Premium
Agroecology, Supply Chains, and COVID‐19: Lessons on Food System Transitions from Ecuador
Author(s) -
Lyall Angus,
Vallejo Fernanda,
ColloredoMansfeld Rudi,
Havice Elizabeth
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
culture, agriculture, food and environment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.308
H-Index - 12
eISSN - 2153-9561
pISSN - 2153-9553
DOI - 10.1111/cuag.12278
Subject(s) - agroecology , government (linguistics) , consumption (sociology) , food systems , middle class , business , geography , food security , economic growth , political science , agriculture , economics , sociology , social science , law , philosophy , linguistics , archaeology
In cities, agroecological food consumption is often identified as an exclusive, middle‐class practice. In this article, we examine changes in agroecological food circuits in urban Ecuador, amid COVID‐19 breakdowns in conventional food systems. Through interviews with farmers, government officials, and NGO workers in 2020 and 2021, our research identifies three sets of experiences with distinct implications for agroecological transitions. First, some agroecological circuits could no longer function due to regulations on food circulation that favored the corporate food sector. Second, some circuits temporarily expanded to reach more urban middle‐class consumers, using online platforms and government infrastructures. Third, urban collectives and neighborhood organizations re‐appropriated urban spaces – from cultural centers to city streets – to facilitate the circulation of agroecological foods in low‐income sectors. We highlight the spatial and social ‘re‐localization’ practices of these urban groups that challenge the hegemony of conventional food circuits, as they drive agroecological food consumption beyond the middle‐class.