Democratic spaces and local governance: How to collectively organize changes in the food system?

Transforming food systems is a major challenge for our society, calling for better development, coordination and dissemination of agrifood innovations. Our study focuses on the way in which territorial actors take up this challenge through the prism of local food governance. Inspired by the notion of hybrid forum proposed by Callon and based on the case study of a Territorial Food Project (TFP), this article focuses on the collective dynamics and democratic process that promote the emergence and functioning of TFP. The results describe the creation of multiple complementary spaces with efforts at neutrality and openness, while highlighting the risks of gaps between the spaces and the lack of procedures that weaken the initial process. The study helps to identify key characteristics of these democratic processes and provides points of vigilance for the implementation.
JEL Codes: O35, Q18