Growing local food: scale and local food systems governance |
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Authors: | Phil Mount |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Geography, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada |
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Abstract: | “Scaling-up” is the next hurdle facing the local food movement. In order to effect broader systemic impacts, local food systems
(LFS) will have to grow, and engage either more or larger consumers and producers. Encouraging the involvement of mid-sized
farms looks to be an elegant solution, by broadening the accessibility of local food while providing alternative revenue streams
for troubled family farms. Logistical, structural and regulatory barriers to increased scale in LFS are well known. Less is
understood about the way in which scale developments affect the perception and legitimacy of LFS. This value-added opportunity
begs the question: Is the value that adheres to local food scalable? Many familiar with local food discourse might suggest
that important pieces of added value within LFS are generated by the reconnection of producer and consumer, the direct exchange
through which this occurs, and the shared goals and values that provide the basis for reconnection. However, these assertions
are based on tenuous assumptions about how interactions within the direct exchange produce value, and how LFS are governed.
Examination shows that existing assumptions do not properly acknowledge the hybridity, diversity, and flexibility inherent
in LFS. A clear analysis of the potential of scale in LFS will depend on understanding both how value is determined within
LFS, and the processes through which these systems are governed. Such an analysis shows that, while scaled-up LFS will be
challenged to maintain legitimacy and an identity as “alternative”, the establishment of an open governance process—based
on a “negotiation of accommodations”—is likely to enhance their viability. |
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