Shaping and struggling with food democracy: a study of Dutch Food Concils
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2025-09-02
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en
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Across the world, food systems face growing inequality, ecological harm, and a loss of public control. Many describe these problems as symptoms of the corporate food regime, where global trade and industrialized agriculture concentrate power in few hands. In response, the idea of food democracy has emerged: people should have meaningful opportunities to shape the food systems they depend on. Yet food democracy is far from simple. Critics warn of its ambiguity and the risk of becoming empty rhetoric, especially for food councils – its practical embodiments. This thesis explores what food democracy means in practice, focusing on Dutch food councils. Drawing on qualitative case studies of Amsterdam, Ede, The Hague, Haarlem, and Rotterdam, the research combines interviews and observations to examine participation, knowledge, the role of the state, and systemic change. The results show that councils rarely fit neatly into one model. Liberal approaches can be effective but risk exclusivity; deliberative ones foster inclusion but may lose momentum; hybrids balance tensions but demand reflection. Food democracy unfolds as a messy, uneven process shaped by institutions and everyday struggles. Its value lies not only in outcomes but in sustaining collective agency and keeping democratic possibilities alive within the food system.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen