Geographies of Food
H1: Introduction
Food is fundamental geographic (production, distribution and consumption are
all connected to place, space and scale). A geographic perspective means:
- Spatial organization of food > Where is food produced, consumed etc.?
- Social, economic, political factors > Hoe does power influence markets?
- Relationship between human and environment > Hoe does climate change
influence sustainability etc.?
Keywords; relief, seasons, national identity
College 1: spatial and temporal makings of food health associations (created in
particular context by the social actors present in those given context, interacting
with the values that organize social life (religion, migration).
What do we mean by supply chain?
- All actors/steps from field to fork – linear, logistics concept
Geography of food as a commodity vs food as a human right. Food solidarity =
(sharing food).
Place: How specific locations shape food practices (spatial uniqueness)
Space: How food moves across spaces (from global chains to urban farming
initiatives)
Scale: How food manifest at multiple levels, from local markets to global trade
networks.
A food desert is an area > often urban, but also rural > where access to
affordable food is severely limited due the lack of supermarkets, limited
transportation options and socio economic barriers.
Food oases > opposite and it refers to areas where fresh and affordable food is
accessible > high density of supermarkets, strong presence of organic stores.
How food systems operate, who benefits and who is marginalized:
Food system: Interconnected system encompassing production, distribution,
consumption and waste management (inc. ecological, social and political
processes).
Food systems thinking has become central to understanding the complex
interdepencies and feedback loops that shape global food systems.
From local systems like community-based systems (commons), local division of
labour and specialization to a global system (disembedding) to food as a
commodity (production for the worldmarket). Distancing = disconnection
between local production and local consumption.
2 competing paradigms for thinking about food systems:
Productivism: Industrial farming, high-tech solutions
Sustainability paradigm: Agroecology, AFNs.
, David Harvery (1990) Geographical imagination. Helps us to understand the
dimensions of food. Knowing data and seeing maps is important, but how we
see them, embedded in their representations can only be understood through a
sensitivity to geography.
Lang & Heasman (2015): Food is war, between corporate – led intensification and
socially driven food sovereignty movements. Which paradigm should dominate?
What is a food chain? This is a linear model where food moves from producer to
consumer through production, processing, distribution, retail and consumption.
What is food network? This is a non-linear model that highlights interactions
and power dynamics between actors within food production and consumption.
What is food regime? A historical and political-economic framework regulating
food production and trade (colonial food regimes structured food trade from the
Global South to the Global North).
Marcelli-Joassart: Food regimes are established by the most powerful
actors such as nation states, lobbies to facilitate capital accumulation.
It is dynamic and evolve over time, a reflection and a underpinning of
the global economy and its hierarchies of power.
What is the concept of foodscapes?
This refers to geographical, social and culture landscapes of food. It includes
physical environment (where food is produced, sold and consumed). The socio-
cultural meanings of food > how food is associated with identity, tradition and
cultural narratives. And also inequalities in food access. Example: A high-end
organic market in Amsterdam represents a different foodscape than a fast-food
corridor in a low-income neighborhood in London.
Major transformations in the book:
Globalization:
- The food production has become increasingly globalized (longer supply chains,
intensive monocultures, mass trade). Supply chain > network of companies
involved by production, distribution of a product.
- Corporate concentration (large multinationals corporations like Nestle, Unilever
dominate food markets, influencing policies and consumer choices).
Sustainability:
- Environmental impact of food systems like deforestation and emissions.
- Sustainable alternatives > agroecology, slow food movements.
- Unequal environmental burdens > Global North > Global South
Food Justice
- Social inequalities in food access > Food insecurity coexists with
overconsumption in wealthier nations
- Food sovereignty > The right people to control their food systems
- AFN > Community – supported agriculture (CSA) like fair trade, urban farming
to industrial food chains.
H2: Food and place identity
H1: Introduction
Food is fundamental geographic (production, distribution and consumption are
all connected to place, space and scale). A geographic perspective means:
- Spatial organization of food > Where is food produced, consumed etc.?
- Social, economic, political factors > Hoe does power influence markets?
- Relationship between human and environment > Hoe does climate change
influence sustainability etc.?
Keywords; relief, seasons, national identity
College 1: spatial and temporal makings of food health associations (created in
particular context by the social actors present in those given context, interacting
with the values that organize social life (religion, migration).
What do we mean by supply chain?
- All actors/steps from field to fork – linear, logistics concept
Geography of food as a commodity vs food as a human right. Food solidarity =
(sharing food).
Place: How specific locations shape food practices (spatial uniqueness)
Space: How food moves across spaces (from global chains to urban farming
initiatives)
Scale: How food manifest at multiple levels, from local markets to global trade
networks.
A food desert is an area > often urban, but also rural > where access to
affordable food is severely limited due the lack of supermarkets, limited
transportation options and socio economic barriers.
Food oases > opposite and it refers to areas where fresh and affordable food is
accessible > high density of supermarkets, strong presence of organic stores.
How food systems operate, who benefits and who is marginalized:
Food system: Interconnected system encompassing production, distribution,
consumption and waste management (inc. ecological, social and political
processes).
Food systems thinking has become central to understanding the complex
interdepencies and feedback loops that shape global food systems.
From local systems like community-based systems (commons), local division of
labour and specialization to a global system (disembedding) to food as a
commodity (production for the worldmarket). Distancing = disconnection
between local production and local consumption.
2 competing paradigms for thinking about food systems:
Productivism: Industrial farming, high-tech solutions
Sustainability paradigm: Agroecology, AFNs.
, David Harvery (1990) Geographical imagination. Helps us to understand the
dimensions of food. Knowing data and seeing maps is important, but how we
see them, embedded in their representations can only be understood through a
sensitivity to geography.
Lang & Heasman (2015): Food is war, between corporate – led intensification and
socially driven food sovereignty movements. Which paradigm should dominate?
What is a food chain? This is a linear model where food moves from producer to
consumer through production, processing, distribution, retail and consumption.
What is food network? This is a non-linear model that highlights interactions
and power dynamics between actors within food production and consumption.
What is food regime? A historical and political-economic framework regulating
food production and trade (colonial food regimes structured food trade from the
Global South to the Global North).
Marcelli-Joassart: Food regimes are established by the most powerful
actors such as nation states, lobbies to facilitate capital accumulation.
It is dynamic and evolve over time, a reflection and a underpinning of
the global economy and its hierarchies of power.
What is the concept of foodscapes?
This refers to geographical, social and culture landscapes of food. It includes
physical environment (where food is produced, sold and consumed). The socio-
cultural meanings of food > how food is associated with identity, tradition and
cultural narratives. And also inequalities in food access. Example: A high-end
organic market in Amsterdam represents a different foodscape than a fast-food
corridor in a low-income neighborhood in London.
Major transformations in the book:
Globalization:
- The food production has become increasingly globalized (longer supply chains,
intensive monocultures, mass trade). Supply chain > network of companies
involved by production, distribution of a product.
- Corporate concentration (large multinationals corporations like Nestle, Unilever
dominate food markets, influencing policies and consumer choices).
Sustainability:
- Environmental impact of food systems like deforestation and emissions.
- Sustainable alternatives > agroecology, slow food movements.
- Unequal environmental burdens > Global North > Global South
Food Justice
- Social inequalities in food access > Food insecurity coexists with
overconsumption in wealthier nations
- Food sovereignty > The right people to control their food systems
- AFN > Community – supported agriculture (CSA) like fair trade, urban farming
to industrial food chains.
H2: Food and place identity
