community food growing, as well as capturing respondents' socio-economic and demographic characteristics
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