Université catholique de Louvain Earth and Life Institute (ELI), Faculté des bioingénieurs Centre de Philosophie du Droit (CPDR), Faculté de droit 377 | 2017 How do people value food? College Thomas More, Place Montesquieu 2, of. 154, Louvain-la-Neuve, 1348, BELGIUM Tel: +32 (0) 496 375 208 Email: [email protected] Twitter: @JoseLViveroPol http://biogov.uclouvain.be/staff/vivero/jose-luis.html Pol LuisVivero Jose Food is a life enabler with multiple meanings. From the industrial revolution to date, those meanings have been superseded by its commodity dimension. In this research, the commodification of food is presented as a social construction, informed by academic theory, which shapes specific food policies and blocks other policies Systematic, heuristic and normative grounded in different valuations of food. This thesis seeks to trace the genealogy of the meaning making and policy implications of two food narratives, as a commodity approaches to narratives of and commons. It focuses on “Agents in Transition”, using discourse analysis and transition theory, plus three methodological approaches (systematic, heuristic and transition in food systems governance), including the combination of quantitative and qualitative tools. The first part includes a systematic approach to schools of thought plus a research on academic literature on commons and food narratives. Notwithstanding the different interpretations, the economists’ framing as private good and commodity has prevailed to date. This framing was rather ontological (“food is a commodity”) thus preventing other phenomenological meanings to unfold and become politically relevant. The second part adopts a heuristic approach with two case studies on how the narratives influence individual and relational agency in food systems in transition (food-related JOSE LUIS VIVERO POL professionals and food buying groups). Part three navigates the policy arena with a case study on how the absolute dominance of the tradeable dimension of food OCTOBRE 2017 in the US and EU political stance obscures other non-economic dimensions such food as a human need or human right. This part also contains a prospective chapter where different governing arrangements are proposed, with specific policy measures Thèse présentée en vue de l'obtention suggested. du grade de docteur en sciences agronomiques The normative theory of food as a commons rests upon its essentialness to humans, et ingénierie biologique the multiple dimensions of food, and the diversity of governing arrangements that have been set up across the world, now and before, to produce and consume food outside market mechanisms. Based on the “instituting power of commoning”, once the narrative is shifted, the governing mechanisms and legal frameworks will gradually be moulded to implement that vision. A regime based on food as a commons would construct an essentially democratic food system based on agro-ecology and emancipatory politics. Agricultural Engineer (University of Cordoba) with post-graduate courses on Development, Food and Nutrition Security, and Natural Resources Management. 20 years of experience in nutritional policies, anti-hunger programmes, right to food, systems food in transition of to narratives Approaches food? people value do How food sovereignty, rural livelihoods, industrial food systems, commons and biodiversity conservation, mostly in the Global South. Faculté des bioingénieurs Université catholique de Louvain UCL Université Catholique de Louvain Earth and Life Institute ‐ Faculty of Biological, Agricultural and Environmental Engineering How do people value food? Systematic, heuristic and normative approaches to narratives of transition in food systems Jose Luis Vivero Pol Thèse présentée en vue de l’obtention du grade de Docteur en sciences agronomiques et ingénierie biologique Membres du Jury President: Claude Bragard (UCL) Co‐promoteurs : Philippe Baret (UCL) Olivier de Schutter (UCL) Membres : Tom Dedeurwaerdere (UCL) Tessa Avermaete (KUL) Marnik Vanclooster (UCL) Louvain‐la‐Neuve, August 2017 2 “The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from old ones.” John Maynard Keynes (1883‐1946), British economist “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands, but in seeing with new eyes” Marcel Proust (1871‐1922), French writer 3 4 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Firstly, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my advisors Prof. Olivier de Schutter from the Centre of Philosphy of Law (CPDR) at the Faculty of Law, and Prof. Philippe Baret, dean of the Faculty of Bioengineers and researcher at the Earth and Life Institute (ELI), for the continuous support of my Ph.D career and the timely guidance on some key moments, when I was partially lost in this inter‐ disciplinary research off the beaten track. Actually, I greatly appreciate the freedom they gave me to explore unconventional ideas on the food and commons interactions with multiple means that combined statistical methodologies, a right to food approach, transition theory and discourse analysis. That freedom was always molded by their vigilant eyes and advices, in order to keep the research within academic standards, both for agricultural sciences and legal scholarly. In particular, Prof. Baret’s suggestions on methodological aspects and Prof. De Schutter’s remarks on conceptual discrepancies and incommensurability of vocabularies of commons were extremely helpful to keep my research in the right track. Having two advisors from two epistemic schools has proven to be a great platform to explore the food meanings from different angles. I would also like to thank Prof. Tom Dedeurwaerdere, coordinator of the research unit on Biodiversity Governance (BIOGOV) at CPDR and a third academic pillar in my research. While working with him in the BIOMOT project, I benefitted from his insights on commons governance, statistical methods and formal academic writing. Prof. Dedeurwaerede has been following closely my research, reading earlier versions of my drafts and providing useful comments. I am in debt to him because I wouldn’t have finished this thesis without his support. Besides my advisors, I would like to thank the other members of the jury Prof. Claude Bragard (ELI‐ UCL), Prof. Marnik Vanclooster (ELI‐UCL), and Prof. Tessa Avermaete (KU Leuven) for their insightful comments and the hard questions posed during the private defence, which definitely helped me to improve the final version of this manuscript. My sincere thanks also goes to Dr. Dr. Annica Sandström, Luleå University of Technology in Sweden, and Dr. Dr. Colin Sage, University College Cork in Ireland, who provided me an opportunity to join their teams as visiting fellow in 2015 and 2016, to learn methodologies and launch a new case study whose data are yet to be analised. Their different disciplines, political science and geography, undoubtedly enriched my inter‐disciplinary approach to the idea of food as a commons. Moreover, I would like to convey my appreciation to specific people that have wholeheartedly supported my research in the pursuit of a fairer and more sustainable food system. They have read some of the drafts texts, outreach publications or published materials, co‐writing some texts, discussing coming papers, and providing good insights and encouraging words. Their support has been quite important during the ‘lows’ that are inherent to every PhD period. They are Dr. Tomaso Ferrando, Dr. Pepe Esquinas, Dr. Geoffrey Cannon, Kattya Cascante, Dr. Ana Regina Segura, Jodi Koberinski, Michel Bauwens, Silke Helfrich, Dr. Jahi Chapell, Dr. Mourad Hanachi, and the teams behind the European Commons Assembly, the Peer‐to‐Peer Foundation and the International University College of Turin. 5 I will always keep wonderful memories of my BIOGOV and CPDR fellows for the stimulating discussions held in the monthly meetings and the corridors on food and non‐food related topics ranging from decolonisation policies to the incommensurability of scientific paradigms, including the meanings of critical science, the governance of common resources and the quality of beers in Belgium. I want to mention Dr. Florin Popa, Dr. Mathieu Guillermin, Dr. Christine Frison and Dr. Brendan Coolsaert, because I learned different things from them that were particularly useful during my thesis. A very special gratitude goes out to all the authors that accepted to contribute to the Routledge Handbook of Food as a Commons as well as to Tim hardwick the senior editor, because they also believe in the transformational power of this narrative and, presumably, share the idea that only through the re‐construction of food as a commons and public good we, humans, can achieve the Zero Hunger target, produce food within the reneweable capabilities of our planet and eat food that satisfies our palates, our health and our rights. I am also grateful to the following university staff, with whom I have shared hundreds of moments and who helped me out in different aspects of my thesis: Caroline Van Schendel, Sybille Descampe and Anne Liesse. Then I would like to acknowledge my parents and my sister for having nurtured my critical sense to analyse the goods and the bads of life, and for having showed me the pleasures of venturing in unexplored places. Marcel Proust’s phrase fits well with their teachings. And finally, last but by no means least, my deepest gratitude and love go to my eternal cheerleaders at home, Carmen and Jimena, for providing me with unfailing emotional support and continuous encouragement