Spaces of difference, spaces of possibility? An exploration of Alternative Food Networks (AFNs) in the austerity foodscape of the United Kingdom Jonathan David Beacham This thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology September 2018 Department of Sociology Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Lancaster University Abstract The primary, original contribution to knowledge of this thesis lies in understanding Alternative Food Networks (AFNs) as central in the ongoing reconfiguration of ‘civil society’ in the enduring period of austerity following the 2007-8 global financial crisis. Drawing on a qualitative research study in Lancashire, I show how the conceptual ‘austerity foodscape’ of the United Kingdom that has developed following the financial crisis plays host to complex geographies of food, with organisations within AFNs positioned in relation to capitalist political economy, as well as the interrelated entrenchment of austerity, in diverse ways. The theoretical framework underpinning this thesis therefore draws primarily on the diverse economies approach of J.K. Gibson- Graham (2006b; 2006a), developing a productive dialogue with Marxian ‘food regime’ theory (see, notably, Friedmann and McMichael, 1989). Whilst these two approaches have often shared little in terms of dialogue, I suggest that taken together they help us to make sense of the varied aims of AFNs. As attempts to ‘do’ food differently (Dowler et al., 2010) when contrasted against the mainstream, many accounts continue to narrowly interpret AFNs, painting them simply as oppositional and reactive against hegemonic political-economic structures. A more contextually-aware interpretation (following Calvário and Kallis, 2017) helps us to understand the ways in which AFNs are not merely ‘against’ capitalism and/or austerity, but themselves generative of diverse economic logics and practices, altering wider relationships to food. These are theoretical and empirical gaps that, both within the United Kingdom context and AFN research more broadly, remain underexplored. Given these complex geographies, I argue that whilst some organisations within AFNs have been conditioned by austerity, they retain a generative capacity. Consequently, I broaden the understanding of ‘alternative’ to capture a wide range of food provisioning models that have proliferated from within ‘civil society’ post-2008, most notably in practices of food banking and food waste initiatives. I argue that this broader conceptualisation of alternatives within a contextually-aware analysis reveals the powerful role that AFNs can play in articulating more positive relationships to food, and with it wider reconfigurations of both civil society and the foodscape beyond the austere here-and-now. Keywords food, austerity, food regimes, Alternative Food Networks, civil society, diverse economies, feminist economic geography, political economy, sociology of consumption Thesis word count 85,677 i Note I declare that this thesis is my own work, and has not been submitted in substantially the same form for the award of a higher degree elsewhere. In accordance with section PR 2.7.2 of the Manual of Academic Regulations and Procedures (MARP) of Lancaster University, please note that themes and sections of Chapter Four and Five have been published as: Beacham, J. 2018. Organising food differently: towards a more-than-human ethics of care for the Anthropocene. Organization. 25(4),pp.533–549. Martindale, L., Matacena, R. and Beacham, J. 2018. Varieties of Alterity: Alternative Food Networks in the UK, Italy and China. Sociologia Urbana e Rurale. 115(S1),pp.27–41. ii Table of contents Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................... 1 List of figures ................................................................................................................ 2 List of tables.................................................................................................................. 3 Chapter One: Introduction: thinking about how we ‘do’ food, austerity, and the contributions of the thesis ........................................................................................... 4 The historical legacies of this research ................................................................... 9 Why think about AFNs sociologically? ................................................................ 12 Where next, and why? The structure of the thesis ............................................. 15 Chapter Two: Conceptualising AFNs in the austerity foodscape: continuities, ruptures and transformations ................................................................................... 21 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 21 Tracing today’s food regime… and the rise of ‘alternatives’ ............................ 23 Regulation theory, food regimes and the emergence of the first ......................... 23 The second regime in a post-1945 context .......................................................... 26 The development of the third regime ................................................................... 31 Making sense of varieties of alterity in AFNs ...................................................... 36 From alternatives to AFNs: the primacy of the network ..................................... 41 (Post-)productivism, the ‘quality turn’ and the politics of scale .......................... 44 Thinking economy differently ............................................................................. 47 The task of tracing alternatives ............................................................................ 53 Conceptualising the austerity foodscape of the United Kingdom ..................... 54 What is austerity? ................................................................................................. 55 Situating civil society ........................................................................................... 61 Situating civil society within the austerity foodscape of the United Kingdom ... 64 Chapter conclusion ................................................................................................ 69 Chapter Three: Research design and methodology ................................................ 71 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 71 Developing the research approach and methodological implications ............... 72 Outlining the research methods ............................................................................ 74 Semi-structured interviews .................................................................................. 74 Methodological approach ............................................................................................ 74 Piloting the study ......................................................................................................... 76 Access, sampling and gatekeepers ............................................................................... 79 Interviews as fieldwork ................................................................................................ 81 Ethical issues ................................................................................................................ 82 Photographic food diaries and follow-up interviews ........................................... 85 Methodological approach and the pilot study .............................................................. 85 The perils and joys of co-production in research ......................................................... 87 Ethical issues ................................................................................................................ 90 Ethnography ......................................................................................................... 91 Methodological approach ............................................................................................ 91 Ethical issues ................................................................................................................ 94 Focus groups ........................................................................................................ 96 Methodological approach and pilot study .................................................................... 96 iii The method that was not to be ................................................................................... 100 Making sense with multiple methods ................................................................. 102 Outlining the research participants and organisations .................................... 104 Small-scale producers, retailers and co-operatives ............................................ 106 Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) schemes .......................................... 106 Alternative and ‘local’ food promoters and campaigners .................................. 107 Food banks and food waste initiatives ............................................................... 108 Chapter Four: Producing worlds of difference: considering the diverse practices of alternative food production in the austerity foodscape .................................... 109 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 109