Overcoming the local trap through inclusive and multi-scalar food systems

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ABSTRACT It has long been shown that industrialised food systems have harmful consequences for people and the planet. Relocalising food systems is one strategy to mitigate these harms and advocates point to resulting ecological, economic, and social benefits. However, when the local is assumed to be inherently preferable to the other scales, food system actors can fall into what has been identified as the local trap. Such understanding of local can translate into defensive and exclusionary tendencies towards the food preferences and practices of those considered “non-local”, such as immigrants. While the literature identifies various manifestations of the local trap, it offers limited investigation of strategies to overcome this pitfall. In this article, we identify strategies that include the food preferences and practices of newcomers while also addressing problematic aspects of industrial food systems. We also seek to understand the mechanisms and conceptualisations that enable such strategies. We first present a conceptual framework for inclusive and multi-scalar food systems based on an extensive literature analysis. In contrast to defensive localism, alternative conceptualisations of scale may support action in favour of collaborative, inclusive, and diversity-receptive outcomes in food systems. Second, we apply this newly created framework in an empirical study of food practices and goals of the EthniCity Catering program in Calgary, Canada to illustrate the potential application of such strategies in a specific time and place. With this, the article makes not only a theoretical contribution to the geographical scale debate in and beyond food studies but also shows practical implications.