Abstract
To operate within the safe and just operating space captured by the doughnut metaphor, sustainability transitions are needed in the food system. Niche food systems with highly distinct practices and organization constitute a treasure chest of alternatives from which society can build new futures. Policy has little awareness of niche food systems and their potential contributions to sustainability transitions. Importantly, this limits society’s ability to adapt. Here, we review findings from an ongoing scientific project into different components of the vegetable food systems in Chile and Uruguay. The aim of the project is to investigate options for transitioning to low- or no-pesticide vegetable food systems. The results show: 1. the presence of promising alternative vegetable food systems in Chile, which are, however, highly marginalized and disempowered; 2. a diversity of vertical and horizontal producer arrangements in Uruguay and the need for value-driven as well as market-driven engagement; and 3. major possibilities for improving production systems to arrive within the doughnut by taking a systems perspective at the farm scale that includes the farm families and their networks. Consequences of these findings for alternative vegetable food systems are discussed.
Highlights
In her seminal book Doughnut Economics, Kate Raworth (2017) described sustainable development as the challenge of ensuring that no one falls short on life’s essentials while at the same time ensuring that we do not overshoot the boundaries that define the planetary environmental carrying capacity
Research questions addressed in this paper include: what is the diversity of vegetable food systems in Chile, and which niche food systems offer potential for sustainability transitions; which types of producer
We present the 5 types by describing their production systems, value chain and innovation support structures, respectively, and characterize them as niche, dominant or hybrid system
Summary
In her seminal book Doughnut Economics, Kate Raworth (2017) described sustainable development as the challenge of ensuring that no one falls short on life’s essentials while at the same time ensuring that we do not overshoot the boundaries that define the planetary environmental carrying capacity. The notion has been used to lobby for, design and implement policies geared to supporting small farmers and community development (Nicholls & Altieri, 2018) It represents a transdisciplinary scientific field in which concepts from systems ecology are linked to agriculture focusing on smallholder farms, using a food system perspective (Gliessman, Putnam, & Cohen, 2017). The project set out to contribute to improved sustainability of vegetable food systems in Chile and Uruguay by studying, supporting and knowledge-sharing on methods for organizing production and marketing of high-value, low- or no-pesticide vegetables. In a given geographic area multiple food systems may occur simultaneously due to the diversity of production systems, value chains and innovation support structures, as well as the linkages among them Some of these may be components of the dominant way in which food is produced and consumed, others may constitute smaller-scale or more incipient instances. Research questions addressed in this paper include: what is the diversity of vegetable food systems in Chile, and which niche food systems offer potential for sustainability transitions; which types of producer
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