The three contributions in this symposium consist of international comparisons of CSA-style partnerships in Austria, France and Japan. They address a set of social, cultural, economic features characterizing the emergence of these CSAs and the way they consolidate alternative agri-food networks in urban, suburban and rural areas in distinct national contexts. The aim of this collection of papers is neither to produce a simple inventory of the genesis and growth of these movements, nor to expose an over deterministic and laudatory version of the emergence of these social responsibility partnerships. Rather, the purpose is to bring together three distinct scopes of research attesting the need of social science to develop new perspectives regarding local food system studies. CSAs show cross-cultural adaptations in matters of sustainability standards such as responsible consumption, civic agriculture, sustainable food procurement and environmental preservation.
The contributors provide a diversity of scientific debates in matters of food system organization and highlight the nature of commitment existing between responsible consumers and farmers. In summary:
Markus Schermer focuses upon the characteristics of the historical and socio-economic contexts of consumer producer relations in Austria. Schermer shows how the late 1970 so-called “Austrian third food regime,” backed by agricultural modernization, led to alternative food production and consumption approaches. Furthermore, Schermer also questions the commodification impact on organic food of Austria’s EU-accession. He depicts how new forms of consumer–producer alliances emerged in the last decade in Austria and applies the frameworks of the sociology of translation (Latour 1987) to follow and analyse their transformations until today. Finally, he describes the evolution of alternative food sector consumer–producer relations and their forms of cooperation into the context of wider societal changes;
Jean Lagane’s contribution, supported by a 3-year ethnographical fieldwork, shows that “no two CSAs are alike” (Henderson 2003). Student-community led projects of AMAP reflect different needs, talents and resources in Aix-Marseille. Lagane describes how students, supported by Student Unions, organized themselves in order to deliver sustainable, healthy, cost saving and seasonal foods. Student actions help to instutionnalize local organic food supply.
Kazumi Kondoh explains how, during the period of post-war Japan, State agricultural reforms that produced severe environmental pollution encouraged women to take the lead of early CSAs. These actions became known as “Teikei” or trust-based partnerships of healthy food procurement between farmers and groups of urban consumers. The emergence of the teikei alternative food supply chains also conveyed features of “food decommodification” (Hinrichs 2000) and helped promote ethical concern for land and the global environment.
This international collection of papers about CSA studies indicates that the processes of commodification/decommodification of organic food may vary according to distinct national socio-economic contexts. Papers stress the resistance of alternative food networks against the globalization of food production and consumption (“food from nowhere”) and their initiatives to enhance responsible consumption. By focusing on food relocation (“food from here”), these studies may in this way favor new perspectives to analyze local food networks and their active forms of cooperation between rural and urban communities. They underscore the necessity to rely on social scientist to get some further insights about urban ecological transition and resident participation in such a process. Scholars emphasize the necessity to focus studies on ethics and solidarity of consumer–producer relations that may transform the food system.