FACULTY OF SUSTAINABILITY
December 2017
From the Niche Cuisine to the Mainstream Kitchen? A Communication Perspective on Local Food Systems Problem The research focuses on the barrier between existing local food systems, presenting a sustainable alternative to the conventional industrial agro-food complex, and people not partaking in these alternative solutions for food consumption.
October 2017 In what way are local food systems evaluated as sustainable? Systematic literature review
March 2018 How are local food organizations connected with identity and communication and how can these relationships be systematized?
State of the Art This project explores a way of engaging with food characterised as local systems of food provision and patterns of food consumption from a sociological perspective. As an alternative to the conventional industrial agro-food complex they are considered an important part of transformation to sustainability on regional level (Seyfang 2006; Maye 2007). Despite recent advancements and growing interest, there is a need for more research in particular with respect to generating context-specific knowledge of ‘‘regional needs and conditions’’ (Kneafsey 2010: 187) and the transformation processes towards more sustainable food consumption (Hinrichs 2014). Communication plays a critical role in this and serves here as an entry point to local food systems. This research will take the tenet "Food creates Identity" as guiding principle (Fischler 1998; Bisogni et al. 2002; Almerico 2014) connecting it with communication to apply a novel lens on local food systems.
Conceptual analysis with systematic literature review
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September 2018 Which identities are created via local food organizations and how do these relate to their communication? What framing is applied in the communication of local food organizations and what effects does this have? Multi-level-case-study consisting of interviews, observation and discourse analysis (Potentially comparative case-study)
November 2019 How does an intentional communication of local food organizations look like in order to effectively support transformation for sustainability?
Objective The research explores in what way local food systems are sustainable. Further the connection between the specific food identities of food systems and their communication will be investigated. The objective is to create an understanding of how intentional communication of local food organizations can look like to effectively enhance transformation for sustainability.
Intervention study
October 2020 References Almerico, G. M. (2014) Food and identity: Food studies, cultural, and personal identity, Journal of International Business and Cultural Studies, 8(1) : 1-7. Bisogni, C. A. et al. (2002) Who we are and how we eat: a qualitative study of identities in food choice, Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 34(3): 128-139. Fischler, C. (1988) Food, self and identity, Information: International Social Science Council 27(2): 275-292. Hinrichs, C.C. (2014) Transitions to sustainability: a change in thinking about food systems change?, Agriculture and Human Values, 31 (1): 143–155. Kneafsey, M. (2010) The region in food—important or irrelevant?, Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 3(2): 177–190. Maye, D. (2007) Moving Alternative Food Networks beyond the Niche, International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food, 20(3): 383–389. Seyfang, G. (2006) Ecological citizenship and sustainable consumption: Examining local organic food networks, Journal of Rural Studies, 22(4): 383-395.
The research group “Processes of Sustainability Transformation” is a cooperation between Leuphana University of Lüneburg and
Karoline Pöggel
[email protected] Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Daniel Fischer
[email protected]
www.processes-of-sustainability-transformation.org
