Exploring the Politics of Possibility [review of Alternative Food Networks: Knowledge, Practice and Politics]

Abstract

First paragraphs:

After 40-plus years of visioning and planning, are the basic tenets of the food movements, such as reconfiguration of capitalist society, relocalization, social justice, and sustainability, still credible? Further, will more progress be made if we critically outline the failings of activist projects and force a reckoning, or should more purchase be given to highlighting socially progressive efforts created by food movements as a way to stimulate momentum? These are the questions I ponder into the wee hours of the night. These are the questions my monthly sustainable foods community of practice salons chew on. These are the questions Goodman, Dupuis, and Goodman ask. Perhaps these questions resonate with you.

It was with great anticipation that I bought Alternative Food Networks: Knowledge, Practice and Politics as soon as it was released in paperback (2013). David Goodman, E. Melanie Dupuis, and Michael Goodman are noted agri-food systems scholars with a penchant for pushing the lines of inquiry toward increasingly substantive discourse and for clarifying the murkiness of relatively neglected aspects of the food system. I fully expected to find a book striking a balance between critical evaluation and constructive analysis—and I was not disappointed...