Argument

The literature on local foods has been consolidated through a wealth of studies that appeared in recent years (Fonte and Papadopoulos, 2010; Kneafsey et al, 2008 among many others). Have we reached a cul-de-sac in what local food studies concern? What new contributions can local food studies bring forward for a better understanding of the challenges of a new rural world?

This session aims at exploring fresh ways of conceptually and empirically examining local foods by privileging attention to the following aspects: historical biographies of local foods and its cycles of commodification and decommodification; future challenges of constructing and valuing local foods in a scenario post-CAP 2013, exposed to increasing resource scarcity (water, land, biodiversity loss) and an emergent geopolitical global food governance; power and knowledge spillover dynamics in the construction of local foodscapes; consumers‘ and producers‘ creative, aesthetic, visceral, ethic, political and social engagements with local foods.

Submissions

Please address any questions about this session to Monica Truninger : monica.truninger@ics.ul.pt and Dulce Freire : dulce.freire@ics.ul.pt.

Please submit a brief abstract (150 words) online : http://irsa2012.com/event/irsa-2012/proposals/

by 15 January 2012

Please indicate that you are submitting your paper to Session 42 (Unsettling the local). Note that only online submissions will be accepted.