The writings of Erik Gustaf Geijer allow us to distinguish between two modes of thought in representations of scarcity: the idealization of scarcity as the “simple life” and its problematization in discourses on poverty.
The contributions in this volume of RCC Perspectives address ways in which scarcity (and abundance) have been represented aesthetically and exploited politically in very different contexts.
Content
Daniel Philippon looks at local food and how it coincides with Slow Food, given that Slow Food constitutes both a distinctive articulation of the local food movement and the closest thing to an institutional embodiment of that movement as we are likely to find.
By bringing people together in collective gardening initiatives aimed at utilizing public space for the enjoyment of nature and the production of food, urban gardeners actively take part in local political decision-making processes.
Although simply reducing food miles does not guarantee a more sustainable diet, choosing to participate in alternative local food systems instead of the conventional food system is a sure way to increase your access to environmentally friendly food and to support more ecologically sustainable agricultural practices.
This photo essay looks at how a forgotten local food—the berry-producing Manzanita shrub of northern California—has begun to make its way back into the diets of the local community.
Short food chains not only create a sense of community and of “living together” by building trust and social bonds, they also generate jobs and strengthen local economies. Yet despite these social and economic benefits, local food systems are threatened by transnational corporations gaining monopoly control over different links of the food chain and the modernist development agenda that encourages jobs in sectors other than food production.
Why do people want to eat locally? This essay considers the drive for local food as a consumer movement in the United States, suggesting that we can look at the past to learn valuable lessons for challenges we face today.
Looks at the relations between “man and the land” through the lens of part-time farming in Italy and China.
This volume of RCC Perspectives offers insights into the motivations, benefits, and limitations of local food systems. It aims to shed light on the complexity of the debate while remaining unified by a single message: that where our food comes from and how it is produced matters.
Content
