Local Foodscapes: Place and Power in the Agri-Food System

This article summarizes a decade of research engagement with local food systems, highlighting some key changes in the scholarly perception of their nature and potential. Based on a synthesis of case studies from different countries, the article identifies three key stages that have shaped the research agenda on food re-localizations: (1) an early enthusiasm for the potential of local food networks, which were deemed to embody the environmental and socio-economic objectives of sustainable development; (2) a growing awareness of the fragility of these initiatives, which was followed by the emergence of a powerful critique known as ‘the local trap’; and (3) the recent re-scaling of food policy at the local level, where cities are taking the lead in responding to the current food insecurity crisis. As the article concludes, there is a new research agenda emerging around the role of the multi-level state, the planning system and sustainability research in scaling up and out these governance innovations