Henar Pascual Ruiz-Valdepeñas

Universidad de Valladolid | UVA · Department of Geography

This coordinated research project (ALISOS) is situated at the intersection of three territorial processes which are also complementary fields of geographical analysis. The first one addresses new solutions for food production, distribution and consumption based on geographical proximity and cooperation between the actors involved in order to build sustainable alternatives to the current model dominated by the large food corporations. The second one is concerned about the link between food and sustainability, which has given rise to the notion of 'food transition', a key element of the broader 'ecological transition' that claims for building a sustainable food model as the cornerstone of a more just and sustainable society. And the third one analyses the policies which, from the global scale (UN, FAO) to the local scale (Milan Pact, MunicipalFood Strategies), are driving the food transition by strengthening what we define in this project as 'sustainable food networks' (SFN), capable of combining economic viability with social inclusion, community participation and environmental sustainability. The notion of 'value chain', so widespread in the study of the geographical organization of the production of goods and services, becomes a 'chain of values' (localization, autonomy, solidarity, care, cooperation, sustainability) when SFN are scrutinized as integral solutions that, without downplaying profitability, combine it with other values in their daily activities. SFN participants promote and protect these economic, social, political and environmental values to ensure the internal coherence of the whole supply chain. ALISOS will pay special attention to the process of social construction of these values and to the location of the nodes and places where the interaction between SFN actors generates these values and keeps the whole food process cohesive. ALISOS main hypothesis is that the very process of social construction of SFN values is highly conditioned by the geographical characteristics of the territories where these networks operate. Hence the selection as a field of study of two Spanish regions with highly contrasting territorial models: Castilla y León and Comunidad de Madrid. Both regions differ in the density of human settlements, the geographical distribution of sustainable food producers and consumers, the volume of SFN in operation, and the support of public administrations for the food transition. These differential factors affect both the likelihood of the emergence of new SFN and the capacity to consolidate existing ones. In our view, it is necessary to conduct a coordinated research that takes these territorial conditions into account for a full understanding of SFN as geographical processes and solutions. ALISOS, therefore, proposes four main objectives: i) to identify and characterise SFN in both regions; ii) to analyse the processes of shared construction of economic, social, political and environmental values within the identified SFN; iii) to study in depth the forms of territorial organisation of SFN using spatial analysis techniques; and iv) to identify, catalogue and evaluate public policies to encourage food transition in both regions, as well as the factors that make their sustained application difficult over time.

Los trabajos objeto del presente proyecto consisten en la generación de conocimiento detallado e información sobre la actividad industrial en Burgos para facilitar su puesta en valor mediante la aplicación de los resultados en los ámbitos de actuación de Fundación Caja de Burgos relacionados con el apoyo a emprendemiento, iniciativas empresariales y actividades de difusión de la industria en Burgos.