Cultivating biosensitivity - an exploration of practice change prompted by solidarity-based food systems in Australia

Abstract

Humanity is facing multiple complex challenges that undermine our ability to live well now and into the future. Many of these challenges--climate change, biodiversity loss, soil degradation, increasing social inequity--relate to dominant systems of production and consumption that consume planetary resources at unsustainable rates and perpetuate ecological and sociocultural harms. Sustainable, just, and worthwhile futures depend on many people transitioning to systems of production and consumption that are biosensitive--in tune with, sensitive to, and respectful of the life processes that underpin our existence. These include processes of our individual biophysical and psychosocial health needs, and those of the human and non-human others involved in meeting our needs. Given the array of perceived benefits that many consumers experience from current unsustainable and unjust systems, important questions arise in regard to what might motivate people to willingly make such transitions.

Solidarity-based food systems offer the opportunity to explore people's experience of transitioning to provisioning systems that are more tightly coupled to their underpinning social and ecological bases, and hence more biosensitive. Community supported agriculture (CSA) is one such system wherein the risks and rewards of agricultural production are directly shared between a farmer and a group of consumer members. There is scarce literature on the experience of CSA in Australia, and it is unclear whether participation in CSA and related systems can encourage change towards biosensitive practices beyond these solidarity-based food systems. This study explores two forms of solidarity-based food system in Australia--CSA and the Southern Harvest Association (SHA) multi farm produce box subscription--through surveys and interviews with members/subscribers and farmers. This thesis inventories how, and by whom, these solidarity-based systems are being practiced, what motivates people to participate, and what effects these systems have on participants' food-related practices. It also compares the values of members/subscribers with a nationally representative sample of consumers, to gauge the potential for such systems to appeal more broadly across Australia.

This study finds numerous motivations among Australian consumers for joining solidarity-based food systems, spanning various categories: instrumental, values-based, relational, and systemic reasons. Through participation in their solidarity-based food system, many people discover new reasons across each of these categories that strengthen their commitment to continue. Many respondents report changes in their food-related practices, such as increased dietary diversity and stronger identification with farmers generally, which in turn influence their food-purchasing practices outside their solidarity-based system. Applying social practice theory to analyse the interview data reveals how the elements of food-related practices change in response to participating in solidarity-based food systems, which provides insight into how such systems can facilitate broader changes supportive of living biosensitively. This research also finds considerable overlap in the values profiles of a representative sample of Australians and those who participate in solidarity-based food systems, and provides insight into the benefits of participating in solidarity-based food systems that may be salient to potential participants.

Overall, this research contributes to the understanding of solidarity-based food systems in Australia, and findings suggest that such systems can help to cultivate embodied understandings, adaptability, and elements of practice that are supportive of transitioning to biosensitivity more broadly. Show more