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Knowledge, Food and Place. A Way of Producing, a Way of Knowing
Abstract
This article examines the dynamics of knowledge in the valorisation of local food, drawing on the results from the CORASON project (A ‘cognitive approach to rural sustainable development the dynamics of expert and lay knowledge’). It is based on the analysis of several in-depth case studies on food relocalisation carried out in 10 European countries (Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, Germany, Norway, Poland, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Greece). In the different fields of rural studies (rural sociology, geography, anthropology) there is currently a wide debate about the relocalisation of food production and consumption. Born out of a critique of the ‘conventionalisation’ of organic agriculture, attention to local food has grown in recent years to assume the features of a new orthodoxy or paradigm that is now undergoing, as is suitable to any orthodoxy, deep and critical scrutiny. Many points are discussed, from the definition of ‘local’ to its transformative role in the current agri-food system and rural community, whether relocalisation of food is a sustainable strategy and whether its character is radical or merely reformist. The perspective adopted here, which is relatively neglected in the literature, derives from the overall focus of CORASON on the role of knowledge in rural development. We look at the valorisation of local food as a knowledge-based practice that mobilises the various forms of knowledge embodied in both rural and non-rural actors. Following knowledge in the valorisation of food leads us to differentiate between patterns of food relocalisation across Europe and to analyse the interplay among knowledge forms and actors in the contested construction of the local food project.
... The more consolidated national experiences of applying food quality labels show that they may add value to the products, raise sales, and enhance competitiveness whilst creating more resources for rural communities (Bowen and De Master, 2011;DeSoucey, 2010;Pellin et al., 2016). Acting as important routes to recover and revalue practices of production and traditional knowledge (Fonte, 2008), they also contribute to prevent their obliviousness and may be regarded as potentially guaranteeing a fair income for producers, equivalent to the quality of their productions, and fostering local development especially combined with other rural activities and assets (Van der Ploeg and Roep, 2003). ...
... Quality schemes' symbolic and intangible appeal is paired with potential benefits to farmers' income and promotion of agricultural and rural development (e.g. Bureau and Valceschini, 2003;Bardone and Spalvēna, 2019;Bowen and De Master, 2011;DeSoucey, 2010, Fonte, 2008Van der Ploeg and Roep, 2003). Although such strategies may reinforce the commodification of rural territories of origin through processes of heritagization and patrimonialization based on food (Bardone and Spalvēna, 2019;, fostering a romanticized and nostalgic vision of rural territories oblivious of producers and farmers' challenges and difficulties (Bowen and De Master, 2011;, they may also represent an opportunity for rural territories to (re)gain economic control and (re)value themselves, as well as for producers to find a productive place within the post-productive rural (Bowen and De Master, 2011;. ...
... An Exploratory Analysis from Portugal Teresa Forte, Elisabete Figueiredo, Celeste Eusébio and Manuel Luís Tibério standards and concerns with ethical production and animal welfare (DeSoucey, 2010). Notwithstanding, labels of origin and quality are a kind of intellectual property of territories (Bardone and Spalvēna, 2019) that mirror specific regional biophysical conditions and the territorialized knowledge of producers, transmitted intergenerationally (DeSoucey, 2010;Fonte, 2008). Henceforth, the EU food certification strategies also embeds the food products with a sense of national identity, revaluing them as a fundamental part of national diets, heritage, and authenticity (Belletti and Marescotti, 2011) and as proxies of specific national patrimony and culture. ...
The certification of origin and quality of rural provenance foods paves routes of protection and promotion of the products and the territories. While the importance of certification at socioeconomic, policy, and consumption levels has been addressed in previous research, the views of other key stakeholders-the producers-remain somehow underexplored. The present study contributes to this topic by analyzing data from a survey of producers (n=104) working with urban specialty shops located in three Portuguese cities. The sample was examined considering the differences between those who produce certified food products (n=74) and those who do not (n=30). Chi-square tests were used to compare the socio-demographic features, type of products produced and selling venues. Independent samples T-tests were applied to compare the differences between producers' motivations, perceived challenges, and impacts of the production. Findings indicate that producers of certified products have distinct motivations, and value different aspects of their productions, namely to contribute to sustainable and healthier production and consumption and to the preservation of local and traditional ways of producing. They also perceive more positive economic impacts on rural places of provenance and tend to value more the Portuguese food products' image.
... Thus, rural space refers to contested sites of origin and belonging, clashing with the 'urban' symbols and values of globalisation, as exemplified by the urban-rural dichotomy (see for example, de Olde and Oosterlynck, 2022; Gillen et al., 2022b;Goszczyński and Wróblewski, 2020;Hogan, 2004). In the local food consumption context (see, for instance, Autio et al., 2013;Banerjee and Quinn, 2022;Bildtgård, 2013;Ducros, 2018;Fonte, 2008;Goszczyński and Wróblewski, 2020;Kneafsey et al., 2021;Palladino, 2020;Tellström et al., 2006), local food products and brands referring to 'rurality' satisfy local consumers' place-belonging needs (Rodriguez, 2020)namely place attachment and identity (Antonsich, 2010;Warnaby and Medway, 2013). Hence, rural space, food localness, belonging, and place are intertwined spatial concepts (Banerjee and Quinn, 2022;Feagan, 2007;Harris, 2010;Ilbery and Kneafsey, 1998;Kneafsey et al., 2021). ...
... From a food geographies perspective, "places are relational to food and food is relational to the locations in which it is em-placed" (Kneafsey et al., 2021, p. 8, emphasis in the original). Therefore, food localness is also an expression of the cultural identity of place (Ducros, 2018;Fonte, 2008;Fusté-Forné, 2020), which can be evoked by local consumers' nostalgia and childhood memories of the countryside (Autio et al., 2013;Banerjee and Quinn, 2022;Bildtgård, 2013;Goszczyński and Wróblewski, 2020). Indeed, local food consumers often seek to re-establish a social tie with the rural community of the place they consider as 'home' through their consumption (Ducros, 2018;McEachern et al., 2010;Sjölander-Lindqvist et al., 2020). ...
... Thus, food localness appears to be constructed from the local consumers' 'gaze' on an iconic rural landscape (Rodriguez, 2020); the perceived authenticity of rural heritage settings (Autio et al., 2013); and rural identity constructions regarding traditional practices of production and consumption (Banerjee and Quinn, 2022;Fonte, 2008). In addition, rurality is described as enhancing local food consumption regardless of the rural/urban background and/or connections of local consumers (Banerjee and Quinn, 2022;McEachern and Warnaby, 2006). ...
Purpose – This research aims to investigate consumers’ construction of food localness through the politics of belonging in a regional context. Design/methodology/approach – Following a socio-spatial lens and considering the ‘realm of meaning’ of place, this research focuses on local consumers’ lived meanings of ‘local’ food choice, and hence adopts a phenomenological approach to the data collection and analysis of 20 in-depth interviews with residents of the Italian region of Marche. Findings – Drawing on Trudeau’s (2006) politics of belonging, we reveal three interconnected themes which show how local consumers articulate a local food ‘orthodoxy’ and how their discourses and practices draw and maintain a boundary between local and non-local food, whereby local food is considered ‘autochthonous’ of rural space. Thus, our participants construct a local food landscape, conveying rural (vs. urban) meanings through which food acquires ‘localness’ (vs. non-‘localness’) status. Practical implications – Our findings provide considerable scope for food producers, manufacturers and/or marketers to differentiate local food products by enhancing consumers’ direct experience of it in relation to rural space. Thus, enabling local food producers to convey rural (vs. urban) meanings to consumers, who would develop an orthodoxy guiding future choice. Social implications – Our findings enable regional promoters and food policymakers to leverage the symbolic distinctiveness of food autochthony to promote place and encourage consumers to participate in their local food system. Originality/value – By utilising the politics of belonging as an analytical framework, we show that the urban-rural dichotomy – rather than being an obsolete epistemological category – fuels politics of belonging dynamics and that local food consumers socially construct food localness not merely as a romanticisation of rurality, but as a territorial expression of the contemporary local/non-local cultural conflict implied in the politics of belonging. Thus, we advance our theoretical understanding by demonstrating that food ‘becomes’ local and therefore, builds on extant food localness conceptualisations.
... Moreover, GIs have been intensively promoted as a means for rural development Krystallis et al., 2017). However, their outcomes are highly dependent on the way they are constructed, managed and articulated by actors operating in their respective communities (Fonte, 2008). In parallel, GIs are quite often criticised in the sense that they are seen as spatial monopolies, arguably promoting exclusionary and defensive localism practices (Goodman et al., 2012;Hegnes, 2019). ...
... Several GIs have been reported in which small-scale producers have been displaced by larger, more powerful actors, who take over the product's supply chain (Bowen and Zapata, 2009;Mancini, 2013). Other reasons why small producers can feel excluded is when the leading role is taken by scientific knowledge (Fonte, 2008), rural development professionals (Tregear et al., 2016), local/regional governments (Tregear et al., 2007) or even by the State (Rangnekar, 2011). ...
We analyse the theoretical tenets underpinning geographical indications (GIs) and seek to determine whether the number of producers engaged in them matters. To do so, we develop a qualitative methodology to focus on two small-scale cheese productions located in mountain areas endowed with a GI: Cebreiro (Galicia, NW Spain) and Tolminc (Slovenia). In both instances, just two dairies actively produce the GI-certified cheeses; yet, the two case studies differ greatly. In Cebreiro, the GI is seen as an opportunity for development, but the scant number of producers compromises its sustainability. In Tolminc, the GI is monopolised by one company and offers few benefits for the many disengaged producers throughout the region. We conclude that the number of producers engaged in a GI scheme is not a critical factor in their success; rather, public institutional support and the presence/absence of a GI producers’ management structure are pivotal.
... The concepts of sustainable food systems and AFNs are becoming increasingly more popular among researchers of food, agriculture, consumption and urban movements. Concurrently, they are strongly embedded in the Anglo-Saxon and Mediterranean cultures (Fonte 2008). The basic typology differentiates between AFNs in Northern and Southern Europe, remaining oblivious to other regions (Bilewicz, Śpiewak 2015). ...
The article aims to organise the discussion about the position and role of research on alternative food networks and sustainable food systems in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. It was inspired by a debate that ensued during a meeting of researchers of alternative food systems held in October 2017 in Riga. Based on the meeting, one can conclude that it is necessary to: 1) develop a universal theoretical framework to study food practices which will take into account the specificity of this part of Europe; 2) consider the unique activities and initiatives embedded in the tradition of the region; and 3) establish functional connections among researchers involved in food studies.
... Indeed, as a second step, we applied a survey to typify the specialized/gourmet stores based on their main characteristics. This survey elaboration was based on an extensive review of the literature focused on valuing rural food products and, to a lesser extent, on the role of small urban stores for agriculture and rural areas (e.g., [5,12,23,[33][34][35]) and was organized into five main parts: (i) the general characterization of the store and the owner company; (ii) the types of products and services marketed; (iii) the most sold products of certified origin; (iv) the way of acquiring the products (whether through a distributor or directly from the producer); and (v) the profiles of customers (e.g., nationality, age and gender). The response rate reached 57.3% (98 stores) [33]. ...
The asymmetries between rural and urban areas have continued to increase over the last decades, contributing to an imbalance of economic, social, and territorial dimensions between regions. Urban stores specialized in the commercialization of rural provenance agri-food products can have a role in the promotion of interrelations between the countryside and the cities and contribute to publicizing and promoting rural regions among the urban populations and tourists. Thus, this work aims to understand and characterize the growth of these stores in two of the main urban and tourist centers of Oporto and Lisbon. For this purpose, we developed an analytical framework with the support of a spatial analysis using geographic information systems (GIS) to understand their organization as well as the spatiotemporal evolution and distribution. We also investigated the geographical patterns of the supply chains of marketed agri-food products and the spatial relationships between agri-food products from their production to their commercialization and consumption. The results revealed that most of the agri-food products originate in the inland rural regions of the country with a clear geographical connection between the analyzed stores and specific territories. Moreover, we verify an increased interest and consumption of agri-food products and a spontaneous increase in this type of store. Overall, these stores, in addition to selling agri-food products, are also promoters of rural territories in an urban environment.
... As a consequence, the paradigm of conventional farming, which is grounded on modern distribution channels and globalized modes of food provisioning [7], has been recently revised. Three main negative effects have been pointed out in recent decades [8]: ...
This study dealt with multifunctional farming, which is meant as a dynamic strategy that is carried out by Italian farms. The path alongside the multifunctional paradigm is carried out through both supply chain and territorial strategies, which deserve more attention. These strategies reinforce sustainable business models characterized by the presence of both deepening and broadening strategies. The first ones are centered around product differentiation and valorization through geographical indications, organic farming, etc. Broadening strategies are implemented through new on-farm activities, such as agritourism, and other gainful activities carried out at the farm level. Set against this background, the article discusses the evolution of farms according to the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) database by putting forward an empirical analysis, which considered the evolution of farm typologies oriented toward multifunctionality in the last decade. The analysis underlined the positive dynamics and the evolution of farms adhering to the multifunctional paradigm. Moreover, as evidenced in the econometric analysis, the adoption of multifunctional farming activities provided a sound contribution to income formation. This addressed some policy issues that were identified at the beginning of the new programming period for rural development of the EU and their resolution aims to reinforce the virtuous trajectory toward multifunctional farming.
Journal Article
Poeggel, K. & Fischer, D. (2023).
“We are Rosas”: a case study on how identity matters in local food groups.
Sustainability: Science, Practice, and Policy, 19(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/15487733.2023.2278244
Abstract:
Sustainability transformations involve processes of social change that are carried by people. In the area of food systems, researchers have studied local food groups as an emerging phenomenon driving collective action toward systems change. A central question in this regard is how agency develops in a dynamic alignment between individual actors and collective action. Identity dynamics, as a result of social interactions at the individual and collective levels, help to understand processes vital to the functioning of local grassroots initiatives. This study provides an empirical examination of the interplay between individual and collective level identity in the formation, operation, and impact of local food groups. Using a case study of a food cooperative in northern Germany, we apply a conceptual framework around identification, verification, and formation dynamics. Results show that identity dynamics are well developed and important for the functioning of the food cooperative. Trust is central to the group, as it enables the various activities of the collective, which in turn is facilitated by the interaction and identity dynamics. Understanding initiatives not just as niches for individual political action or as alternative sources of sustainable products, but as social spaces of self-expression and community building, contributes to the discussion of how local initiatives can help to advance sustainability transformation.
This paper provides an introduction to the 'food deserts' theme by outlining how the problem of access to food, particularly foods integral to a healthy diet, for low-income households in poor neighbourhoods in British cities, became an increasingly important issue in the social exclusion and health inequalities debates, during the late 1990s. It documents the emergence of a policy response by UK government to this issue and the way in which policy development ran somewhat ahead of systematic research on key facets of the problem. The paper outlines the research priorities which became apparent by the end of the 1990s and some of the projects which have been funded by the UK research councils and by government departments and agencies to meet this need for fundamental research.
Because of their being science-based and because they have sparked off an extended debate on how technologies are conceived and developed, biotechnologies represent a particularly useful point of departure for a more general discussion about the evolution of agricultural techniques, as regards the origin and the distinguishing characteristics of different forms of knowledge and know-how.
This article seeks to discuss how “knowledge” from different sources (agricultural, industrial, and scientific) on the one hand, and how the abstract and concrete elements that enter into the knowledge acquisition process, on the other hand, come together and become linked as determinants of different technical paths of development. The growing recourse to biotechnologies tends progressively to modify the common knowledge base mobilized for agro-food production. Even though at present the development of biotechnologies seems to be set in a model of continuity in relation to the current techniques, their full potential could express itself in redefining the relations between Man and Nature, ultimately reconciling the production of agricultural consumer goods and the reproduction of the agro-ecosystems.
“Coming home to eat” [Nabhan, 2002. Coming Home to Eat: The Pleasures and Politics of Local Foods. Norton, New York] has become a clarion call among alternative food movement activists. Most food activist discourse makes a strong connection between the localization of food systems and the promotion of environmental sustainability and social justice. Much of the US academic literature on food systems echoes food activist rhetoric about alternative food systems as built on alternative social norms. New ways of thinking, the ethic of care, desire, realization, and vision become the explanatory factors in the creation of alternative food systems. In these norm-based explanations, the “Local” becomes the context in which this type of action works. In the European food system literature about local “value chains” and alternative food networks, localism becomes a way to maintain rural livelihoods. In both the US and European literatures on localism, the global becomes the universal logic of capitalism and the local the point of resistance to this global logic, a place where “embeddedness” can and does happen. Nevertheless, as other literatures outside of food studies show, the local is often a site of inequality and hegemonic domination. However, rather than declaim the “radical particularism” of localism, it is more productive to question an “unreflexive localism” and to forge localist alliances that pay attention to equality and social justice. The paper explores what that kind of localist politics might look like.
From farm to fork, the conventional food chain is under enormous pressure to respond to a whole series of new challenges - food scares in rich countries, food security concerns in poor countries, and a burgeoning problem of obesity in all countries. As more and more people demand to know where their food comes from, and how it is produced, issues of place, power, and provenance assume increasing significance for producers, consumers, and regulators, challenging the corporate forces that shape the 'placeless foodscape'. Far from being confined to niche products, questions about the origins of food are also surfacing in the conventional sector, where labelling has become a major political issue. Drawing on theories of multi-level governance, three leading scholars in the field explore the geo-politics of the food chain in different spatial arenas: the World Trade Organization, where free trade principles clash with fair trade concerns in the debate about agricultural reform; the European Union, where producers are under pressure from environmentalists for a more traceable and sustainable food system; and the US, where there is a striking contradiction between the rhetoric of free markets and the reality of a heavily subsidised farming sector. To understand the local impact of these global trends, the authors explore three different regional worlds of food: the traditional world of localised quality in Tuscany, the peripheral world of commodity production in Wales, and the frontier world of agri-business in California.
This book focuses on the contributions that organic farming offers to wider social change. It considers the role of all those involved in creating an organic sector. By providing a range of quantitative and qualitative analyses of organic 'farm-to-fork' networks, the book shows how the way organic farming is practiced holds the potential for changes in industry structure - changes that may well form the basis for the food system in the 21st century. The book's 18 chapters are organized around five themes that reflect the continuing development of organic farming and the diversity of the sociological approach to organic food and farming. These themes include: (i) organic movements in northwestern Europe; (ii) organic food quality and the consumer; (iii) problems for organic farmers around the globe; (iv) principles and practice of organic farming; and (v) new directions for organic sector development. The book has a subject index.
bioprospecting new form of appropriation of indigenous knowledge and their cultural and natural resource sovereignty