scholarly journals How New Food Networks Change the Urban Environment: A Case Study in the Contribution of Sustainable, Regional Food Systems to Green and Healthy Cities

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 481
Author(s):  
Noël van Dooren ◽  
Brecht Leseman ◽  
Suzanne van der Meulen
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Design Studies ◽  
Sustainable Food Systems ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Regional Food ◽  
Regional Food Systems ◽  
Green System

More and more people worldwide live in urban areas, and these areas face many problems, of which a sustainable food provision is one. In this paper we aim to show that a transition towards more sustainable, regionally organized food systems strongly contributes to green, livable cities. The article describes a case study in the Dutch region of Arnhem–Nijmegen. Partners of a network on sustainable food in this region were interviewed on how they expect the food system to develop, and in design studies possible futures are explored. Both the interviews and the designs give support to the idea that indeed sustainable food systems can be developed to contribute to green livable cities. They show that the quality and meaning of existing green areas can be raised; new areas can be added to a public green system, and connections with green surroundings are enforced. They also show that inhabitants or consumers can be stimulated to become so called food citizens, highlighting that the relation of food systems and livable cities is a very close one.

Moving local food through conventional food system infrastructure: Value chain framework comparisons and insights

2010 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Dara Bloom ◽  
C. Clare Hinrichs
Keyword(s):  
Value Chain ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Local Food ◽  
Direct Marketing ◽  
Urban Region ◽  
Regional Food ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Regional Food Systems

AbstractThere is growing recognition that the direct marketing initiatives favored by many local food activists and proponents often lack the capacity to meet rapidly expanding consumer demand for local food. To address these needs, some food systems researchers have identified a role for ‘transitional’ food systems that piggyback on the pre-existing, conventional local food system infrastructure, while moving toward the social and economic benefits of direct marketing. This paper uses a value chain model (based on business management studies and adapted to the context of agrifood enterprises) as a framework for investigating how actors who are accustomed to working within the logic of the traditional produce industry incorporate local food into their overall operations. Using a qualitative comparative case study approach, the paper examines how features of the value chain structure and governance mechanisms operate in two food distribution networks that are transitioning toward localization in a rural and an urban region of Pennsylvania, respectively. Case study analysis focuses on conventional wholesale produce distributors as the link between local producers and local buyers. Interviews with the distributors, producers and buyers reveal the sources and outcomes of challenges affecting how the distributors organize their purchasing and selling of local produce. Network practices, in turn, have equity implications as distributors struggle to pay producers enough to maintain their economic viability, while still making local produce accessible to a wide range of consumers. Policy-makers and practitioners seeking to support the ‘scaling up’ of local and regional food systems should consider targeted development of technical infrastructure in processing and distribution, as well as outreach on appropriate shared ownership models. Future research should be longitudinal to determine the longer-term role and contribution of the conventional food system infrastructure in transitioning to more sustainable local and regional food systems.

scholarly journals Where do "localphiles" shop?: A mixed-methods case study of food-buying habits

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Emily McKee
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Local Food ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Regional Food ◽  
Mixed Methods Case Study ◽  
Regional Food Systems ◽  
Attitude Behavior ◽  
Small Scale Farmers

Why, with local food’s rising popularity, do small-scale farmers report declining sales? This study used a mix of survey and interview methods to examine the priorities and buying habits of food shoppers in one midsized, lower-income metro­politan area of the U.S. Midwest. The study focuses on individual consumers’ decision-making because it aims to be useful, in particular, to small-scale farmers and advocates of their participation in local and regional food systems. Among shoppers’ stated priorities, the survey found broad support for local food and relatively low competition be­tween price and local origin as purchasing priori­ties. However, findings also show an attitude-behavior gap, with only a limited increase in ten­dency among self-defined “local” shoppers to purchase from locally oriented venues. As explana­tion for this attitude-behavior gap, survey and interview data point to differential definitions of “local food” and situational barriers (primarily inconvenience and lack of variety) preventing shoppers from buying local food. One factor off­setting these barriers was past experience growing one’s own food. Study findings are used to identify particular avenues for intervention by farmers, eaters, and other food systems builders to broaden access to local food through adjustments to mar­keting strategies, better alignment of wholesale outlets’ practices with the priorities of farmers and eaters, and improved public education about the food system.

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.

Multi-Stakeholder and Multilevel Food Governance

2020 ◽  
pp. 60-72
Author(s):  
Sérgio Pedro
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Central Element ◽  
Sustainable Food Systems ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Food Governance ◽  
Food And Agriculture ◽  
Multi Stakeholder ◽  
Global And Local

The contemporary food system, in its global and local dimensions, is a central element of the debate on the sustainability of the planet, a debate that increasingly involves more stakeholders and areas of knowledge in the search for answers to the multiple questions related to the attainment of more sustainable patterns for food and agriculture. The present chapter analyses the participative multi-stakeholder and multilevel model of food governance of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP), in which stakeholders from different societal and expertise sectors participate in equal manners in the process of co-construction of institutional, technical, and financing measures for the functioning of a given food system. The present chapter has the main goal of sharing and critically analysing the CPLP´s institutional context for the promotion of sustainable food systems as an example of an integrated methodological approach to support the creation of coordinated public policies and institutional conditions to implement a transition to more sustainable food systems and diets.

Agricultural and Food Policy

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Abiodun Elijah Obayelu ◽  
Simeon Olusola Ayansina
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Food Policy ◽  
Policy Intervention ◽  
Sustainable Food Systems ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Adequate Food ◽  
System Sustainability ◽  
Sustainable Food System

Policy plays significant role in defining the food system of any country, and a sustainable food system is necessary for food security. This chapter maps out the causal interactions between food systems, food security and policy, and the challenges in transition to a sustainable food system while respecting the rights of all people to have access to adequate food in Nigeria. Explicit, rigorous, and transparent literature search was undertaken and many articles were assessed and reviewed. Although the results established a mutual relationship between food system and food security, existing literature have widely failed to take interactions between food systems, food security and policy into account. While food production is used as an entry point to improving food system sustainability, the quest for food security are undermining transition towards sustainable food systems. It was found that without right policies in place, it may be difficult to have food systems that are sustainable and ensure food security. This chapter provides a useful contribution to policy, and research on transitions towards sustainable food system. Any policy intervention to address one part of the food systems will impact on other parts and will determine whether a country is food secure or not. Enabling policy environment is therefore essential in ensuring a sustainable food system and for the attainment of food security.

scholarly journals How Can Dietitians Leverage Change for Sustainable Food Systems in Canada?

2019 ◽  
Vol 80 (4) ◽  
pp. 164-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liesel Carlsson ◽  
Edith Callaghan ◽  
Göran Broman
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Knowledge Development ◽  
Organizational Policy ◽  
Sustainable Food Systems ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Leverage Points ◽  
The Social

Purpose: In this paper, we begin to set out language defining sustainable food systems (SFS) in Canada, through the voices of dietitians, and identify leverage points where dietitians can affect change. Methods: Dietitians of Canada members were invited to a Delphi Inquiry process; questions explored a vision of SFS in Canada, barriers to that vision, and actions. Results were independently analysed by 2 members of the research team who used the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development to structure the data. Results: Fifty-eight members participated. The resultant vision describes a future food system in 15 thematic areas of the social and ecological systems. Barriers are described according to how they undermine sustainability. High-leverage actions areas included: (i) facilitating knowledge development within the profession and public, (ii) influencing organizational policy to support SFS, and (iii) and influencing public policy. Approaches to such action included: (i) facilitating cross-sectoral collaboration and (ii) applying reflexive approaches. Conclusions: This research suggests a multidimensional understanding of food systems sustainability among dietitians. The vision provides some language to describe what dietitians mean by SFS and can be used as a compass point to orient action. Action areas and approaches have the potential to drive systemic change while avoiding unintended consequences.

“Workarounds and Roadblocks”: Risk and Resistance among Food Movement Activists

2020 ◽  
pp. 232949652096562
Author(s):  
Andrew Raridon ◽  
Tamara L. Mix ◽  
Rachel L. Einwohner
Keyword(s):  
High Risk ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Southern Plains ◽  
Alternative Food Systems ◽  
Regional Food ◽  
The Social ◽  
Regional Food Systems ◽  
Food Movement

This article examines how activists involved in the food movement use different tactics intended to challenge and subvert the agrifood structures they encounter. We use data from interviews and participant observations with 57 food movement activists operating in less robust alternative food systems throughout the Southern Plains states of Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. Our respondents describe how they interpret their regional food systems as deliberately restrictive to the food movement and explain some of the tactical choices they make to maneuver around various constraints they claim hinder their food movement activism. In actively resisting the agricultural status quo, we find that some activists knowingly engage in forms of high-risk activism. We then examine the different framing devices food movement activists use to explain the risks generated by their tactical workarounds. Our findings contribute to the social movements and food system literature by showing how activists interpret and justify the risks generated by their resistance and by emphasizing the contextual nature of tactical choices and risk in social movement activism.

scholarly journals How a Transformation towards Sustainable Community Catering Can Succeed

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Viviana Lopez ◽  
Jenny Teufel ◽  
Carl-Otto Gensch
Keyword(s):  
American Literature ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Eating Habits ◽  
Attractive Alternative ◽  
Sustainable Food Systems ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Animal Products ◽  
Menu Planning ◽  
Governance Model

Community catering or to use another common term especially in the American literature institutional foodservice plays a central role in changing our food system towards sustainability. Community catering establishments can bring about changes in this context at various levels. Hence, in the context of menu planning, they have a direct influence on the level of meat consumption. Indirectly, however, they can also support changes in eating habits by offering the guest an equally attractive alternative, thus giving him or her a sense of how tasty a low-meat cuisine can be. On the basis of this experience, the consumer may possibly change in turn his or her own purchasing behavior and menu planning at home. With the increasing importance of catering for day-care centers and schools, community catering also has a considerable influence on the nutritional status as well as on the development of people’s individual diet and the later eating habits of young people. By understanding socio-technical systems as embedded in ecological systems this paper takes a systemic view on innovations in transformation domains as the objects of desire for governance towards sustainability. The framework developed in the context of the BMBF-funded research project “Governance model for socio-ecological transformation processes in practice: development and testing in three areas of application” known by its acronym TRAFO 3.0 was applied to examine innovative approaches and actors in community catering and their contributions to more sustainable food systems. A number of studies show that a very large environmental relief potential can be achieved by reducing the quantity of meat and other animal products offered. However, the concrete implementation of this goal is associated with a multitude of challenges, since meat-containing meals are an important part of German food culture. How the transformation towards meals with fewer animal products in German community catering can succeed is an important question in the context of the transformation to sustainable food systems. To answer this question, we analyzed the status quo of the socio-technical system of German community catering using a developed governance model. One of the central results was that community catering stakeholders who have successfully reduced their offer of animal products died fundamental changes in meal planning. Cooks had to “reinvent” meals completely to be successful.

scholarly journals Our people, our food, our planet

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cath Conn ◽  
Radilaite Cammock ◽  
Katrina Ford ◽  
Gloria Faesen Kloet ◽  
Shoba Nayar
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Dietary Practices ◽  
Sustainable Food Systems ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Integrated Policy

Video link: Our people, our food, our planet: Sustainable food systems policy in the Pacific Pacific Island Countries and Territories are facing a health crisis with non communicable diseases (NCDs) currently accounting for more than 80% of deaths. In the 21st century, advances in health intervention and policy render this figure unacceptable. Multiple risk factors contribute to the NCD crisis; a leading driver being obesity due to changing dietary practices arising from the global food system. A system  which is dominated by processed foods high in starch and sugars. This situation is compounded by changes in the natural and built environments relating to climate change. Tackling this issue is beyond the sole domain of public health and is, therefore, more suited to a planetary health approach. This paper applies a sustainable food systems approach to analysing NCD policy developments in the Pacific region. In particular, three domains of policy which impact diets in the Pacific are examined: food production, climate change and sustainability, and trade. It is argued that countering the NCD crisis demands a global multisectoral approach, with governments leading the way, to develop integrated policy and interventions that will secure the future wellbeing and protection of our people, our food, our planet.

scholarly journals Michigan Farmers of Color and the Future of Sustainable Food Systems

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (01) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberly N. Carr ◽  
Vanessa Garcia Polanco ◽  
Shakara Tyler
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Ethnic Disparities ◽  
The United States ◽  
Agricultural System ◽  
Racial And Ethnic Disparities ◽  
Racial Justice ◽  
Sustainable Food Systems ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Sustainable Food System

Historically, racial and ethnic disparities in agriculture and the food system experienced by farmers of color (FoC) in the United States and in Michigan stem from an exploitative and racialized agricultural system in which white people have primarily benefited and profited. Sustainable agriculture with a strong orientation toward racial justice can serve as a medium for building more racial equity and transforming our racialized food system. Such a medium ensures that the resources to participate and contribute to a sustainable food system are accessible to everyone, not just those with significant power and resources. Although the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is in the initial phases of developing a diversity, equity, and inclusion strategic plan, there is currently no specific plan to support and target FoC. While there are several programs performing this work from grassroot organizations, civic groups, extension services, and others, there is no comprehensive statewide effort to create support systems for FoC in Michigan. To address this issue, we recommend the creation of an incentivized farm program as a way to address agrarian racial and ethnic disparities experienced by FoC and advance an equitable and just sustainable food system within the state of Michigan.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document