Abstract
The need for a transition to sustainable food systems is widely recognised. Over the last three decades, movements have been demanding and proposing a radical transformation, foregrounding the social values of food. Experiences inspired by solidarity economy have given rise to highly innovative pathways, grounded on the redefinition of the food-related values and practices and the reconstruction of local, community-based food systems by referring to social and ecological sustainability. One can usefully draw from these experiences for identifying challenges, opportunities and benefits and for analysing the most effective modes of action leading to the creation of alternatives. Capturing and supporting this innovation is particularly important when looking at the opportunities offered by local food policies. This significantly involves the meanings, goals and forms that food governance takes on. The paper aims at investigating these aspects, reading the initiatives inspired by SE principles as an example of social innovation. Their engagement in re-signifying food in terms of “commons” and in “commoning” food systems constitutes a complementary key of analysis. Focusing on the Italian context, the paper draws on many years of qualitative research and direct involvement in these initiatives. The analysis provides useful insights about the potential for change existing in society and invites us to develop reflexivity on how local food policies capture the opportunity for a re-politicisation of food-related issues.
Highlights
There is a wide acknowledgement of the negative impacts of the dominant agrifood system in ecological, social, cultural and economic terms [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11]
In the wide panorama of grassroots innovations around food, this paper focuses on these experiences, considering them significant community-based and politically oriented pathways of rethinking food meanings and practices
The following questions guide this paper’s analysis: What are the elements of innovation that food-related initiatives inspired by SE principles bring? What are the challenges posed to local food policies from a sustainability transition perspective? What are the governance implications of capturing this innovation potential? To explore these aspects, we look at the Italian context, where these initiatives have started developing since the mid-1990s, albeit with regional differences, varying in terms of scale of action and transformative potential, as an effect of their evolution over time [54,55,56,57,58]
Summary
There is a wide acknowledgement of the negative impacts of the dominant agrifood system in ecological, social, cultural and economic terms [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11]. Within a wide range of pathways, distinguished for their degree of “alterity” and more or less comprehensive approach in questioning the mainstream system [28,31,44,103], this movement included initiatives driven by a social and economic perspective radically different from the one which informs the globalised, agri-industrial model [104], considered as responsible for many negative externalities and the “commodification” of food [105,106] This perspective built on the recognition of: the multiple values of food—nutritional, and ecological, cultural, social, ethical; the intrinsic linkage between natural and social components of food systems; the importance of social and community relationships mobilised around food production and consumption and, the value of place-based production systems; the dignity of farm work and the role of small-scale farming; the value of food culture and knowledge. Economic and social crises, these principles and objectives have taken on even greater significance and urgency for the movement
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