Food Systems as Assemblages

Abstract

This chapter suggests a further step in the development of a representation capable to grasp food systems' complexity. Food systems are neither fully consistent structures resulting from an overall planning, nor stable along time. The transition towards more sustainable and less vulnerable food systems capable to pursue food and nutrition security (FNS) goals in a changing environment needs organizing the diversity of food models that coexist within a territory. These models are based on different conventions and configurations (Fournier & Touzard, 2014; Reardon & Timmer, 2012) which involve different actors and evolve over time according to their changing needs, objectives and capabilities. Understanding this picture requires a shift from a systemic to an ‘assemblage’ approach (DeLanda, 2006), where actors engage themselves in different configurations, on the base of their different agendas. The assemblage approach also shows that linked components retain their autonomy, as attachment to one assemblage normally does not imply total involvement in it. As a consequence, this approach provides space to analyze actors making part of more than one assemblage. Four levels at which assemblage processes can occur are identified in the chapter: assemblages around a firm, a function, a town or a region. It is within these assemblages that the activity of small players and their contribution to sustainable FNS can be effectively identified and possibly promoted.

Citation

Brunori, G., Galli, F. and Grando, S. (2020), "Food Systems as Assemblages", Brunori, G. and Grando, S. (Ed.) Innovation for Sustainability (Research in Rural Sociology and Development, Vol. 25), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 107-121. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1057-192220200000025007