Abstract
In the last 2 decades, the literature has documented the upsurge of community-driven processes of consumer-producer cooperation, which are alternative to the dominant food system. These organizational arrangements have been conceptualized differently, witnessing the growing importance of local communities in generating place-based solutions to the demand for organic, local, and sustainable food. Relying on a practice theory approach, this article delves into two key inquiries: first, what motivates individuals to become part of Civic Food Networks (CFNs) and how does this influence the variety of food entering their households? And second, how does participation in a CFN impact people’s daily food practices, with a particular focus on diet diversification? We employ the term “civic food networks (CFN)” to underscore the significance of grassroots initiatives in the broader context of local food policies. This term also highlights the connections to other movements known for their potential for transformation, such as the solidarity economy, transition towns, and de-growth movements. Our analysis draws on a comprehensive qualitative approach, which includes participant observation, in-depth interviews, and a focus group involving members of the CSA Naturalmente in Trentino, situated in the North-Eastern part of Italy. The findings reveal that altering dietary habits poses various challenges both at the individual and institutional levels. This process involves the stabilization of ingrained habits, adjustments to daily routines, and the reinforcement of shared norms. Furthermore, it underscores the critical role of food policies in promoting sustainable eating practices.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bos, E., and L. Owen. 2016. Virtual reconnection: The online spaces of alternative food networks in England. Journal of Rural Studies 45: 1–1.
Brunori, G., A. Rossi, and F. Guidi. 2012. On the new social relations around and beyond food. Analysing consumers’ role and action in Gruppi di Acquisto Solidale (Solidarity Purchasing Groups). Sociologia ruralis 52 (1): 1–3.
Castelo, A.F., M. Schäfer, and M.E. Silva. 2021. Food practices as part of daily routines: A conceptual framework for analysing networks of practices. Appetite 157: 104978.
Chiffoleau, Y., and T. Dourian. 2020. Sustainable food supply chains: is shortening the answer? A literature review for a research and innovation agenda. Sustainability 12: 9831.
Cretella, A. 2016. Urban food strategies exploring definitions and diffusion of European cities’ latest policy trend, metropolitan ruralities (research in rural sociology and development, Vol. 23), 303–323. Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Cucco, I., & Fonte, M. (2015). Local food and civic food networks as a real utopias project. Socio. hu, 22-36
Dal Gobbo, A., F. Forno, and N. Magnani. 2022. Making “good food” more practicable? The reconfiguration of alternative food provisioning in the online world. Sustainable Production and Consumption 29: 862–871.
Fonte, M. 2013. Food consumption as social practice: Solidarity purchasing groups in Rome, Italy. Journal of Rural Studies 32: 230–239.
Forno, F., C. Grasseni, and S. Signori. 2015. Italy’s solidarity purchase groups as ‘citizenship labs.’ In Putting sustainability into practice: Advances and applications of social practice theories, 67–88. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Fuchs, D., M. Sahakian, T. Gumbert, A. Di Giulio, M. Maniates, S. Lorek, and A. Graf. 2021. Consumption corridors: Living a good life within sustainable limits. London: Routledge.
Fuentes, C., and E. Samsioe. 2020. Devising food consumption: Complex households and the socio-material work of meal box schemes. Consumption Markets and Culture 24 (5): 492–511.
Giambartolomei, G., F. Forno, and C. Sage. 2021. How food policies emerge: The pivotal role of policy entrepreneurs as brokers and bridges of people and ideas. Food Policy 103: 1–10.
Gioia, D.A., K.G. Corley, and A.L. Hamilton. 2013. Seeking qualitative rigor in inductive research: Notes on the Gioia methodology. Organizational Research Methods 16 (1): 15–31.
Giovannini, M., and F. Forno. 2023. Doing transdisciplinary action research: A critical assessment of an Italian lab-like sustainable food initiative. The Journal of Entrepreneurial and Organizational Diversity 12 (1): 75–84.
Goodman, D. 2004. Rural Europe redux: Reflections on alternative agro-food networks and paradigm change. Sociologia Ruralis 44 (1): 3–16.
Goodman, D., E.M. DuPuis, and M.K. Goodman. 2012. Alternative food networks: Knowledge, practice, and politics. Routledge.
Grasseni, C. 2014. Seeds of trust. Italy’s gruppi di acquisto solidale (solidarity purchase groups). Journal of Political Ecology 21 (1): 178–192.
Guzmán, G.I., D. López, L. Román, and A.M. Alonso. 2013. Participatory action research in agroecology: Building local organic food networks in Spain. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems 37 (1): 127–146.
Jaklin, U., S. Kummer, and R. Milestad. 2015. “Why do farmers collaborate with a food cooperative? Reasons for participation in a civic food network in Vienna, Austria.” The International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food 22 (1): 41–46.
Jaeger-Erben, M., and U. Offenberger. 2014. A practice theory approach to sustainable consumption. GAIA-Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society 23 (3): 166–174.
Johnston, J.L., J.C. Fanzo, and B. Cogill. 2014. Understanding sustainable diets: A descriptive analysis of the determinants and processes that influence diets and their impact on health, food security, and environmental sustainability. Advances in Nutrition 5 (4): 418–429.
Kopczynska, E. 2020. Are there local versions of sustainability? Food Networks in the Semi-Periphery. Sustainability 12: 2845.
Matacena, R. 2016. Linking alternative food networks and urban food policy: A step forward in the transition towards a sustainable and equitable food system. International Review of Social Research 6 (1): 49–58.
Michel-Villarreal, R., M. Hingley, M. Canavari, and I. Bregoli. 2019. Sustainability in alternative food networks: A systematic literature review. Sustainability 11 (3): 859.
Moragues, A., Morgan, K., Moschitz, H., Neimane, I., Nilsson, H., Pinto, M., Rohracher,H., Ruiz, R., Thuswald, M., Tisenkopfs, T. and Halliday, J. 2013. Urban food strategies: The rough guide to sustainable food systems. Document developed in the framework of the FP7 project FOODLINKS (GA No. 265287).
Ostrom, M.R. 2007. Community supported agriculture as an agent of change: Is it working? In Remaking the North American food system: Strategies for sustainability, ed. C. Hinrichs and T.A. Lyson, 99–120. Lincoln, NB: University of Nebraska Press.
Parekh and Klintman. 2021. The practice approach in practice: Lessons for civil society organizations (CSOs) that work towards sustainable food consumption in Sweden. Sustainable Production and Consumption 26: 480–492.
Pole, A., and M. Gray. 2013. Farming alone? What’s up with the “C” in community supported agriculture. Agriculture and Human Values 30: 85–100.
Reckwitz, A. 2002. Toward a theory of social practices: A development in culturalist theorizing. European Journal of Social Theory 5 (2): 243–263.
Renting, H., T.K. Marsden, and J. Banks. 2003. Understanding alternative food networks: Exploring the role of short food supply chains in rural development. Environment and Planning A 35 (3): 393–411.
Renting, H., M. Schermer, and A. Rossi. 2012. Building food democracy: Exploring civic food networks and newly emerging forms of food citizenship. The International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food 19 (3): 289–307.
Sage, C. 2003. Social embeddedness and relations of regard: Alternative ‘good food’ networks in south-west Ireland. Journal of Rural Studies 19 (1): 47–60.
Sahakian, M., and H. Wilhite. 2014. Making practice theory practicable: Towards more sustainable forms of consumption. Journal of Consumer Culture 14 (1): 25–44.
Schatzki, T.R. 1996. Social practices: A Wittgensteinian approach to human activity and the social. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Shove, E., M. Pantzar, and M. Watson. 2012. The dynamics of social practice: Everyday life and how it changes. Thousand Oaks: SAGE.
Smith, J., and P. Jehlicka. 2013. Quiet sustainability: Fertile lessons from Europe’s productive gardeners. Journal of Rural Studies 32: 148–157.
Tregear, A. 2011. Progressing knowledge in alternative and local food networks: Critical reflections and a research agenda. Journal of Rural Studies 27 (4): 419–430.
Veen, E. J. and D’Amico, S. (2019). Practices of food provisioning in alternative food networks: How different practitioners engage in different practices, depending on their emotional energy. The International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food, 25(1).
Warde, A. 2005. Consumption and theories of practice. Journal of Consumer Culture 5 (2): 131–153.
Warde, A. 2013. What sort of a practice is eating? In sustainable practices, 17–29. London: Routledge.
Warde, A. 2016. The practice of eating. Hoboken: Wiley.
World Health Organization, 2021. The coalition of action on healthy diets from sustainable food systems for children and all (HDSFS). Available at: https://www.who.int/initiatives/food-systems-for-health/the-coalition-of-action-on-healthy-diets-from-sustainable-food-systems-for-children-and-all (accessed January 2023).
Zwart, T.A., and E. Mathijs. 2020. Exploring emergent practices in alternative food networks: Voedselteams in Belgium. Journal of Rural Studies 80: 586–594.
Funding
Funding was provided by H2020 Food.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Giovannini, M., Forno, F. & Magnani, N. Practicing sustainable eating: zooming in a civic food network. Agric Hum Values (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-023-10526-3
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-023-10526-3