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

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.

Food Citizenship and Governmentality: Neo-Communitarian Food Governance in The Hague

This article presents an account of food citizenship based on a governmentality framework. Moving beyond the dichotomy of democratic or neoliberal accounts of food citizenship, a food governmentality framework is presented. This Foucaultian inspired framework conceptualises food citizenship as identity formation in relation to various modes of power that govern food systems and subjects in significantly different ways. The article empirically illustrates how food citizenship relates to food governmentality by focussing on the food-related activities of a Transition Town initiative in the Netherlands (The Hague) called <em>Den Haag In Transitie </em>(DHIT). By defining food as a community issue, and employing holistic-spiritual and collaborative knowledge, food citizens in the DHIT case render sustainable food systems governable in radically new ways. I argue that this type of citizenship can be considered <em>neo-communitarian</em> food citizenship and moves beyond democratic or neoliberal accounts. Finally, the article reflects on neo-communitarian citizenship and argues for a nuanced understanding of food citizenship, moving away from either democratic romanticism or neoliberal criticism.

A Survey to Discover Current Food Choice Behaviors

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.

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

National 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.

OBJECTIVES AND RESOURCES USES RANKING IN SOLIDARITY PURCHASING GROUPS: LITERATURE REVIEW AND DESIGN PRINCIPLES

The objective of the paper is investigating food networks (FNs), focusing on the emerging of recurring themes in literature and investigating how the networks relationships may influence the resources uses in farming activities. The research was carried out through access to Web of Science and Scopus databases in order to investigate the literature on FNs. The period considered is 2000-2016, using as selected key words food networks, food and practices, alternative food networks. Then we selected and classified the resulting articles and identified a set of themes addressed in literature. The main outcome of this analysis is the identification of the following themes: a) common/shared FNs characteristics; b) trust creation and embeddedness facilitated by face to face relations; c) role of FNs in transformation of food systems towards social, environmental and health objectives; d) food citizenship/sovereignty-civil engagement; e) values inspiring FNs objectives, namely sustainability, fairness/social justice, health protection, ethical consumption/political action; f) governance of the consumers-producers relations. We argue that identified themes are dimensions related to FNs objectives. More precisely we then conceptualize the identified characteristics as drivers of the ranking of resource uses in farming systems. Elaborating on this idea we derive principles for supporting the design of governance of these groups. The study concludes underlying the complexity of food networks and their capability to influence the resources uses by setting up flexible but resilient governance structures.