Goldberg, R.A. Food Citizenship: Food System Advocates in an Era of Distrust

2019 ◽  
Vol 101 (4) ◽  
pp. 1308-1309
Author(s):  
Michael A Boland
Keyword(s):  
Food System ◽  
Food Citizenship

Hegemony, Counter-Hegemony and Food Systems Literacy: Transforming the Global Industrial Food System

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 110-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Rose ◽  
Izo Lourival
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Education ◽  
Transformative Learning ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Food Sovereignty ◽  
Transformative Change ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Power And Control ◽  
Food Citizenship ◽  
Ecologically Sustainable

AbstractNational and global food systems are beset by intersecting and mutually reinforcing crises of public and ecological health. The locus of these crises resides primarily in the excessive concentration of corporate power and control. Deploying a Gramscian theory of politics as a contribution to the ongoing development of a critical food-based environmental education pedagogy, this article argues that transformative change requires the mass exercise of food citizenship directed towards the realisation of a socially just and ecologically sustainable food system, as contemplated by the principles of food sovereignty. The article argues further that food citizenship in turn presupposes levels of engagement and motivation that will only come from processes of transformative learning and critical consciousness-raising through an emerging form of environmental education: critical food systems literacy.

scholarly journals Practicing Fair and Sustainable Local Food Systems: Elements of Food Citizenship in the Simeto River Valley

Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 56
Author(s):  
Gina Rico Mendez ◽  
Giusy Pappalardo ◽  
Bryan Farrell
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Local Food ◽  
Governance Structure ◽  
Shared Vision ◽  
River Valley ◽  
Local Food Systems ◽  
Food Citizenship

This paper examines a community-based food system which emerged recently around the Simeto River Valley Agreement (SRA) in Sicily (Italy) through the lens of food citizenship. The concept of food citizenship develops an understanding of how food systems function to ensure that individuals and communities have agency, access, and engagement with their food. It allows for comparative analysis between global/industrial and community/alternative systems. This paper follows a methodological integration between action research and a case study approach. The action research process produced a networked governance structure derived from multiple initiatives which are currently initiating many thematic projects—amongst them, a local food system. Results indicate that formalizing governance structures derived from self-organizing behavior have led to an inclusive platform with a shared vision and goals. The governing structures, however, require continued efforts and capacity to engage collaboratively in implementing their strategic plans. Findings suggest that actors developing a food citizenship-focused system should (1) consider how the governance organizational structure enables fluid communication among members and leads to building trust, (2) seek alternatives to engage youth (especially in rural areas) and promote citizen engagement, and (3) develop strategies to seek technical and programmatic support for initiatives. These three aspects are key features which may be adapted to other such efforts in sustainable and local food systems. The complex networked approach to governance presented here and the shared vision for sustainability are considered key elements in fostering a successful alternative food system with the fundamentals of food citizenship at its core.

scholarly journals A Survey to Discover Current Food Choice Behaviors

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (18) ◽  
pp. 5041 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angelo Corallo ◽  
Maria Elena Latino ◽  
Marta Menegoli ◽  
Alessandra Spennato
Keyword(s):  
Food Choice ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Food System ◽  
Marketing Strategies ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Complex Functions ◽  
Food Citizenship ◽  
New Research

Food choices are complex functions of several elements that could change over time. Nowadays consumers appear careful about sustainable food consumption: the behavior of “food citizenship”, as the practice to support a sustainable food system during the consumption actions, arises. This study aims to recognize the existence of food choice behaviors in the contemporary scenario and to investigate the relation between the food choice factors and the behaviors recognized. Following a quantitative research method, a sample of 380 participants, recruited from a traditional Italian food and wine event, completed a questionnaire in order to detect their attitude about food. Four current food choice behaviors were recognized: The Individualist, The Foodie, The Environmentalist and The Health enthusiast. The relation between food choice factors and food choice behaviors was explained. Several stakeholders could benefit from the study results, in order to better understand how to adapt products and marketing strategies to satisfy the emerging customer’s needs and awareness. Even if a person can identify themselves within a single food choice behavior, they become aware of other choice models expanding their personal point of view. Finally, new research scenarios arose for the researchers.

scholarly journals Eating Cars: Food Citizenship in a “Community in Crisis”

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 64-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynne Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Economic Hardship ◽  
Food Environments ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Unemployment Rates ◽  
Economically Marginalized ◽  
Food Citizenship

Guptill and Wilkins (2002) employ the concept of “food citizenship” to argue that engaging people more fully in decision-making about their own food systems encourages alliances between food producers and eaters and helps to build sustainable food environments. In this article my focus is on the development of community food citizenship, a phrase I use to draw attention to the dynamics of including all residents in the creation of new food systems. Focusing on a community’s diversity – to include, for example, residents who are economically marginalized and those who are economically privileged, as well as residents who are food activists and those who are not – highlights the pedagogical dimensions of initiating and building food citizenship in particular places. To sketch out some of the tensions in and possibilities for community food citizenship, I focus here on the case of Windsor, Ontario, a once thriving automotive centre now facing high unemployment rates and economic hardship. My relationship to this particular case study is as a participant in community efforts to develop an alternative food system and as a researcher/educator who is currently studying this process.

The GoodGuide to “Good” Coffee

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 60-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Lyon
Keyword(s):  
Food System ◽  
First Century ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Political Empowerment ◽  
Environmentally Sustainable ◽  
Quantitative Metrics ◽  
Food Citizenship ◽  
Product Rating ◽  
Rating Criteria ◽  
Sustainable Food System

Political empowerment, social justice, and environmental resilience are increasingly upheld alongside flavor and quality as criteria of “good” foods. However, these criteria cannot be simply assessed through taste tests—one cannot determine from a bite of chocolate whether the cacao it contains was tended by child slaves in the Ivory Coast or fairtrade farmers in Ghana. In order to reinvent these global commodities, to rediscover the small farmers hidden behind bulk purchasing and corporate branding, consumers today increasingly rely on a variety of twenty-first-century tools, technologies, and labels. This article explores one of these instruments, questioning the relative merits of the product rating system provided by GoodGuide, an internet-based tool designed to help consumers with product research, and comparing it to the fairtrade labels that are more familiar to most coffee drinkers. GoodGuide’s greatest strength is how it assesses a product from crop to cup, capturing multiple and diverse factors within global supply chains. However, in comparison to fairtrade labeling, GoodGuide employs quantitative metrics and opaque rating criteria that inadequately capture the complexity of smallholder coffee production in places like Guatemala. It also fails to promote food citizenship in a meaningful way. One key part of reinventing foods is intentionally placing people at the heart of the provisioning system. Therefore, it is important to question the extent to which new tools and technologies for assessing the relative “goodness” of foods promote food citizenship and food-related behaviors that support, rather than threaten, the development of a democratic, economically just, and environmentally sustainable food system.

Eating NAFTA

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alyshia Gálvez
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Chronic Disease ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Food System ◽  
Dietary Habits ◽  
Trade Agreement ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
The North ◽  
The World

In the two decades since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) went into effect, Mexico has seen an epidemic of diet-related illness. While globalization has been associated with an increase in chronic disease around the world, in Mexico, the speed and scope of the rise has been called a public health emergency. The shift in Mexican foodways is happening at a moment when the country’s ancestral cuisine is now more popular and appreciated around the world than ever. What does it mean for their health and well-being when many Mexicans eat fewer tortillas and more instant noodles, while global elites demand tacos made with handmade corn tortillas? This book examines the transformation of the Mexican food system since NAFTA and how it has made it harder for people to eat as they once did. The book contextualizes NAFTA within Mexico’s approach to economic development since the Revolution, noticing the role envisioned for rural and low-income people in the path to modernization. Examination of anti-poverty and public health policies in Mexico reveal how it has become easier for people to consume processed foods and beverages, even when to do so can be harmful to health. The book critiques Mexico’s strategy for addressing the public health crisis generated by rising rates of chronic disease for blaming the dietary habits of those whose lives have been upended by the economic and political shifts of NAFTA.

Disruptive innovation and operationalization in local and sustainable food systems: Examining the University of Toronto-Local Food Plus partnership

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 120-139
Author(s):  
Lori Stahlbrand
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Food System ◽  
Local Food ◽  
Disruptive Innovation ◽  
Government Support ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
University Of Toronto ◽  
The University

This paper traces the partnership between the University of Toronto and the non-profit Local Food Plus (LFP) to bring local sustainable food to its St. George campus. At its launch, the partnership represented the largest purchase of local sustainable food at a Canadian university, as well as LFP’s first foray into supporting institutional procurement of local sustainable food. LFP was founded in 2005 with a vision to foster sustainable local food economies. To this end, LFP developed a certification system and a marketing program that matched certified farmers and processors to buyers. LFP emphasized large-scale purchases by public institutions. Using information from in-depth semi-structured key informant interviews, this paper argues that the LFP project was a disruptive innovation that posed a challenge to many dimensions of the established food system. The LFP case study reveals structural obstacles to operationalizing a local and sustainable food system. These include a lack of mid-sized infrastructure serving local farmers, the domination of a rebate system of purchasing controlled by an oligopolistic foodservice sector, and embedded government support of export agriculture. This case study is an example of praxis, as the author was the founder of LFP, as well as an academic researcher and analyst.

Creating a local food procurement community of practice: The Alberta Flavour Learning Lab

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 155-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Anne Beckie ◽  
Leanne Hedberg ◽  
Jessie Radies
Keyword(s):  
Community Of Practice ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Food System ◽  
Local Food ◽  
Provincial Government ◽  
Local Foods ◽  
Social Infrastructure ◽  
City Region ◽  
Physical Scale ◽  
Common Framework

In order for local food initiatives (LFIs) to have a transformative effect on the larger food system, greater levels of economic, organizational and physical scale are needed. One way for LFIs to reach the scale necessary to generate a more significant impact is through increased institutional procurement of local foods. But how do people and organizations come together to generate the social infrastructure required to shift food purchasing practices and processes? This field report shares the story of an innovative community of practice consisting of institutional food buyers, large-scale distributors, regional retailers, processors, producers, researchers, municipal and provincial government representatives within the Edmonton city-region that formed for the express purpose of “creating a positive community impact by getting more local foods on more local plates”. In describing the formation and first three years of the Alberta Flavour Learning Lab we examine the unique characteristics of this community of practice that has aided the development of a common framework for learning, understanding and joint action. In addition to the accomplishments to date, we also discuss the challenges faced by the Learning Lab and the strategies used to overcome them.  

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