Food systems, transformation, and politics

This paper argues agri-food scholars need to engage more critically with conceptualisations of food systems and politics of transformation, given current debates about food system sustainability, climate change, planetary boundaries, resilience and well-being, alongside new politics, social movements and forms of protest that disrupt established ways of deliberating, agreeing and enacting social change. As food systems exceed established ‘thresholds’, transformative change is needed. However, de- and re-politicisation, oscillating from post-political to new modes of hyper-politics, challenge not only food system knowledge production, but also the socio-material actions needed to enact food system transformation pathways at scale. Against this context, the paper summarises the contribution the Special Section makes to food system transformation politics, highlighting a ‘politics of knowledge’, ‘politics of transformation’ and ‘politics of feeling’ nexus of relations. We conclude by calling for further research on food-politics relations given their role in determining whether we achieve or not the food system changes necessary for the health of people and the planet.