Food after the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Case for Change Posed by Alternative Food: A Case Study of the American Midwest

Abstract

Non-Technical Summary In this paper, we focus on the disruption that the current pandemic has created within the US industrial food system. We suggest that the pandemic has provided an opening for small producers. Attending to small-scale responses to the pandemic can guide policy and public investments towards a more just and sustainable future for food. Technical Summary Building on the IPES-Food Communique of April 2020, we examine the many ways in which the US industrial food system faltered during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Using Regime Theory as a guide, we suggest that such a catastrophic crisis may create significant opportunities for an emergent food regime. Drawing from our research and participant observation in the US Midwest, we examine changes in the food system occasioned by the pandemic that foreshadow a new food regime. We suggest several blockages and risks to this new regime and suggest policies that would make transition smoother to a more just and sustainable food system. Social Media Summary (120 characters) What will food be like after the pandemic? This new study outlines an alternative food system emerging in the American Midwest.

A qualitative investigation of resilience among small farms in western Washington State: Experiences during the first growing season of COVID-19

“…Another notable trend was the greater consumer interest and participation in the local and sustainable food movement that occurred during the first growing season of the pandemic (O'Brien, 2020, Patillo et al, 2021;Robinson et al, 2021;Schmidt et al, 2020). This boom was frequently noted by interviewees as a positive change, and indeed the broader environmental and societal benefits of local and regional food systems have been widely discussed (Low et al, 2015).…”

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“…Another notable trend was the greater consumer interest and participation in the local and sustainable food movement that occurred during the first growing season of the pandemic (O'Brien, 2020, Patillo et al, 2021Robinson et al, 2021;. This boom was frequently noted by interviewees as a positive change, and indeed the broader environmental and societal benefits of local and regional food systems have been widely discussed .…”

Farm resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic: The case of California direct market farmers

“…In 2020, as a result of worldwide shutdowns and restrictions put in place to control the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, the global food system began experiencing a myriad of unprecedented shocks in the U.S. with uncertain long term repercussions ( Darnhofer, 2020 ; Johansson et al, 2020 ; Weersink et al, 2021 ). The numerous pandemic-related disruptions exposed vulnerabilities in the food system, particularly the fragility of the industrialized agricultural and concentrated food processing systems that underpin much of global food production ( Altieri and Nicholls, 2020 ; Montenegro de Wit, 2021 ; Robinson et al, 2021 ). The uncertainties about the stability of global supply chains during the onset of the pandemic also led to an apparent shift in consumer preference for locally-and regionally produced food ( Hiller, 2020 ; Peyton, 2020 ).…”