Food for thought

Abstract

The alternative food systems in this research are created by engaged citizens and local entrepreneurs. These systems are based on values like solidarity and sustainability. The participants reject mere efficiency and profit oriented goals, which are often the base for the current capitalist supermarket food system. The entrepreneurs of the alternative food systems see efficiency and profit not as goals, but as tools to help them in creating a better world . The alternative food systems create a common goal which attracts engaged participants, as well as providing some ethical convenience for consumers. As these alternative systems leave the margins of society and gain more participants from different socio-economic backgrounds, they abandon the connotation of tree huggers , as one of the informants mentioned. It is this wider base of believers or participants, these non-tree huggers that seems to be essential for the continuation of the alternative system. This fundamental network is the basis for existence by creating goodwill, negotiating possibilities and a basic shared ideology. It is this dynamic and structure the ground for these alternative food systems which makes them intrinsically different from the current, mainstream, food system.