Small‐p politics: how pleasurable, convivial and pragmatic political ideals influence engagement in eat‐local initiatives

Abstract

Non-confrontational engagement practices like ethical consumption are a popular form of everyday politics. Existing research into these practices offers positive evaluations (highlighting the value of everyday engagement in public life) and critical perspectives (questioning whether myriad small acts can address structural barriers to equity and sustainability). Meanwhile, less emphasis has been placed on understanding the underlying ideals and motivations for political action that seeks to avoid traditional politics. In order to advance such understanding, this case study uses participant observation and semi-structured interviews with 57 individuals whose daily paid or unpaid leadership roles shape eat-local initiatives. We find that in the local food realm, participants idealize pleasurable, convivial and pragmatic engagement and these ideals culminate in a particular form of everyday action we term 'small-p politics'. The paper offers a theoretically and empirically informed investigation of non-traditional political engagement in eat-local movements, concluding that it emerges from a site where: (a) cultural change is prioritized above contentious politics; (b) rejecting traditional political activity is linked with achieving tangible outcomes; and (c) consumers are deemed the ideal agents of change. Non-traditional politics play a prominent role in the landscape of contemporary civic engagement. This research advances our existing knowledge of such practices by providing a thick description of the political ideals that endorse consumption-based approaches to change in the realm of local food.

Do direct market farms use fewer agricultural chemicals? Evidence from the US census of agriculture

“…Ambitious local food initiatives, spearheaded by advocates for environmental responsibility, community economic development, small farmers and food insecure populations, frequently take for granted the idea that vibrant local food systems carry significant environmental benefits. And consumers tend to buy into the narrative of green, socially beneficial local food (Cranfield et al, 2012; Megicks et al, 2012; Meas et al, 2015; Baumann et al, 2017), even seeing participation in the locavore movement as a kind of ‘small-p politics’ that affords apolitical people a way to quietly create spaces for social change (Kennedy et al, 2017). But the claims of local food advocates and the beliefs of consumers belie a surprising fact: profound disagreement exists over what the relationship between robust local food systems and positive environmental outcomes might actually be (Born and Purcell, 2006; Lilico, 2008; Rankin, 2009; McCaffrey and Kurland, 2015).…”

Citizen participation at the micro-community level: The case of the green alley projects in Quebec City

“…Researchers interpret these interventions as demonstrations of citizen commitment to shaping the urbanscape (Rabbiosi, 2016). For many scholars, tactical urbanism projects, waste recycling, urban gardening and other mundane practices illustrate how citizens of modern cities engage in new forms of political participation (de Moor, 2017;Kennedy and Parkins, 2017;Pottinger, 2017). The actors involved, the methods of interaction and collaboration, the location, and the duration of the project are all elements that vary from one urban context to another.…”

The responsibility of an ethnocentric consumer – nationalistic, patriotic or environmentally conscientious? A critical discourse analysis of “buy domestic” campaigns

“…These "meaningful ways of life", which consumption enables, do not necessarily imply a nationalistic disposition, even though the mediating marketplace is local or domestic. For instance, environmental protection may play a crucial role in forming local consumer cultures around food consumption (Kennedy et al, 2018;G€ otze and Brunner, 2020). Finally, other research traditions may treat nationalism in relation to ethnocentric consumption differently than what is presented here.…”