Motivations, changes and challenges of participating in food-related social innovations and their transformative potential: three cases from Berlin (Germany)
Felix Zoll, Alexandra Harder, Lerato Nyaradzo Manatsa, Jonathan Friedrich
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Dominant agri-food systems are increasingly seen as unsustainable in terms of environmental degradation, mass production or high food waste. In an attempt to counteract these developments and foster sustainability transitions in agri-food systems, a variety of actors are engaging in socially innovative models of food production and consumption. Using a multiple case study approach, our study examines three contrasting alternative economic models in the city of Berlin: community gardens, the app Too Good To Go (TGTG), and a cooperative supermarket. Based on 15 qualitative interviews, we provide insights into their transformative potential by exploring participants' underlying motivations, the changes they have experienced, and the challenges and potential for future development of these models. We find that participation in community gardens and the cooperative supermarket is similarly motivated by social aspects and dissatisfaction with existing food access options, while TGTG users are more motivated by financial reasons. Our study shows that change is experienced mainly at the individual level, e.g. by building new relationships, changing cognitive framings, and learning (new) practices, especially in community-oriented settings. The individualization of change shows that these models have a rather low potential to lead to more systemic accounts of changes. Yet, they can prefigure regime change, describe resistance, and foster cumulative incremental change that may spill over into society. We conclude that in order to sustain this role and drive transitions, it is important to up- and outscale these models; and we provide recommendations on how these models can mutually support their development, establishment, and protection.
在环境退化、大规模生产或大量粮食浪费方面,占主导地位的农业粮食系统越来越被认为是不可持续的。为了抵消这些发展并促进农业粮食系统的可持续性转型,各种行动者正在参与粮食生产和消费的社会创新模式。采用多案例研究方法,我们的研究考察了柏林市三种截然不同的替代经济模式:社区花园、应用程序Too Good To Go (TGTG)和合作超市。基于15个定性访谈,我们通过探索参与者的潜在动机,他们所经历的变化,以及这些模型未来发展的挑战和潜力,来洞察他们的变革潜力。我们发现,参与社区菜园和合作超市的动机同样是出于社会方面和对现有食物获取选择的不满,而TGTG用户更多的是出于经济原因。我们的研究表明,变化主要发生在个人层面,例如,通过建立新的关系、改变认知框架和学习(新的)实践,特别是在面向社区的环境中。变化的个体化表明,这些模型具有相当低的潜力,无法导致对变化进行更系统的描述。然而,它们可以预示政权更迭,描述抵抗,并促进可能溢出到社会的累积增量变化。我们的结论是,为了维持这一角色并推动转型,重要的是要扩大和超越这些模型;我们就这些模型如何相互支持它们的发展、建立和保护提供了建议。
期刊介绍:
Agriculture and Human Values is the journal of the Agriculture, Food, and Human Values Society. The Journal, like the Society, is dedicated to an open and free discussion of the values that shape and the structures that underlie current and alternative visions of food and agricultural systems.
To this end the Journal publishes interdisciplinary research that critically examines the values, relationships, conflicts and contradictions within contemporary agricultural and food systems and that addresses the impact of agricultural and food related institutions, policies, and practices on human populations, the environment, democratic governance, and social equity.