Abstract
Just transition is gaining increasing attention. The need to consider social justice in sustainability transitions is finally being acknowledged. Research on this issue has, to date, mainly concentrated on energy systems. In this paper, we examine how the elaboration of dietary transition widens the spectrum of justice questions in sustainability transitions research. We explicate the arising normative questions along the dimensions of distributive, procedural and recognitive justice; widening the considerations further to restorative and cosmopolitan justice. Dietary transition widens the justice considerations to basic needs, food security and nutrition. By doing so, it evokes socio-cultural tensions that require recognition and procedural solutions. The uneven distribution of capacities to innovate and adapt require scrutiny from the just transition scholarship. Likewise, the recognition of non-human animals and integrity of agro-ecological systems. The relational three-dimensional understanding of justice can advance inter- and transdisciplinary research across various systems.
Highlights
Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions 40 (2021) 474–485Just transition is gaining increasing scholarly and political interest, which has arisen from the need to consider and reflect upon the issues of social justice in the context of climate mitigation (Jenkins et al, 2018; McCauley and Heffron, 2018; Morena et al, 2020)
We examine how the elaboration of dietary transition widens the spectrum of justice questions in sustainability transitions research
We present the food system approach for identifying and mapping the multiple justice questions and tensions raised by dietary transition
Summary
Just transition is gaining increasing scholarly and political interest, which has arisen from the need to consider and reflect upon the issues of social justice in the context of climate mitigation (Jenkins et al, 2018; McCauley and Heffron, 2018; Morena et al, 2020). According to FAO (2020), the triple burden of malnutrition (including undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, overweight and obesity) concerns approximately 3 billion people around the world In dietary transition, these inequalities in the current functioning of the food system cannot be overlooked (see Clapp et al, 2018). We base our examination on the distinction between distributive, procedural and recognitive justice, which is commonly applied in sustain ability transition research (Jenkins et al, 2018; McCauley and Heffron, 2018; Williams and Doyon, 2019) We work with these interlinked dimensions of justice and scrutinise what kind of research questions dietary transition poses for just transition. Any attempt to shift diets should take into account the existing inequalities in food security, and the different cultural values and social practices related to food This poses new questions for recognitive and procedural justice in transitions. We close the article by discussing how the identified research questions help to further develop the broader just transition research agenda
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