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 Exploring the transformative potential of urban food: a future research agenda

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aniek Hebinck ◽  
Odirilwe Selomane ◽  
Esther Veen ◽  
Anke de Vrieze ◽  
Saher Hasnain ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Research Agenda ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Transformative Change ◽  
System Transformation ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Food Research ◽  
Future Research Agenda ◽  
Transformative Potential

Urban food systems are a key lever for transformative change towards sustainability, and research reporting on the role of urban food initiatives in supporting sustainability is increasing. However, an overview of such initiatives and their transformative potential is lacking, as contextual and disciplinary-fragmented research complicates what insights can be drawn to support larger-scale sustainability transformations. We provide such an overview by synthesizing multidisciplinary research on urban food initiatives and by exploring their transformative potential. We developed a typology for urban food initiatives and present a framework of processes and outcomes that are steppingstones to sustainable food system transformation. We show that different types of urban food initiatives perform distinct roles that support sustainability. Unpacking three areas of concern, we conclude with a future research agenda. This is a first step towards integration of urban food research and of providing urban food governance with the tools to shape more sustainable systems.

scholarly journals Cultivating Pedagogy for Transformative Learning: A Decade of Undergraduate Agroecology Education

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine E. Horner ◽  
Cheryl Morse ◽  
Nell Carpenter ◽  
Karen L. Nordstrom ◽  
Joshua W. Faulkner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transformative Learning ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Course Evaluation ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Most Significant Change ◽  
Pedagogical Innovations ◽  
Transformative Approach

Existing scholarship on agroecology and food systems education within U.S. colleges and universities has focused primarily on preparing students to be professionals working in agrifood systems. Developing students' skills and competencies, though vitally important, may not suffice for supporting transformative learning. Transformative learning shifts students' perceptions and awareness and informs future actions, constituting a potential avenue for leveraging education to support transformations toward more socially just and ecologically viable agrifood systems. It is unclear, however, what pedagogies and educational practices enable transformative learning. This paper explores the integration of multiple pedagogical innovations within an advanced agroecology course taught at the University of Vermont. Over a decade, the teaching team has made iterative adjustments to course content and pedagogies with the goal of catalyzing action toward transforming agrifood systems. In this paper, we evaluate our pedagogical approach, asking: (1) How well do course content and pedagogy align with our definition of transformative agroecology as transdisciplinary, participatory, action-oriented, and political? (2) How well does our approach enable transformative agroecological learning, and how is that identified? We present our course evaluation as a case study comprising qualitative analyses of course syllabi, student comments on University-administered course evaluations, and most significant change (MSC) reflections. MSC reflections proved to be a valuable method for identifying and assessing transformative learning. Through a curricular review, we found that substantial changes to course content and evaluative assignments between 2010 and 2020 align with a transformative approach to agroecology. This is validated in students' MSC reflections, which provide evidence of transformative learning. In sharing evaluative results, processes, and insights, we aim to contribute to a broader movement of scholar educators committed to iteratively and collaboratively developing transformative pedagogies within agroecology and sustainable food system education. We contend that reflexive practice among educators is necessary to leverage education for transforming agrifood systems.

scholarly journals TOWARDS DEVELOPING A SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS EDUCATION CURRICULUM IN ELEMENTARY EDUCATION

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 35
Author(s):  
Rodante Parillas Avila
Keyword(s):  
Elementary Education ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Food Sovereignty ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Education Curriculum ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Learning Competencies ◽  
Sustainable Food System

This paper focuses on how to develop s sustainable food system education curriculum in Elementary school in Philippines. Lack of food sovereignty has been one of the Philippines’ perennial problems. Due to inadequacy of food supply, the needs or demands of the people could not be met, and the problem leads to the poverty of the nation and the malnutritionof its people. So the purpose of this research is to find out the opportunities and suggestways to develop sustainable food system education curriculum in elementary education. Method of research uses Participatory Action Research (PAR) is an approach to research in communities that emphasizes participation and action. It seeks to understand the worldby trying to change it, collaboratively and following reflection. Findings are among otherthe curriculum for Sustainable Food System can be observed with the disciplinal subjects of Agriculture and Home Economics in the elementary level. The learning competencies provide the learners basic know how and strong connection of sustainable food system. While the weaknesses: availability of school backyard for gardening sites. Most of the central schools don’t have available gardening sites for hands-on experience of the learners.

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.

scholarly journals Can we eat our way to a healthy and ecologically sustainable food system?

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 182-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Seed ◽  
Cecilia Rocha
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Food Policy ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Dietary Guidelines ◽  
Policy Coherence ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Sustainability Principles ◽  
Ecologically Sustainable

The food system is a major contributor to climate change, biodiversity loss, eutrophication and deforestation. This article examines national dietary guidelines as a way to shift dietary patterns in the population toward diets that continue to promote health while being more ecologically sustainable. While some sustainability principles may be inherent in the 2007 Canada’s Food Guide (e.g., an emphasis on plant-based foods), these were not made explicit. As Health Canada undertakes a revision of its national dietary guidance, a unique opportunity exists to situate dietary guidelines within the broader context of Canada’s first-ever national food policy. Coherence between these two policies has the potential to position the role of diets as a core link between food systems and both human and ecological health. This paper explores the possibilities of advancing sustainability principles within Canadian national dietary guidelines by drawing on evidence-based literature and key sustainability messages within dietary guidelines from four countries that have integrated many of these principles. Lessons and perspectives from international experiences on incorporating environmental sustainability into dietary guidelines are described including: influence of the food industry; cross-sector collaboration and alliances; civil society participation; and “win-win” messages. Application of these lessons to Canada, followed by opportunities to advance the incorporation of sustainability principles within the country’s national dietary guidelines are then proposed.  

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.

Fulfilling the Right to Food for South Africa: Justice, Security, Sovereignty and the Politics of Malnutrition

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 112-152
Author(s):  
Busiso Helard Moyo ◽  
Anne Marie Thompson Thow
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Food Sovereignty ◽  
Food Justice ◽  
System Transformation ◽  
Right To Food ◽  
Economic Rights ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Right

Despite South Africa’s celebrated constitutional commitments that have expanded and deepened South Africa’s commitment to realise socio-economic rights, limited progress in implementing right to food policies stands to compromise the country’s developmental path. If not a deliberate policy choice, the persistence of hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition in all its forms is a deep policy failure.  Food system transformation in South Africa requires addressing wider issues of who controls the food supply, thus influencing the food chain and the food choices of the individual and communities. This paper examines three global rights-based paradigms – ‘food justice’, ‘food security’ and ‘food sovereignty’ – that inform activism on the right to food globally and their relevance to food system change in South Africa; for both fulfilling the right to food and addressing all forms of malnutrition. We conclude that the emerging concept of food sovereignty has important yet largely unexplored possibilities for democratically managing food systems for better health outcomes.

Sustainable Food Logistics Systems

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhaohui Wu ◽  
Madeleine Elinor Pullman
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Food Supply ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Cold Chain ◽  
Community Supported Agriculture ◽  
Food Supply Chain ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Chain Management

Food supply chain management is becoming a critical management and public policy agenda. Climate change, growing demand, and shifting patterns of food production, delivery, and consumption have elicited a series of new challenges, such as food security, safety, and system resiliency. This chapter first introduces the typical players in a food supply chain and examines the global food system characterized by consolidation and industrialization. It then discusses some critical topics of the sustainable food supply chain that aim to address these challenges. These topics include traceability, transparency, certification and standards, and alternatives to industrialized food systems, including cooperatives, community-supported agriculture, and roles of small and medium-sized growers in regenerative agriculture. The chapter ends with a discussion of several important emerging logistics management topics, including last-mile delivery, new technology, and cold chain management.

scholarly journals Proposal of a Bioregional Strategic Framework for a Sustainable Food System in Sicily

Agronomy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1546
Author(s):  
Paolo Guarnaccia ◽  
Silvia Zingale ◽  
Alessandro Scuderi ◽  
Ezio Gori ◽  
Vincenzo Santiglia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Scenario Planning ◽  
Economic Indicators ◽  
Developmental Approach ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Strategic Framework ◽  
Sustainable Food System

The alignment of food systems with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is generally envisaged to make a positive impact on sustainability. This paper outlines some critical environmental and socio-economic indicators for Sicily in order to compare and explore the outcomes of two juxtaposing key drivers in a scenario planning exercise, where the extremities are Industrial versus Regenerative Agriculture/Agroecology and a Proactive versus Reactive government response. The most rational and less risky scenario becomes the most sensible sustainable development option, around which a 2030 vision is projected for a bioregional sustainable food system for Sicily, which is aligned with the SDGs and related policies. To accomplish the 2030 vision, a holistic education-led developmental approach is outlined with a supporting bioregional strategic framework, whose key milestone deliverables are projected through a backcasting process. This paper therefore highlights the importance of consistency and alignment of a development vision with its strategic framework and ensuing implementation, failing which, the holistic bioregional approach is compromised by activities that are shown to negatively impact environmental and socio-economic indicators. For this reason, all public and private sector development plans and associated resources ought to be aligned with a bioregional strategic plan for a sustainable food system for Sicily.

scholarly journals Actions on sustainable food production and consumption for the post-2020 global biodiversity framework

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. eabc8259
Author(s):  
Izabela Delabre ◽  
Lily O. Rodriguez ◽  
Joanna Miller Smallwood ◽  
Jörn P. W. Scharlemann ◽  
Joseph Alcamo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Transformative Change ◽  
Political Commitment ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Sustainable Food Production ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Barriers And Opportunities ◽  
Sustainability Standards

Current food production and consumption trends are inconsistent with the Convention on Biological Diversity’s 2050 vision of living in harmony with nature. Here, we examine how, and under what conditions, the post-2020 biodiversity framework can support transformative change in food systems. Our analysis of actions proposed in four science-policy fora reveals that subsidy reform, valuation, food waste reduction, sustainability standards, life cycle assessments, sustainable diets, mainstreaming biodiversity, and strengthening governance can support more sustainable food production and consumption. By considering barriers and opportunities of implementing these actions in Peru and the United Kingdom, we derive potential targets and indicators for the post-2020 biodiversity framework. For targets to support transformation, genuine political commitment, accountability and compliance, and wider enabling conditions and actions by diverse agents are needed to shift food systems onto a sustainable path.

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