Grassroots initiatives in food system transformation

In Common or Enclosed: A Comparison of Farmers’ Market Development in Poland and the United States

“…The efforts in Bloomington, and to a lesser degree in the newer Frymark market, indicate that they fall into what Sage and colleagues identify as a "second generation" of food initiatives designed to effect change in local systems and institutions in order to rectify social and ecological injustices by welcoming "a broad spectrum of actors" who "are aware of their ubiquitous presence, refer and connect with each other and consider themselves to be part of a heterogeneous but widespread movement … to irritate, even to disrupt, the process of spatial production, revealing the separation, the alienation, that exists between residents and powerful financial interests" (Sage, et al, 2021, 10). In this sense, selfawareness by participants may make AFNs, collectively, a challenge to the dominant food system (Sage, et al, 2021).…”

COLreg: The Tokenised Cross-Species Multicentred Regenerative Region Co-Creation

“…Land use provides many economic and social benefits but often comes at a substantial cost to the environment [45]. Sage et al asked themselves questions on how and by whom the food systems transformation will be undertaken; whether Big Food will remain hegemonic in guiding a transition through the technologies of the bioeconomy, or whether we will witness a more rhizomic spread of grassroots initiatives effectively performing this transformation that will birth a food system that works within planetary boundaries to deliver healthy food for all [65]. The 'all' also integrates food for non-humans, as there is an explicit dependency across the ecosystem's food web, as discussed above.…”

The natural wine phenomenon and the promise of sustainability: Institutionalization or radicalization?

“…We argue that rather than a social movement or an alternative food network, NW can be better understood as a food phenomenon pertaining to what Sage et al (2020) call the second “Great Transformation.” Second‐wave food phenomena operate not through protest but rather by carrying out a sustainable alternative mode of production and consumption primarily focused on environmental concerns. They unite a “loose coalition of diverse actors—including peasants, urban dwellers, scientists of many disciplines and people who eat and who are concerned about their food—that is beginning to offer a new vision for food production, supply and consumption” (Sage et al, 2020, 2). Not surprisingly, many natural winemakers are engaged in the movement as a result of their disappointment with existing organic food certification methods, a canonical example of a first‐wave social movement.…”

“…This, in turn, has normative implications regarding the potential certification of NW since the catchall concept of natural wine might encapsulate the divergent meanings of NW production for different social actors. We argue that rather than a social movement or an alternative food network, NW can be better understood as a food phenomenon pertaining to what Sage et al (2020) call the second "Great Transformation." Second-wave food phenomena operate not through protest but rather by carrying out a sustainable alternative mode of production and consumption primarily focused on environmental concerns.…”