Foodscapes of Hope: The Foundational Economy of Food

Abstract

This chapter argues that food studies needs to transition from moral economy as ethical critique to foundational economy as political practice because the latter can translate the values of the former into the policies and practices that are necessary to render the food system more socially and ecologically sustainable. It offers an empirical example by showing that a foundational economy of food can be fashioned through initiatives like the Food for Life programme, one of the most ambitious food system reform programmes in Europe, a programme that began as a school food reform scheme predicated on concerted action on the part of municipalities, civil society intermediaries and local communities.