From Short Food Supply Chains to Sustainable Agriculture in Urban Food Systems: Food Democracy as a Vector of Transition

Abstract

Abstract:In industrialized nations, local food networks have generally been analyzed through alternative food systems, in spite of the fact that they are much more diverse than this would imply. In France, 'short food chains' are both a continuation of a long tradition and a recent trend which now extends beyond activists, to consumers and producers as well. This paper will explore the conditions under which these chains can change the practices and knowledge of ordinary actors in urban food systems, from producers to urban consumers and policy-makers, in the area of agriculture and sustainability. It will consider the case study of the creation and development of an urban open-air market which has been analyzed using intervention research with input from economic sociology. We will highlight how personal relations, which are encouraged by a participatory context, support the evolution of practices and knowledge. We will also illustrate how a system of produce labelling has emerged as a mediation resource, and has increased changes as well as participation within the re-territorialization of the urban food system. By describing a concrete expression of food democracy which is spreading in France via a free collective trademark, and by showing its role in the transition of 'ordinary' actors towards a more sustainable agriculture, this paper will shine new light onto local food chains as well as traditional short food chains, and will call for more research on the subject.

Change Agents’ Perspectives on Spatial–Relational Proximities and Urban Food Niches

“…Although publications concerning sustainability transitions in agriculture are increasing [6,[15][16][17][18][19], only a few publications address agro-food systems [9,10,[20][21][22] and much less address them in an urban context [23][24][25]. Even less publications focus on food niches in urban agro-food systems [5,12,26,27].…”

“…As pointed out above, only a few publications address sustainability transitions in agro-food systems [9,10,[20][21][22] and much less in an urban context [23][24][25], although publications concerning sustainability transitions in agriculture are increasing [6,[15][16][17][18][19]. In this section, we tackle the literature analyzing and explaining context-related niche development in agro-food systems and beyond.…”

The Multi-Level Perspective in Research on Sustainability Transitions in Agriculture and Food Systems: A Systematic Review

“…However, some papers address different agriculture sub-sectors; for instance, Santhanam-Martin et al [58] analyse the relation between natural landscape and livestock. Interestingly, there are also some research articles that deal with urban agriculture [59] and urban food systems [60][61][62][63]. Alternatively, the topical focus of the research is on transition in the use of some agricultural inputs such as fertilizers [64].…”

Potencial de los circuitos cortos como estrategia para la construcción de mercados locales

“…Es decir, de forma paralela a las preocupaciones ambientales y de seguridad alimentaria ha emergido una tendencia que apunta a la resignificación de los vínculos sociales con el territorio (Chiffoleau et al, 2016;Corsi y Novelli, 2016). Estos elementos representan insumos para las políticas económicas y pueden ser aprovechados para dar un mayor valor agregado a la comercialización de productos emergentes con modos de producción particulares, como es el caso de la uchuva, donde aspectos como la participación de mano de obra femenina, la agricultura familiar y el emprendimiento se entremezclan con la riqueza natural y el paisaje de territorios rurales con gran potencial productivo Finalmente, en los casos analizados se encontró que los precios del producto son establecidos por cada productor sin intermediación de las organizaciones.…”