Bridging sustainability and the social economy: Achieving community transformation through local food initiatives

Abstract

Sustainability and the social economy are two approaches that provide critiques of mainstream economic growth based on the failure to integrate environmental and social concerns. This article explores the potential for community transformation by bridging these two approaches — bringing more environmental considerations into the social economy and using the social economy to advance equity concerns within sustainability. We examine this potential through local food initiatives in two Canadian cities that are striving to create a synthesis of social and environmental objectives to achieve structural change in the way that food is produced, accessed and consumed. Both projects are founded on commitments to sustainable community development and social justice. While the initiatives illustrate the potential for community transformation by integrating sustainability and the social economy, they also illustrate the challenges associated with an incremental approach to change in the context of competition with mainstream economic activities that are heavily subsidized and do not account for negative social, economic and environmental externalities.

Principles Guiding Practice: A Case Study Analysis of the Principles of Sustainable Agriculture for Diverse Farms

“…There is growing emphasis on the relationships between social justice and sustainable agriculture and how the objectives associated with each can be complementary (Ayres & Bosia, 2011;Connelly, Markey & Roseland, 2011;Hernandez & Pressler, 2013;Johnston, 2008;Mandell, 2009;Masters, Krogstrand, Eskridge, & Albrecht, 2014;MinkoffZern, 2014). At a more regional level, concerns about the potential for the local and organic food movement to increase social divisions through unequal access to venues like farmers' markets have grown (Agyeman, 2005;Alkon, 2008Alkon, , 2013Deutsch, 2011).…”

Grassroots Initiatives as Sustainability Transition Pioneers: Implications and Lessons for Urban Food Systems

“…Grassroots initiatives are groups of people trying to create solutions to challenges as they see them, adhering to criteria that diverge from mainstream institutions and practically expressing core social values [37,38,49,55,56]. Often, they challenge the status quo and promote new forms of organizing social and economic life as well as alternative systems of provision, such as local food systems [19,20,22,28,37,49,56].…”

Building Resilience in Nonprofit Food Hubs

“…The social economy, which refers to organizations such as cooperatives, nonprofit organizations, and charities, has been used to advance equity concerns regarding access to local food, but not without challenges. One particular challenge is competition with mainstream economic activities that do not always account for negative social, economic, and environmental externalities (Connelly, Markey, & Roseland, 2011). Despite such challenges, the social economy can provide an alternative model to reconnect communities with their resource base, which can enhance community resilience (Sonnino & GriggsTrevarthen, 2013).…”