Evaluating Sustainable Food System Innovations: A Global Toolkit for Cities

Vale e, Élodie (Ed.) e al.
Book
E alua ing Sus ainable Food Sys em Inno a ions: A Global
Toolki o Ci ies
Rou ledge S udies in Food, Socie y and he En i onmen
P o ided in Coope a ion wi h:
Taylo & F ancis G oup
Sugges ed Ci a ion: Vale e, Élodie (Ed.) e al. (2024) : E alua ing Sus ainable Food Sys em
Inno a ions: A Global Toolki o Ci ies, Rou ledge S udies in Food, Socie y and he En i onmen ,
ISBN 978-1-000-96614-5, Rou ledge, London,
h ps://doi.o g/10.4324/9781003285441
This Ve sion is a ailable a :
h ps://hdl.handle.ne /10419/290607
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Élodie Vale e is a geog aphe and a senio esea che a CIRAD (F ench Ag i-
cul u al Resea ch o De elopmen ) in Mon pellie , F ance. She is he coo di-
na o o he U bal p ojec .
Alison Blay-Palme is he UNESCO Chai in Sus ainable Food Sys ems, he
ounding di ec o o he Lau ie Cen e o Sus ainable Food Sys ems, and a
p o esso a Wil id Lau ie Uni e si y, Canada. She is he co-edi o o
This book p esen s U bal, an app oach ha applies impac pa hway mapping
o unde s and how ood sys em inno a ions in ci ies, and hei e i o ies,
change and impac ood sys em sus ainabili y.
A ound he wo ld, people a e inding inno a i e ways o make hei ood
sys ems mo e sus ainable. Howe e , documen ing and unde s anding how
hese inno a ions impac he sus ainabili y o ood sys em can be a challenge.
The U ban D i en Inno a ions o Sus ainable Food Sys ems (U bal) me hod-
ology esponds o hese cons ain s by p o iding inno a ions wi h a simple,
open-sou ce, esou ce-e icien ool ha is easily app op ia ed and adap able
o di e en con ex s. U bal is designed o espond o he demands o ield
s akeholde s, whe he public o p i a e, o accompany and guide hem in hei
ac ions and decision-making wi h ega d o sus ainabili y objec i es. This
book p esen s his quali a i e and pa icipa o y impac assessmen me hod o
ood inno a ions and applies i o se e al cases o ood inno a ion a ound he
wo ld, including he impac o ag icul u al dis ic s in Milan, che s and
gas onomy in B asilia, e-comme ce in Vie nam, eco- iendly a m sys ems in
Be lin and he Nou ish o Flou ish go e nance p ocess in Cape Town. The
book demons a es how ood inno a ions can impac di e en dimensions o
sus ainabili y, posi i ely and nega i ely, and iden i y he elemen s ha acili a e
o hinde hese impac s. The olume e lec s on how o s eng hen he capaci y
o hese s akeholde s o dissemina e hei inno a ions on o he scales o con-
ibu e o he ansi ion owa ds mo e sus ainable ood sys ems.
This book will be o g ea in e es o s uden s and schola s wo king on sus-
ainable ood sys ems, u ban ood, ood inno a ion and impac assessmen , as
well as policymake s, p ac i ione s and unde s in e es ed in hese a eas.
E alua ing Sus ainable Food
Sys em Inno a ions
Sus ainable Food Sys em Assessmen (Rou ledge, 2019) and he scien i ic coo -
dina o o he U bal P ojec .
Bea ice In oppa is a p ojec manage a he UNESCO Chai in Wo ld Food
Sys ems a L’Ins i u Ag o Mon pellie , F ance. She holds an MA in Local
De elopmen om he Uni e si y o Padua, I aly.
Amanda Di Ba is a is he p ojec coo dina o o he Lau ie Cen e o Sus-
ainable Food Sys ems, Canada. She p oduces he Handpicked: S o ies om
he Field podcas and is he co-edi o o Food S udies: Ma e , Meaning, Mo e-
men (2022) and Sus ainable Food Sys em Assessmen (Rou ledge, 2019).
Ophélie Roudelle is a p ojec manage a he UNESCO Chai in Wo ld Food
Sys ems in L’Ins i u Ag o Mon pellie , F ance. She is in cha ge o he alo i-
za ion, dissemina ion, and popula iza ion o esea ch esul s o he U bal
p ojec .
Gé aldine Chaboud holds a PhD in economics om Uni e si é de Mon pellie ,
F ance, and has been a o me p ojec manage a he UNESCO Chai in
Wo ld Food Sys ems in L’Ins i u Ag o Mon pellie , F ance.

Rou ledge S udies in Food, Socie y and he En i onmen
Food Loss and Was e Policy
F om Theo y o P ac ice
Edi ed by Simone Buse i and Noemi Pace
Rewilding Food and he Sel
C i ical Con e sa ions om Eu ope
Edi ed by T is an Fou nie and Sébas ien Dalgala ondo
C i ical Mapping o Sus ainable Food Design
Food Secu i y, Equi y, and Jus ice
Aud ey G. Benne and Jenni e A. Vokoun
Communi y Food Ini ia i es
A C i ical Repa a i e App oach
Edi ed by Oona Mo ow, Es he Veen, and S e an Wahlen
Food Fu u es in Educa ion and Socie y
Edi ed by Gu pinde Singh Lalli, Angela Tu ne , and Ma ion Ru land
The Soybean h ough Wo ld His o y
Lessons o Sus ainable Ag o ood Sys ems
Ma ilda Ba aiba No be g and Lisa Deu sch
U ban Expansion and Food Secu i y in New Zealand
The Collapse o Local Ho icul u e
Benjamin Felix Richa dson
E alua ing Sus ainable Food Sys em Inno a ions
A Global Toolki o Ci ies
Edi ed by Élodie Vale e, Alison Blay-Palme , Bea ice In oppa,
Amanda Di Ba is a, Ophélie Roudelle, and Gé aldine Chaboud
Fo mo e in o ma ion abou his se ies, please isi : www. ou ledge.com/Rou ledge-S udies-in-
Food-Socie y-and- he-En i onmen /book-se ies/RSFSE
E alua ing Sus ainable Food
Sys em Inno a ions
A Global Toolki o Ci ies
Edi ed by Élodie Vale e, Alison Blay-Palme ,
Bea ice In oppa, Amanda Di Ba is a,
Ophélie Roudelle, and Gé aldine Chaboud
Fi s published 2024
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© 2024 selec ion and edi o ial ma e , Élodie Vale e, Alison Blay-Palme ,
Bea ice In oppa, Amanda Di Ba is a, Ophélie Roudelle, and Gé aldine
Chaboud; indi idual chap e s, he con ibu o s
The igh o Élodie Vale e, Alison Blay-Palme , Bea ice In oppa,
Amanda Di Ba is a, Ophélie Roudelle, and Gé aldine Chaboud o be
iden i ied as he au ho s o he edi o ial ma e ial, and o he au ho s o
hei indi idual chap e s, has been asse ed in acco dance wi h sec ions
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ISBN: 978-1-032-25881-2 (hbk)
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DOI: 10.4324/9781003285441
Typese in Times New Roman
by SPi Technologies India P L d (S ai e)
Con en s
Lis o con ibu o s ix
Acknowledgmen s xiii
1 Mapping change: The U bal app oach 1
ÉLODIE VALETTE, ALISON BLAY-PALMER, OLIVIER LEPILLER
AND AMANDA DI BATTISTA
2 U bal: A esea ch p ojec 18
ALISON BLAY-PALMER, ÉLODIE VALETTE, OLIVIER LEPILLER
AND AMANDA DI BATTISTA
3 The ole o che s and gas onomy in ans o ming
he B asília ood sys em 36
JESSICA PEREIRA GARCIA, MAURO G. M. CAPELARI, STÉPHANE GUÉNEAU,
TAINÁ BACELLAR ZANETI AND JANAÍNA D.A.S. DINIZ
4 T adi ional o illas in Mexico: Oppo uni ies and
challenges o p oduce s and consume s 55
HÉLOÏSE LELOUP AND JULIE LE GALL
5 The ole o school can eens in building mo e sus ainable
ood sys ems: The impac pa hways o he “Ma Can ine
Au emen ” p og amme in Mon pellie 77
MARLÈNE PERIGNON, OLIVIER LEPILLER, BEATRICE INTOPPA,
ÉLODIE VALETTE, OPHÉLIE ROUDELLE AND AMÉLIE WOOD
6 The po en ial o Sho Food Supply Chains o sus ainable
u ban ag i- ood sys ems: The UFIL o Milano Ris o azione 101
GIULIA BARTEZZAGHI AND FEDERICO CANIATO

DOI: 10.4324/9781003285441-1
1.1 In oduc ion
This book desc ibes he U bal (U ban D i en Sus ainable Food Sys em
Inno a ions) esea ch app oach ha was de eloped by a mul idisciplina y, in e -
na ional eam o ood sys em esea che s and expe s be ween 2018 and 2023.
The U bal esea ch p ojec , suppo ed by he Ag opolis, Ca asso, and Ca iplo
Founda ions’ Though o Food ini ia i e,1 p o ided he ime and esou ces nec-
essa y o explo e how inno a ions can p oduce sho - e m changes and longe -
e m impac s on mul iple dimensions o u ban ood sys em sus ainabili y. U bal
enables and ac i a es a be e unde s anding o he lows in ood sys em inno a-
ion p ocesses and he impedimen s and enable s o inc easingly sus ainable
ood sys ems.
U bal eme ged as a esponse o he mul iple challenges ha a ise om
indus ial ood sys ems ha gene a e eno mous exploi a ion, ex e nali ies, and
cascading socio-en i onmen al damage. On op o inc easing ood insecu i y,
en i onmen al deg ada ion, and inadequa e li elihoods (Bio ision Founda ion
o Ecological De elopmen & IPES-Food, 2020; FAO e al., 2022; Lace da
e al., 2020), clima e change, he COVID-19 pandemic, and con lic s including
he wa in Uk aine add ex a s ain o hose al eady ma ginalized by his glo-
balized ood sys em (Mous ie e al., 2023; Lang & McKee, 2022; Blay-Palme
e al., 2021; Kaise e al., 2021). Con on ing hese challenges demands a mul i-
scale app oach ha add esses mul iple sus ainabili y issues a he same ime so
poly alen solu ions can help imp o e ood and nu i ion secu i y, li elihoods,
and p ese e biocul u al di e si y, among o he co-bene i s (T ibaldos &
Ko e mäki, 2022; Hebinck e al., 2021).
Calls om policy and decision-make s o unde s and ood sys ems a he
egional scale a e g owing, wi h a ecogni ion o he need o e idence o sup-
po he ans o ma ion o he exis ing global ood sys em o one ha is mo e
egionally ocused and sus ainable. In he all o 2022, he Uni ed Na ions
Commi ee on Wo ld Food Secu i y se i s 2-yea goals and di ec ions o i s
High-Le el Panel o Expe s on Food Secu i y and Nu i ion. These goals and
di ec ions ocus on c ea ing mo e egional ood sys ems h ough imp o ed
u ban, pe i-u ban, and u al linkages wi h a manda e o “p o id[e] independen ,
1 Mapping change
The U bal app oach
Élodie Vale e, Alison Blay-Palme ,
Oli ie Lepille and Amanda Di Ba is a
This chap e has been made a ailable unde a CC-BY-NC-ND license.
2 Élodie Vale e e al.
comp ehensi e and e idence-based analysis, and elabo a [e] i s s udies h ough
a scien i ic, anspa en and inclusi e p ocess” (High Le el Panel o Expe s,
2023, np). The Con en ion on Biodi e si y COP15 mee ing in Decembe 2022
and he esul ing Global Biodi e si y F amewo k (GBF) which includes 23 a -
ge s and associa ed indica o s u he demons a es he need o moni o and
map ou ood sys em changes and impac s. U bal can con ibu e o de eloping
and acking egionally ele an e idence abou meaning ul change b ough
abou h ough mo e sus ainable ood sys ems, including ag icul u al and eco-
sys em biodi e si y, imp o ed li elihoods, and inc easing gende equi y, all
included in he GBF.
U bal’s u ban ocus is also impo an gi en he as pace and ex en o
u baniza ion. While u baniza ion can be a challenge o u u e sus ainabili y
gi en he complexi y o u ban spaces, i can also open up oppo uni ies o
solu ions. Key ques ions in applying U bal a e whe he exis ing inno a ions
a e b oad enough o oo na ow o b ing abou ood sys em ans o ma ion
wi hin u ban egions and how public policy can enable sus ainable ood sys em
ansi ions. This can be pa icula ly impo an when local ci y au ho i ies a e
inc easingly in ol ed in de eloping ood policies o suppo mo e sus ainable
ood sys ems (Mo agues-Faus & Mo gan, 2015). I is also impo an o unde -
s and when and how ood sys em inno a ions esul in signi ican and/o unin-
ended consequences o u ban and social landscapes and o no e ha change
is no always posi i e, in en ional, o go e nable.
A en ion o sys ems is equally ele an o sus ainabili y whe e he inhe en
complexi y means ha solu ions o en only add ess one dimension o sus ain-
abili y. A uni-dimensional app oach can esul in unan icipa ed con lic s o
equi e ade-o s wi h o he sus ainabili y dimensions. Fo example, di ec
sales om p oduce s o consume s h ough a me s’ ma ke s can elimina e he
need o dis ibu o s so ha p oduce s ea n mo e e enue while consume s
may pay lowe p ices. Howe e , om an en i onmen al pe spec i e, di ec sales
don’ gua an ee pes icide- ee ood p oduc ion, and om an economic pe -
spec i e i may ad e sely a ec he iabili y o li elihoods o dis ibu o s who
wo k be ween he a me and e ail spaces. Mapping impac s can help us
unde s and how inno a ion con ibu es o sus ainabili y by analysing hese
complex in e ac ions ha esul in posi i e ou comes as well as iden i y a eas
o imp o emen .
This in oduc o y chap e desc ibes he key componen s o he U bal
app oach and p o ides collec i e insigh s om he case s udies, called U ban
Food Inno a ion Labs (UFILS), which helped o es and e ine his app oach.
I was w i en using many in e nal and publicly a ailable esou ces de eloped
and ga he ed du ing he U bal p ocess om 2018 o 2023, including au ho
pa icipa ion in wo kshops and in e iews, pa icipan exi su eys, in e nal
U bal webina s and mee ings, aining wo kshops, and key e lec ions om he
chap e s in his book. The subsequen chap e s ocus on de eloping he U bal
p ocess and lessons lea ned. Chap e 2 desc ibes how U bal was de eloped
ac oss all he 16 UFILs (Figu e 1.1) and highligh s lessons lea ned om he
Mapping change 3
Figu e 1.1 Map o all 16 U ban Food Inno a ion Labs (UFILs).
4 Élodie Vale e e al.
esea ch including how, by wo king on he g ound wi h communi ies, U bal
was de eloped o enable a deepe unde s anding o go e nance, ood sys em
supply chains, and consume p ac ices. S a ing wi h Chap e 3, 8 UFILS ou
o 16 p esen insigh s om hei adop ion and adap a ion o he U bal
app oach o hei speci ic con ex .
The book is s uc u ed acco ding o he h ee o e -a ching hemes ha
guided he esea ch p ojec and we e used, as ele an , o o ganize, conside
and epo ou indings: (1) consume p ac ices, (2) alue chain o ganiza ion,
and (3) go e nance. Explici ly di e en ia ing he h ee hemes helped ensu e
he e was a c oss sec ion o case s udies om di e en sou ces. Gi en he in e -
connec edness ha is inhe en o ood sys ems, UFIL missions we e ne e he-
less ob iously ound o o e lap in many cases, so d awing clea hema ic lines
was no possible in se e al cases. Chap e s 3–5 p esen h ee case s udies which
ocus on ini ia i es ha aim o ans o m consume s’ p ac ices, om social
gas onomy in B asilia and Mexico Ci y (Chap e s 3 and 4) o school can eens
in Mon pellie (Chap e 5). Chap e s 6–8 explo e a ious inno a ions ocused
on alue chain o ganiza ion, om he impac o he use o sho ood supply
chains in he school ood sys em in Milan (Chap e 6) o ha o e-comme ce in
Hanoi (Chap e 7) and ha o a p i a e u ban a m in Be lin (Chap e 8).
Chap e s 9 and 10 ocus on go e nance inno a ions in Milan (Chap e 9) and
Cape Town (Chap e 10). The book concludes wi h a discussion abou apply-
ing U bal as a moni o ing and acking ool (Chap e 11).
1.2 The possibili ies in applying U bal
While ques ions o sus ainable ood sys em assessmen ha e been add essed
elsewhe e (see Blay-Palme e al., 2019), his wo k has ocused mainly on de el-
oping indica o s o measu e u ban ood sys em sus ainabili y. Many o hese
app oaches a e ime- and cos -in ensi e and canno be easily adop ed by local
au ho i ies o inno a o s o be e in o m decision-making p ocesses. In he
absence o accessible ools o suppo decision-making, policymake s may
engage in planning wi hou a clea idea o hei con ex and/o he impac s
hey can expec om ood sys ems inno a ions (Callon e al., 2001). To add ess
his gap, U bal o e s a simple, pa icipa o y me hodology ha os e s lea ning
in he con ex o public policy and imp o ed sus ainabili y.
This quali a i e, pa icipa o y e alua ion app oach can help build con-
sensus, empowe s akeholde s, and c ea e agency o suppo ac o s as hey
s i e o inc ease sus ainabili y (Ciaccia e al., 2019; Ceasa e al., 2017).
U bal uses a pa icipa o y esea ch app oach as i enables communi y mem-
be s o iden i y he ou pu s, ba ie s, and enable s o change and impac s on
hei ood sys em. This app oach builds on he ounda ions o impac pa h-
way assessmen , allowing he iden i ica ion o pa hways o ac ion ha a e
ele an o s akeholde s (T ibaldos e al., 2020) and ha can each ac oss
scales. As an e ol ing, ield- es ed app oach, U bal can help inno a o s, pol-
icymake s, esea che s, and unde s unde s and how u ban inno a ion un olds
Mapping change 5
in place-speci ic, sus ainable ood sys ems (Le e e al., 2022; Rees 2019;
Sonnino e al., 2016). By mapping he pa hways o sus ainabili y om he
possible i e dimensions—go e nance, heal h, en i onmen , socio-cul u al, and
economic— he enable s and ba ie s o sus ainable inno a ion can be made
mo e appa en , helping o ac i a e he bene i s o using a sys ems app oach
(Hebinck e al., 2021; Gliessman, 2013). As a whole, U bal can suppo he
decision-making p ocess unde aken by o ganiza ions and unde s and he c e-
a ion o policy and p og ammes by policymake s.
Following he ini ial de elopmen o he U bal app oach, i was es ed in 16
UFILs, including 1 in each o Bal imo e, Be lin, B asilia, Cape Town, Lyons,
Mexico Ci y, Raba ; 2 in Hanoi, Mon pellie , and Pa is; and 3 in Milan. To
ensu e ha he app oach is widely accessible and adop ed, a ee, de ailed, and
adap able U bal guide and esou ce oolki is a ailable online a h p://u bal
ood.o g.
1.3 The U bal p ocess: A pa icipa o y impac pa hway analysis
The U bal app oach builds on heo y o change and impac pa hway assess-
men . Impac pa hway maps ha e been used and e ined o decades, eme ging
om and alongside o he assessmen and p ojec managemen esou ces such
as heo y o change, p ojec managemen ools, and causal modelling concep s
and ools. Impac pa hway maps we e o iginally c ea ed o assess ag icul u al
de elopmen p ojec s (Padilla, 2002; Tho n on e al. 2017) and ini ially de el-
oped o map ou how esea ch p ojec s un olded and wha esea che s obse ed
abou he impac o hei wo k. In he ea ly 2000s, ex-pos impac pa hway
maps we e de eloped o assess p ojec impac s in complex ci cums ances
(Dou hwai e e al., 2003) and used o e alua e ag icul u al esea ch in esponse
o inc easing p essu e om unde s o p o ide e idence o social impac
(Sp inge -Heinze e al., 2003). Building on his wo k, CIRAD, he F ench
Ag icul u al Resea ch Cen e o In e na ional De elopmen , launched he
Imp esS (IMPac o RESea ch in he Sou h) p ojec in 2011 o assess he
impac o public ins i u ional esea ch on inno a ion. Imp esS used a pa ici-
pa o y app oach o ge answe s o ques ions abou he alue o ag icul u al
esea ch h ough 13 p ojec s ha we e ei he comple ed o in p ocess (Hainzelin
e al. 2017; Fau e e al., 2020). Imp esS c ea ed impac pa hway maps o
desc ibe how esea ch impeded o suppo ed he eme gence o an inno a ion,
unco e ing whe e powe imbalances exis ed in he p ocess. U bal akes up and
e ines he ools de eloped by Imp esS and o he s by expanding he ocus om
assessing academic esea ch o c ea ing ools o inno a o s wo king wi hin
ood sys ems. These ools can be used o unde s and and imp o e sus ainabil-
i y changes and impac s o hei wo k.
U bal builds on and con ibu es o hese app oaches by p o iding a quali a-
i e and pa icipa o y app oach and a sui e o ools o help inno a o s, policy-
make s, unde s, academics, and p ac i ione s imp o e he sus ainabili y o an
inno a ion. The aim o he U bal app oach is o help disen angle he chain o

6 Élodie Vale e e al.
ac ions and s a egies ha push an inno a ion owa ds o away om sus aina-
bili y. U bal in i es a di e si y o ac o s o co-design impac pa hway maps
ha make explici he changes and impac s o inno a ions on sus ainabili y
dimensions. Impac pa hway maps iden i y h ee key ypes o in o ma ion
abou an impac : (1) he ac ual changes p oduced by he inno a ion on sus ain-
abili y; (2) how changes a e gene a ed by inno a ion ac i i ies; and (3) he ways
ha ac ions and sus ainabili y a e in e connec ed, om sho - e m changes
(ou pu s) o medium- e m (ou comes) and o long- e m changes (impac s).
The app oach he e o e assesses no only he in ended and unin ended impac s
on sus ainabili y bu also he pa hways ha lead o change, in some cases
add essing mul iple scales om he local o he global. I is impo an o unde -
s and ha hese pa hways a e no necessa ily linea and a e o en winding o
ci cui ous. The e can also be di e gence be ween he a ious changes and pa h-
ways as o how he inno a ions con ibu e o di e en sus ainabili y dimen-
sions. As such, U bal ocuses p ima ily on he p ocess o change a he han
he inal esul and does no measu e he inno a ion’s impac . Impac pa hway
maps can help iden i y posi i e and nega i e eedback loops as well as un o e-
seen changes, ade-o s, and con adic ions be ween pa hways, which can be
pa icula ly ele an when examining complex sus ainable ood sys ems.
1.4 A 3+1-s ep app oach
U bal helps answe one cen al ques ion: wha a e he ac ual changes ha
esul om he inno a ion? To add ess his ques ion, U bal un olds as a h ee-
s ep me hodology, wi h an op ional ou h s ep. S ep 1 is dedica ed o he col-
lec ion o backg ound in o ma ion h ough in e iews wi h key in o man s
ha help o aise awa eness abou he inno a ion, documen he con ex ,
de elop a imeline and ne wo k diag am o he inno a ion, and in some cases,
d a a p elimina y impac pa hway map. In S ep 2, a pa icipa o y wo kshop
is o ganized wi h p ac i ione s and expe s o unde s and he inno a ion and
map he pa hways o ac i i ies h ough changes o impac s. S ep 3 o e s he
oppo uni y o e lec on he ou pu s om S ep 2 du ing ano he wo kshop o
mee ing acco ding o needs and cons ain s. Finally, S ep 4 is an op ional s ep
ha ex ends he impac pa hway maps de eloped du ing he wo kshop o spec-
i y indica o s o measu e and, pe haps, ack change o e ime (see Chap e 11).
This 3+1-s ep app oach was unde aken in a ious o ms in he 16 UFILs
o e 3 yea s. These i s h ee s eps we e ou lined a he beginning o he
esea ch p ojec in 2018. As he esea ch p ojec de eloped, we adap ed he
hema ic oci, he e ms o e e ence and he de ails o how o use he U bal
app oach. While we p o ide an exempla y UFIL p ocess in Box 1.1 ha ea-
u es he wo k unde aken in Ma Can ine Au emen (MCA) in Mon pellie
(see also Chap e 5), o he UFILs and hei lea nings a e p esen ed in he sub-
sequen chap e s o his book.
Box 1.1 Ma Can ine Au emen (MCA)
Ma Can ine Au emen (MCA) was excep ionally well sui ed o engage in
and ac i ely use he U bal app oach. The enabling condi ions included a
clea eques om he local au ho i y in cha ge o he MCA p og amme
o a long and ho ough e alua ion; he ac i e and commi ed pa ici-
pa ion o acul y and g adua e s uden s a CIRAD and he ac i e and
hough ul con ibu ions om people wo king a MCA. The Fac ha
MCA ope a es in Mon pellie , whe e he esea che s li e and wo k also
made his UFIL mo e obus and i e a i e. As a esul , he MCA esea ch
ex ended he U bal app oach beyond o iginal expec a ions, and, in some
cases, acili a ed e isions o he U bal app oach in ime o sha e wi h
o he UFIL, especially he Lyons, Pa is, and Mexico p ojec s.
No able insigh s om MCA include he need o:
• clea ly iden i y ele an and meaning ul ac i i ies om he in e iew
p ocess and use hese o anima e he wo kshop. As a key in o man
om MCA explained in he exi in e iew,
Du ing he wo kshop we used he ch onog am and he map we
made du ing he wo kshop in S ep 1, because a ha ime we
mapped all he ac i i ies o inno a ion, and also di e en ac o s/
s akeholde s. In s ep 1 we had o desc ibe e y p ecisely all he
ac i i ies o he inno a ion, and iden i y all he ac o s.
• Dis inguish be ween ou pu s, o di ec e ec s, and ou comes as he
in e media e changes om he inno a ion. As no ed in Chap e 5 ( he
MCA chap e ), ou comes help sp ead ac i i ies o mo e ac o s han
di ec ou pu s. Ou comes esul in posi i e changes bu also some (un)
a oidable nega i e changes. The una oidable changes o en esul as
ade-o s om implemen ing he inno a ion. Fo example, he e was
an inc eased wo kload o s a a MCA as hey p epa ed mo e meals
om sc a ch ha , in u n, equi ed pay adjus men s o s a . This
e ec , among o he s, needed o be aken in o accoun i his inno a-
ion is adop ed in o he places. Impac s a e long- e m shi s in sus ain-
abili y as a esul o he inno a ion such as policy changes. The e a e
p ac ical conside a ions du ing wo kshops whe e i can be ai ly
s aigh o wa d o de e mine “changes” o “e ec s” while i is mo e
challenging o loca e hem on he causal chain as, o example, di ec
o indi ec changes. This dis inc ion be ween h ee possible e ec s
Mapping change 7
8 Élodie Vale e e al.
Social dimensions, such as ood access and equi y, we e a ounda ional com-
ponen in he de elopmen o speci ic ools o each s ep in he U bal me hod,
including ac o ne wo k diag ams, in e iew ques ions, guidelines o choosing
and engaging wi h pa icipan s, and impac maps. U bal’s pa icipa o y
app oach helps o ensu e ha he social dimensions o sus ainabili y a e inco -
po a ed h oughou he p ocess, especially du ing he co-c ea ion o impac
pa hway maps in S ep 2. While he ex en o pa icipa ion in he U bal p ocess
p oduced by an inno a ion is a key con ibu ion om he MCA UFIL
and consis en wi h classic dis inc ion made in he impac pa hway
li e a u e (Hainzelin e al., 2016, 2017). As he U bal app oach
explo es he sus ainabili y dimensions o each ac i i y, MCA
esea che s and pa icipan s sugges ed ha he sub-dimensions be
clea ly speci ied and made consis en as much as possible o imp o e
he cla i y and eadabili y o he IP.
• The inal ecommenda ion om MCA esea che s is he oppo uni y o
…iden i y he b akes and enable s along he IP, and classi y hem
in o: i) condi ions o success ( equi ed o each he expec ed
impac ), ii) impac acili a o s (no necessa y o each he impac
bu a ou able o i s achie emen ), and iii) b akes (i.e. ac o s ha
limi he e icacy/pe o mance o he p og am).
(Chap e 5, p. 92)
The e is also he need o dis inguish be ween he condi ions needed o
success and o he s ha a e acili a o s bu no equi ed, “and o iden i y
i hey a e con ex - ela ed, ma e ial o o ganisa ional inpu s” (Chap e 5,
p. 97). As ele an , wi h espec o he ou pu s and ou comes s ep, MCA
no es he impo ance o be clea abou ,
which g oup o ac o s hese e ec s occu , and o classi y hem in
posi i e o nega i e e ec s. In addi ion, nega i e e ec s should be
classi ied as “a oidable” o “una oidable” e ec s, in o de o subse-
quen ly iden i y how he i s could be a oided, and how he second
could be compensa ed.
(Chap e 5, p. 97)
While p o iding aluable insigh s, MCA is no uni e sally ep esen a i e
as o he inno a ions come o he p ocess wi h a ious capaci ies. In o he
cases, his le el o p ecision may no be possible o e en desi able as he
impac pa hway mapping p ocess may be mo e explo a o y.
Mapping change 9
a ied om one UFIL o ano he depending on he esou ce a ailabili y,
capaci y, and p ojec goals in each con ex , o e all i was b oadly inclusi e o
key ac o s implica ed and a ec ed by he inno a ion p ocess. While he o e a -
ching U bal app oach i sel was de eloped p io o he esea ch in each lab, i
was modi ied based on inpu om he a ious UFILs o e he cou se o he
p ojec . The eme gen and adap i e na u e o he U bal app oach acili a ed
inc eased conside a ion on social inno a ion in UFILs whe e he social dimen-
sions o sus ainabili y we e no a key conside a ion a he ou se o he p ojec
(see Be lin UFIL, Chap e 8).
1.4.1 S ep 1: The con ex
S ep 1, as he ounda ional basis o he U bal app oach, begins wi h a li e a-
u e e iew o p o ide a con ex o he inno a ion and he impac pa hway
map in S ep 2. This includes g ey li e a u e and academic sou ces whe e appli-
cable o g ound he UFIL inno a ion in bo h heo y and p ac ice. The li e a-
u e e iew p o ides he in o ma ion necessa y o c a e ec i e ques ions o
in e iews wi h inno a o s and o he s akeholde s abou he de elopmen o
he inno a ion and helps o make decisions abou he wo kshop. Gene al ca e-
go ies o ques ions pu o key in o man s include he ollowing: (1) Was he e
a clea ly de ined inno a ion s a emen a any poin in he p ocess?; (2) How
was he challenge de ined as an inno a ion p oblem?; (3) Was sus ainabili y a
conside a ion?; and (4) How did he inno a ion de elop o e ime in o a ange
o de ined ac i i ies mean o di ec ly o indi ec ly p opose al e na i es o he
dominan ood sys em’s egula ac i i ies? In gene al, UFILs in e iewed
be ween 4 and 10 people, including inno a o s and s akeholde s ep esen ing
di e en s ages o he p ocess and expe s o help unde s and he di e en
aspec s o sus ainabili y and he la ge con ex .
The in e iew esul s ypically desc ibed he mission and ac i i ies o he
inno a ion and enabled he c ea ion o a case desc ip ion, imeline, ac o s ne -
wo k map, lis o ac i i ies c ea ed by he inno a ion and, some imes, a d a
impac pa hway map. A key goal was o p oduce knowledge use ul o : (1) he
U bal wo kshop; (2) inno a ion s akeholde s o help hem unde s and and
p omo e hei inno a ion; and (3) decision-make s and o he suppo ing ac o s
o help hem make in o med decisions abou he inno a ion.
I is impo an o no e ha he U bal app oach—including he in e iews in
S ep 1—is no in ended o ques ion inno a ion objec i es, alues, d i e s o
ac ion, o u u e di ec ions. Ra he , he aims a e o unco e he ac ual con i-
bu ion o he inno a ion o he a ious dimensions o sus ainabili y, o build
e lexi ely om hese obse a ions, and o iden i y he a ious changes and
impac s p oduced by he inno a ion ac i i ies. The in e iews and o he S ep 1
ac i i ies p o ide he con ex needed o plan and conduc an e ec i e wo k-
shop in S ep 2.
16 Élodie Vale e e al.
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a ion: An app oach o achie ing and a ibu ing impac in complex sys ems. Ag icul-
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he wo ld 2022. FAO; IFAD; UNICEF; WFP; WHO. h ps://doi.o g/10.4060/cc0639en
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Gliessman, S. (2013). Ag oecology and ood sys em ans o ma ion. Ag oecology and
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Mapping change 17
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o -p ac ice- he-o ganiza ional- on ie
DOI: 10.4324/9781003285441-2
2.1 The e olu ion o he U bal app oach and ela ed ools: The
un olding esea ch p ocess
In applying p inciples o pa icipa o y esea ch o U bal, we engaged in an
i e a i e, co-c ea ed, loosely p esc ibed, and much adap ed esea ch p ocess as
we wo ked ou way owa ds a place-based app oach o mapping he changes
and impac s om sus ainable ood sys em inno a ion and iden i ied he ou -
comes, enable s, and impedimen s o sus ainabili y impac s (Ceasa e al.,
2017; Ciaccia e al., 2019; Fau e e al., 2020; T ibaldos e al., 2020). We es ed
ou d a app oach in 16 case s udy U ban Food Inno a ion Labs (UFILs),
adap ing key ea u es o he U bal app oach o ensu e ha i is ele an in he
g ea es di e si y o con ex s possible (Chap e 1).
The p ocess o de eloping and e ining he U bal app oach was i e a i e
and engaged wi h bo h he insigh s and ision o and ma e ials de eloped by
he co e esea ch g oup and he ac i i ies o he UFILs. Ini ially, ou ision,
he U bal guide, and suppo ing ma e ial we e de eloped and e ined by he
co e esea ch eam h ough online and in-pe son mee ings and a es case
UFIL. This p ocess allowed us o con inuously e ine he U bal app oach and
add new key componen s and in o ma ion such as: 1) e iewing in e iew ind-
ings o na ow he ac i i ies o be conside ed a he wo kshop as he s a ing
poin o he impac pa hway map; 2) p o iding a clea , de ined ole o expe s;
and, 3) inco po a ing pa icipa o y esea ch p ocesses in he U bal app oach
o explici ly enable social inclusion and he conside a ion o ela i e powe and
oice o a ious pa icipan s in he UFILs. Building on he wo k o B icas
(2017), we e iewed and expanded he dimensions and sub-dimensions o sus-
ainable ood sys em conside a ions. We also wo ked o ensu e ha U bal is
adap able o a di e si y o con ex s. Th oughou he p ocess we also held
online webina s o U bal pa icipan s o p esen guiding ma e ial o ou
UFILs eams and epo hei esea ch indings. Simul aneously, each UFIL
conduc ed hei own U bal p ocess wi h new insigh s inco po a ed in o he
gene al me hodological esea ch as app op ia e.
U bal was hen in e up ed by he COVID-19 pandemic. While some UFILs
had concluded hei in e iew p ocess (S ep 1) and wo kshops (S ep 2), se e al
2 U bal
A esea ch p ojec
Alison Blay-Palme , Élodie Vale e, Oli ie Lepille
and Amanda Di Ba is a
This chap e has been made a ailable unde a CC-BY-NC-ND license.
U bal 19
had no held public mee ings and o he s we e no ye pa o he p ojec . While
his p esen ed challenges, he onse o COVID-19 demons a ed he alue o
U bal as a lexible and adap able ool. In some cases, U bal wo kshops we e
held online wi h minimal in-pe son in e ac ion unde hese ci cums ances.
Despi e his, li ely con e sa ions and signi ican engagemen ook place online,
highligh ing he impo ance o ha ing hese discussions and opening he doo s
o engagemen . In o he cases, esea che s held smalle in-pe son wo kshops
ha espec ed social dis ancing needs and/o conduc ed online ocus g oups
and in e iews. In wo cases, academic esea che s de eloped he impac pa h-
way maps om exis ing da a and hen sha ed he maps o commen wi h inno-
a o s and p ac i ione s.
2.1.1 E ol ing e ms o e e ence and lessons lea ned om he U bal
esea ch p ocess
The lexibili y and i e a ion ha is a hallma k o U bal ex ended o he e ms
o e e ence o he p ojec as hey oo e ol ed h oughou he esea ch. Wha
became clea as he UFILs used he U bal app oach was he i e a ion ha
occu ed be ween he s eps and how, wi h each ound, he in o ma ion gained
and unde s anding abou he in e ac ion be ween he inno a ion and sus aina-
bili y deepened. Fo example, in B asilia (Chap e 3) UFIL leade s used hei
li e a u e e iew in S ep 1 o de e mine ele an sus ainabili y c i e ia o che s
and es au an s. This was hen he basis o selec es au an s o in e iews
based on hei willingness o engage in sus ainabili y and in e iew guides we e
de eloped and adap ed o each g oup o key in o man s. Pa icula ly no able
changes in ou e ms o e e ence occu ed o place-based conside a ions, sus-
ainabili y dimensions in he con ex o ood sys ems, inno a ion, and social
inno a ion.
2.1.1.1 Place-based insigh s
The b ead h o he case s udy selec ion hemes (go e nance, alue chain, and
consume p ac ices) and he in ended audiences (policymake s, unde s, aca-
demics, and/o p ac i ione s), makes U bal widely ele an . This b ead h also
wo ks well as a place-based app oach o iden i y and de elop ele an sus ain-
abili y inno a ions. This p o ed o be he case as U bal was ialed ac oss he
UFILs and esul ed in unique indings and insigh s in o he U bal app oach
based on place-based in e p e a ions o and alignmen wi h U bal. Fo exam-
ple, in he case o Be lin (Chap e 8), he ECF-Fa ms had a s a -up cul u e
and goal o changing he way ci ies p oduce ood bu also he equi emen o
build a sel -sus aining company ha can compe e in he ma ke place. The
openness and lexibili y o he U bal app oach pe mi ed unique indings o
eme ge o he ECF-Fa m such as he need o mo e lexible egula ions o
speci ics such as compos . A he ime o he esea ch, egula ions equi ed ha
ish was e be dumped so his sou ce o nu ien s was los o he ood cycle.
20 Alison Blay-Palme e al.
Howe e , U bal helped unco e ha egula o y imp o emen s pe mi ing
compos ing o he Yellow Pe ch ish was e om he ECF p oduc ion cycle o
p oduce usable e ilize could help ECF become e en mo e ecologically
sus ainable.
The ele ance o U bal as a use ul place-speci ic app oach also eme ged o
UFILs explo ing he go e nance heme and aising impo an insigh s abou
he inno a ion o policy. In he case o he Ag icul u al Dis ic s in Milan, “ he
exis ence o dis ic s makes a me s mo e isible o o he ac o s in he a ea,
acili a ing he c ea ion o pa ne ships wi h ins i u ions and ci il socie y
o ganisa ions in o de o p oduce p ojec s ha de elop and p o ec he e i-
o y” (Chap e 9, p. 183).
These pa icula e i o ial condi ions allowed he UFIL pa icipan s o
become ac i e agen s o change o egional and na ional policy as hey
we e able o
… e lec on he ole o ag icul u al dis ic s om he poin o iew o
land go e nance: h ough he dis ic s, a me s anscend hei ole as
wo ke s o he land and become p o agonis s o a p oposal o a adical
change in land use policies. The dis ic s wo k o p omo e access o he
ools and unds o he Common Ag icul u al Policies, p o ide echnical
suppo o he implemen a ion o p ojec s ha ha e conc e e e ec s on
ood p oduc ion and dis ibu ion, and con ibu e o he main enance
and p oduc ion o local en i onmen and landscape. Thei impac , meas-
u ed [p e iously] om he me ely econome ic poin o iew, is s ill e y
limi ed and oday he ag icul u al dis ic s can be conside ed eme ging
ac o s ha a e playing a c ucial ole as inno a o s o me opoli an ood
sys ems go e nance, and o e unne s o a change in p og ess.
(Chap e 9, p. 184)
An impo an con ibu ion o U bal o he Mexico Ci y UFIL (Chap e 4) was
iden i ying he need o include p oduce s in alue chain conside a ions. P io
o U bal, he inno a o s’ ocus was la gely on ood p ocesso s bu engaging in
he U bal p ocess allowed hem o be e unde s and ha a me ’s income is
impo an o he iabili y o hei supply chain, pa icula ly as a poin whe e
in e en ions could inc ease sus ainabili y. The U bal app oach helped unco e
conce ns abou he agili y o ela ionships be ween ood p ocesso s and p o-
duce s in he egion by p o iding a mo e comple e pic u e o he supply chain
and iden i ying possible pa hways o help imp o e supply chain iabili y.
In he Cape Town UFIL (Chap e 10), he imelines de eloped as pa o
U bal demons a ed how he di e en componen s o hei p ojec , Nou ish o
Flou ish (N2F), aligned wi h and cap u ed he i e a i e p ocesses associa ed
wi h he de elopmen o p ojec ou comes. The lexibili y and ease o using
U bal mean ha , despi e se e al impedimen s—including limi ed budge s,
manda e dispu es, con es ed policy and s a egy de elopmen in e ac ions,
leade ship changes, and con lic ing iews abou who is esponsible o ood
U bal 21
and nu i ion—i was possible o ge he s a egy accep ed. As a esul o ini ial
U bal consul a ions and ollow-up p ocesses, he N2F au ho s we e asked o
p esen he U bal documen s o he eme ging P o incial Food Sys ems Wo k-
ing G oup as an ex e nal, independen e iew. The U bal esea che s we e hen
asked o d a a summa y e sion o he U bal P ojec Assessmen Repo ha
u he suppo ed he N2F consul a ion p ocesses. The U bal app oach and
me hodological p ocess suppo ed he needs o he N2F s a egy e olu ion
and e inemen om concep h ough o implemen a ion in a mu ually ein-
o cing and bene icial i e a i e p ocess. As well as p o iding an ope a ional
amewo k o N2F, g oups such as he Ci y o Cape Town Food Wo king
G oup, he Wes e n Cape Communi y o P ac ice and he Wes e n Cape Food
Fo um all used he U bal epo as bo h an in e nal wo king documen and o
suppo hei own p ocesses o manda e deepening.
U bal also enabled he de elopmen o me hodologies adap ed o he needs o
each UFIL ci cums ances. Fo example, in he Milano Ris o azione UFIL
(Chap e 6) o S ep 1, he esea che s ailo ed he app oach so ha hey con-
duc ed semi-s uc u ed in e iews and mee ings wi h only wo key in o man s.
They hen de eloped hei own ne wo k map using a g id wi h he in e es o
s akeholde s along one axis and powe /in luence along he o he axis. The
impac pa hway map was hen adjus ed by academics ollowing he wo kshop
as pa icipan s ound i challenging o iden i y he impac s o he ela i ely new
inno a ion. As changes om he inno a ion had no been in place long enough
o ha e las ing e ec s, in he end, hey we e able o iden i y po en ial o an ici-
pa ed sus ainabili y impac s.
2.1.1.2 Sus ainabili y dimensions and ood sys ems
The U bal p ojec began by aming he esea ch so i combined bo h ood
sys ems and sus ainabili y conside a ions. The ood sys ems lens means ha
U bal esea che s looked ac oss he a ious poin s along he ood chain o
include as many aspec s as possible om seed o was e heap. While he p ojec
did begin wi h u ban inno a ions, applying a ood sys ems lens also led us o
b oaden he geog aphic scope and use a mo e e i o ial/ egional ocus.
A he beginning o he p ojec , we used six sus ainabili y dimensions,
including ood secu i y, nu i ion, go e nance, en i onmen , social-cul u al,
and economic dimensions (B icas, 2017). As we mo ed o he end o he pilo
p ojec esea ch phase, we collapsed nu i ion and ood secu i y in o one
‘heal h’ ca ego y o p o ide a b oade dimension o ood sys ems analysis.
Acco dingly, he ele an sus ainabili y dimensions and key sub-dimensions
ha eme ged o e he cou se o he U bal p ojec a e:
1) Heal h: ood secu i y (access, quali y, egula i y), nu i ion, well-being,
physical ac i i y
2) Go e nance: anspa ency, powe dynamics, people’s pa icipa ion,
accoun abili y

22 Alison Blay-Palme e al.
3) En i onmen : p o ec ion o biodi e si y, enewable esou ces, ene gy e i-
ciency, clima e esilience
4) Social-cul u al: equi y, communi y building, con idence in he sys em, posi-
i e exp ession o social and cul u al iden i y, cul u e
5) Economic: equi y, esilience, ai wo k and emune a ion, local economies,
ci cula i y
The sub-dimensions lis ed a e hose ha a ose mos p ominen ly o equen ly
du ing he cou se o he esea ch. Howe e , he abo e lis is no in ended o be
no ma i e and he iden i ica ion and use o o he sub-dimensions a e easible
and encou aged. I is impo an ha use s o U bal ensu e ha he app oach
mee s he needs and goals o each inno a ion being s udied.
The ea u es o a sus ainable ood sys em may a y acco ding o egional o
e i o ial con ex s (Chap e s 3–10). To e lec place- and con ex -speci ic con-
side a ions, each UFIL used he i e-dimensional diag am o de ine and ocus
on hei own de ini ion o ood sys em sus ainabili y so ha i e lec ed hei
alues and objec i es.
2.1.1.3 Inno a ion
Beginning wi h he idea ha inno a ion is an umb ella e m o ini ia i es ha
esul in change, we de eloped an inno a ion ypology o guide how we amed
he U bal p ojec . This ypology included a ange o inno a ion cha ac e is ics
used o selec he UFILs o help ensu e he wides di e si y o UFILs wi hin
he p ojec . Social inno a ion was a key conside a ion as we de eloped he
U bal p ojec . This ocus allowed us o begin o explo e whe he he inno a-
ion sa is ied human needs, b ough abou changes o social ela ions h ough
p ocess, and/o inc eased le els o socio-poli ical capabili y and access o
esou ces (Ki wan e al., 2013). Ano he pa ame e was he ype o ac o s
leading he inno a ion, including whe he inno a ions we e led by indi iduals
om ci il socie y, he p i a e sec o , and/o by public au ho i ies. Nex , we
conside ed who was impac ed by he inno a ion and whe he i was linked o
consume p ac ices, alue chain o ganiza ion, o go e nance ela ed o u ban
ood policies. These ca ego ies we e he basis o he h ee esea ch hemes
p e iously discussed. Sus ainabili y dimensions we e aken in o accoun and,
as desc ibed in he p e ious sec ion, included ood secu i y, nu i ion, go e n-
ance, en i onmen , social-cul u al, and economic a he ou se o he esea ch.
We conside ed he p esence o pa icipa o y app oaches, classi ying hem as
high o low o begin o include equi y and powe conside a ions. To ensu e ha
U bal would ha e global appeal a he end o he p ojec , we conside ed loca-
ion by global egion, including Eu ope, No he n Ame ica, La in Ame ica,
No he n A ica, Sub-Saha an A ica, and Asia. Finally, we conside ed he
p og ess o he inno a ion, including i he inno a ion was a he planning
s age, newly launched and expe imen al, ully in se ice, o comple ed and
ocused on he dissemina ion o in o ma ion and esul s. No su p isingly, he
U bal 23
s age o inno a ion made a di e ence o he impac pa hway mapping in ha
he mo e es ablished he inno a ion, he mo e complex and de ailed he impac
pa hway maps.
I is in e es ing o no e ha he inno a ions we e no necessa ily pe cei ed as
such by he inno a o s hemsel es. The pu pose and ision o wha was being
done was some imes unclea o he inno a o s, so U bal was able o b ing
some p ecision o hei p ocesses. O he imes, he inno a ion was a wo k in
p og ess ha U bal helped ine- une. Fo example, an inno a ion may ha e
o igina ed and be guided by inno a o s, such as in he Be lin UFIL (Chap e 8),
whe e a p i a e company had a clea ision o mo e localized, en i onmen-
ally sus ainable p oduc ion o p o ein and g eens. In o he cases, ha he
inno a ion was less clea ly speci ied was iden i ied as pa o he esea ch a
heou se wi h ideas being e ined as he p ojec e ol ed. This was he case o
he B asilia UFIL (Chap e 3) whe e he concep o sus ainable gas onomy
eme ged as a aming esea ch concep and was hen e ined mo e p ecisely as
he p ojec de eloped. In ha case, he in e iew ques ions and he ac i i ies
we e easily aligned wi h sus ainabili y goals as sus ainabili y was a key consid-
e a ion o he inno a ion a he ou se . This led o he de e mina ion o spe-
ci ic sus ainable gas onomic p ac ices including he use o adi ional ood in
menus and locally p oduced and/o o ganic ood as well as was e minimiza-
ion ini ia i es. The esea che s also iden i ied ood ac i ism and social inclu-
sion as bo h eme gen oppo uni ies and challenges, pa icula ly in e ms o
inclusion.
2.1.1.4 Social inno a ion
In addi ion o inno a ion as an umb ella concep , U bal in en ionally ocused
on di e en aspec s o social inno a ion (SI). We g ounded his wo k in
Boucha d e al.’s de ini ion o social inno a ion as:
[A]n in e en ion ini ia ed by social ac o s o ul il an aspi a ion o need,
p o ide a solu ion o seize an oppo uni y o ac ion in o de o modi y
social ela ions, ans o m a amewo k o ac ion o p opose new cul-
u al o ien a ions. F om his pe spec i e … social inno a ion aims o
modi y he ins i u ional amewo ks ha shape ela ionships in socie y.
(Boucha d e al., 2015, p. 9)
Social inno a ion gene ally in ol es social ans o ma ion based on he in o-
duc ion o no el y in o he es ablished o de . To iden i y UFILs engaged in a
di e se ange o social inno a ions o include in he U bal p ojec , we used
Richez-Ba es i e al.’s (2012) ypes o social inno a ions, in which social
inno a ions can be: 1) ools o enable mo e esponsi e public policy wi h
espec o social issues. In hese cases, policy is shaped in o new o ms o in e -
en ions, usually based on public-p i a e pa ne ships, such as he P oje s Ali-
men ai es Te i o iaux in F ance, o , mo e gene ally, u ban o e i o ial ood
24 Alison Blay-Palme e al.
policies ha engage mul iple ac o s (see Cape Town UFIL, Chap e 10, p. 189)
linked o social en e p ises and en ep eneu s who implemen ma ke -o ien ed
ac i i ies ha bo h look o p o i and social impac s such as he aquaponic
i m in Be lin o es au an s in B asilia (see Chap e 8); and 2) a mul i-ac o
collec i e p ocess, eme ging o espond o unsa is ied social needs by he public
sec o o by he ma ke o o pu in o e ec a desi ed change. This ca ego y
includes he La Cage e coope a i e supe ma ke in Mon pellie (Vale e
e al., 2022).
SI was a key ocus o he U bal ini ia i e om he ou se . The e was a deep
commi men o explo ing dimensions o social inno a ion ac oss nea ly all he
UFILs. Howe e , gi en he ange o UFILs hemes, i was no possible o uni-
o mly apply o p io i ize SI. Despi e his cons ain , social dimensions we e
highligh ed whe e e possible including as a key ace o sus ainabili y. In p ac-
ice, and as suppo ed in he li e a u e (Juan e al., 2020; Klein & La ille, 2014),
he idea o social inno a ion a ied signi ican ly be ween UFILs as SI de elop-
men and ope a ions a e con ex speci ic. As a esul , con ex ual di e en ia ion
was c ucial o unde s anding each social inno a ion’s p io i ies, p ac ices,
o ganiza ional s uc u es, and ac i i ies (Kons an a os e al., 2013). A me hod-
ological consequence is ha i became clea ha he U bal app oach can help
iden i y ele an con ex ual elemen s o unde s and he condi ions o he eme -
gence and e olu ion o social inno a ions including elemen s ha acili a e and
cons ain he ac i i ies o implemen a ion o he inno a ion (Bonomelli, 2018).
2.2 Lessons and insigh s om UFIL esea ch
The e was signi ican heo e ical de elopmen as we e ol ed he U bal
app oach and, as ea ly as in ou pilo phase, pa icipan s ound ha engaging
in he p ocess o da a ga he ing, impac pa hway mapping, and wo kshop
planning, pa icipa ion, and acili a ion helped build capaci y and dialogues
ha s eng hened o ganiza ions and ne wo ks, helped de elop quick and easy
impac assessmen s, and signi ican ly con ibu ed o heo e ical de elopmen
o he p ojec . In addi ion, he UFILs p o ided li ing labs whe e we could es
and de elop he U bal p ocess and i s applica ion. This i e a i e app oach
helped o make a ange o sus ainabili y challenges mo e ob ious. In p ac ice,
U bal case s udies we e no jus an academic exe cise. They also helped he
mul iple UFILs iden i y and add ess hu dles and, in many cases, ind new ways
o deal wi h challenges and su ace successes o build on and celeb a e.
2.2.1 Sus ainable ood sys em dimensions
A sys ems lens o e s an oppo uni y o g asp he kaleidoscopic shi s be ween
people and he en i onmen as ood ci cles and mo es om seed o able o
was e (Hipel e al., 2010; Mo gan e al., 2008). U bal b ough speci ici y o he
impac pa hway mapping app oach in he con ex o sus ainabili y and ood
U bal 25
sys ems combined by iden i ying how ac ual changes and impac s we e he
esul o sus ainable u ban ood sys em inno a ions. This was con i med
h ough he wo k in a ious UFILs. As esea che s in he Cape Town UFIL
obse ed abou he impac pa hway maps:
[T]he in e ela ion, con e gence, po en ial di e gence be ween he a i-
ous changes and pa hways owa ds he di e en dimensions o sus aina-
bili y, also build a sys emic heo y o change, emphasizing posi i e and
nega i e eedback loops, un o eseen changes, and un o eseen con adic-
ions be ween pa hways, which we belie e a e pa icula ly ele an o
add ess he issue o he FSS [ ood sys em sus ainabili y].
(Chap e 10, p. 191)
U bal helped o cla i y he in e connec edness o sus ainable ood sys em
dimensions as well as he need o ca e ul assessmen ha helped a oid alse
assump ions (e.g., local equals mo e sus ainable, Hin ichs, 2016; Bo n &
Pu cell, 2006). The combina ion o hese wo insigh s helped o gene a e eal-
is ic sus ainabili y p oposals o he u u e, an ou come ha is o p ac ical
impo ance o many easons. Fo example, esea che s in he Milano Ris-
o azione (MiRi) UFIL (Chap e 6) explained ha iden i ying logis ical ba i-
e s and enable s wi h espec o he sus ainabili y o he inno a ion allowed
hem o ecommend conc e e sus ainabili y guidelines o be included in u u e
con ac s sen ou o ende . In pa icula , he combina ion o sus ainabili y
and applying a sys ems lens helped hem o cla i y cha ac e is ics o sus aina-
ble ood supply chains and how o de e mine ways o sho en he supply chain
beyond simply geog aphical dis ance o include in o ma ional and ela ional
p oximi y. Th ough he U bal analysis, i was possible o iden i y ways logis ics
ende s could be used o enhance and/o moni o speci ic sus ainabili y dimen-
sions o he MiRi ini ia i e using hese h ee ace s o sus ainable ood sys ems
chains (dis ance, in o ma ion, and ela ionships). These new sus ainabili y
conside a ions o ende s we e speci ied as: 1) en i onmen al, including al e -
na i e anspo a ion op ions such as ehicle ype; 2) ood secu i y, spelling ou
a commi men o egula and eliable ood deli e y; 3) imp o ed social esil-
ience h ough be e wo king condi ions; 4) mo e anspa en accoun abili y
o deli e y and ca bon emissions; and 5) educed inequi y in he wo kplace. I
aken up, hese conside a ions could os e a mo e in eg a ed and cohe en
app oach o sus ainable ood sys ems.
In he B asilia (Chap e 3) and Ma Can ine Au emen (Chap e 5) UFILs,
his le el o sus ainabili y awa eness ocused he a en ion o pa icipan s on
educing ood was e. In MCA, i aised he p o ile o educing ood was e in
school can eens as pa o en i onmen al educa ion. In B asilia, his ansla ed
in o a g ea e up ake o ze o was e o es au an s as pa o a ci cula econ-
omy. In he Mexico Ci y UFIL (Chap e 4), he U bal p ocess helped o cla i y
he ba ie s ha needed o be add essed o ealize desi ed goals and impac s
32 Alison Blay-Palme e al.
insigh s on changes and impac s ha unco e he p ocess o ood sys ems
ans o ma ion di ec ly add essing scaling issues. U bal’s ocus on a mul i-
dimensional unde s anding o sus ainabili y means ha i can be applied a
mul iple scales so ha “ he sys ema ic na u e o in e en ions o he sus ain-
abili y o he ood sys em and hus, he ac ha he a ea o impac a e ac u-
ally wide (sus ainabili y dimensions o ela ed ac i i ies a e indi ec ly
in ol ed)” (Chap e 5, p. 79). Applying he U bal app oach also adds o wha
we unde s and abou scaling as desc ibed by Moo e and Riddell (2015) whe e:
1) scaling up is abou impac ing laws and policy; 2) scaling ou occu s h ough
duplica ion as he inno a ion sp eads, e idence o which includes he eplica-
ion o sp eading o p ojec s and p og ammes geog aphically and/o o g ea e
numbe s, o he dissemina ion o p inciples, knowledge, and expe iences wi h
adap a ion o new e i o ial con ex s; and 3) scaling deep is impac ing cul-
u al oo s, and en ails sp eading cul u al ideas by using s o ies and p o iding
o he e idence o shi no ms and belie s and can equi e signi ican in es -
men in ans o ma i e lea ning and Communi ies o P ac ice. These h ee
o ms o scaling a e no mu ually exclusi e and can help inno a o s shape
hyb id s a egies o hink and ac owa ds a wide change. The U bal p ocess
suppo s he iden i ica ion o he ans o ma ional oppo uni ies ha eme ge
om scaling including he modali ies o change ini ia ed by inno a ion ac i -
i ies as U bal cha ac e izes he enable s, condi ions o success, impedimen s,
and le e s ha make change and/o impac possible. This knowledge makes i
possible o unde s and he di e si y o he inno a ion impac s and helps o
cla i y he capaci y o ampli y hese impac s as an oppo uni y o os e
inc eased ans o ma ion.
Iden i ying hese scaling oppo uni ies is a he co e o U bal’s ocus on
impac pa hways, making a ious ypes o scaling mo e appa en . The ECF
a m p ojec in Be lin (Chap e 8) p o ides an example o scaling ou and
demons a es how u ban ag icul u e can be linked o i s u ban con ex and
su ounding egion, as well as how he ECF Fa m’s u nkey ope a ions
ins alled in o he ci ies a e connec ed o hei communi ies, egions, and o he
places, and con ibu e o he dissemina ion o change. In he Hanoi UFIL
(Chap e 7), scaling ou was achie ed h ough online pla o ms in a ious loca-
ions. In he Mexico Ci y UFIL (Chap e 4), scaling deep occu ed h ough he
U bal app oach which aised ques ions abou how o include ac o s and “ aise
he scope o ood jus ice ac ion” especially wi h espec o agency and powe
dynamics o a me s. Add essing his ques ion is he main goal o U bal S ep
3 ha o e s a unique oppo uni y o go beyond he simple and limi ed assess-
men o he impac o isola ed inno a ions and o e lec on he in e connec-
ions and possibili ies o a wide impac on ood sys em sus ainabili y. Speci -
ically, he U bal app oach can help s akeholde s add ess ques ions such as how
can inno a ions be mo e widely adop ed, and ul ima ely lead o ans o ma i e
impac ? As such, wha e e choices migh be made ega ding he speci ics o an
U bal p ojec , S ep 3 can os e a e lexi e exe cise on he di e en o ms o
scaling.

U bal 33
Ga ne ing he suppo o public au ho i ies is a possible seconda y impac
o U bal. As he case o Ma Can ine Au emen demons a es,
The exe cise o c oss-sec ional analysis o U bal esul s allows [us o]
o de and p io i ise [Ma Can ine Au emen ] ac i i ies acco ding o hei
weigh and in luence on each o he . This esul can p o ide in e es ing
knowledge o decision making o imp o ing he sus ainabili y ajec-
o y ha he p ojec engende s.
(Chap e 5, p. 79)
Ma Can ine Au emen sough o ampli y he scope o he inno a ion by
ex ending he measu es aken by he p og amme and con ibu ing o a spin-o
ia a coope a i e ini ia i e wi h neighbou ing school can eens. This suppo ed
he goal o ancho change a he e i o ial scale, despi e in e na ional ade
ag eemen s ha limi hei abili y o p ocu e local ood.
In summa y, U bal enables inno a o s o: 1) iden i y mul iple sus ainabili y
dimensions simul aneously ac oss scales; 2) moni o sho -, medium-, and long
e m indica o s; and 3) de elop a collec i e unde s anding o he inno a ion.
As p e iously discussed, while i is challenging o include all he key ac o s,
U bal can esul in a mo e balanced assessmen as inclusi e pa icipa ion can
aise bo h posi i e and nega i e conside a ions.
The esul s o U bal hus in i e us o hink abou he mechanisms, ac i i ies,
and ins umen s, exis ing o o be c ea ed ha can be used o ensu e he sho -
and medium- e m changes and long- impac s o inno a ion. The po en ial o
use U bal o moni o sus ainabili y is also e y p omising o esea che s,
unde s, and policymake s. As UFILs iden i y simila challenges, he e is also
he oppo uni y o build global Communi ies o P ac ice and c ea e solida i y
a ound sus ainabili y ac ion. U bal can help expose spaces whe e change is
needed and how his can happen, cla i ying how inno a ion can con ibu e o
he ansi ion o mo e sus ainable ood sys ems.
Re e ences
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Bilali, H. (2020). T ansi ion heu is ic amewo ks in esea ch on ag o- ood sus ainabil-
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DOI: 10.4324/9781003285441-3
3.1 In oduc ion
Con empo a y gas onomy is an inno a i e ield o sus ainabili y p ac ices in he
ood sys em (Pe ei a e al., 2019). Many che s a ound he wo ld choose ing edi-
en s no ed o hei sus ainable a ibu es, whe he hey a e local and o ganic
ing edien s o p oduc s ha e lec egional cul u e and biodi e si y (Pe ei a
e al., 2019; Zane i, 2017). Che s suppo ing small-scale, local, ag oecological p o-
duc ion sys ems a e pa icula ly impo an in B azil, whe e ag ibusiness is domi-
nan and gene a es conside able social and en i onmen al impac s (Saue , 2018).
The link be ween gas onomy and sus ainabili y e e s o many issues con-
ce ning how dishes a e p epa ed, whe e and how ing edien s a e p oduced, he
en i onmen al impac o es au an s, employmen issues, and so on. Ne e he-
less, schola s ha e poin ed ou ha he eme gence o sus ainable gas onomy is
mainly due o he loss o alue o ood as a esul o globaliza ion, leading o
he disempowe men o people in ood p epa a ion p ocesses, including he
s ages o g owing and cooking ood (Sloan e al., 2015). “Sus ainable Gas on-
omy Day”, p omo ed by he Food and Ag icul u e O ganiza ion o he Uni ed
Na ions (FAO), de ines he se o ac i i ies de eloped by hese che s o add ess
he sus ainabili y o gas onomy as “a cuisine ha akes in o accoun he ing e-
dien s—whe e hey come om, how hey a e g own, how hey each ou ma -
ke s and, ul ima ely, ou pla es” (S e nad e al., 2021, p. 2). In B azil and o he
La in Ame ican coun ies, he ki chen p o ides a space o in oducing local
na i e species ha a e li le used and/o do no ha e a s uc u ed supply chain,
hus demons a ing hese oods’ po en ial o ( e)in eg a e he local ood cul-
u e. Che s conce ned abou socio-en i onmen al issues p omo e ac ions o
de elop egional ood h ough he use and dissemina ion o oods p epa ed
wi h na i e plan s ha suppo amily a ming, s eng hen ies be ween u al
and u ban a eas, and educe ood was e (Ba bosa, 2009; Niede le & Schube ,
2020; Pe ei a e  al., 2019; Zane i, 2017). Fo example, Te esa Co ção, a
enowned che in B azil, s ands ou o he use o na i e B azilian ing edien s
in he gas onomic dishes and is known o he ood ac i ism (F anklin, 2012).
In B asília, ce ain che s ha e gained s ong ecogni ion o hei e o s o
c ea e a gas onomic iden i y o he ci y. Fo a new ci y c ea ed jus o e 60 yea s
3 The ole o che s and gas onomy
in ans o ming he B asília
ood sys em
Jessica Pe ei a Ga cia, Mau o G. M. Capela i,
S éphane Guéneau, Tainá Bacella Zane i and
Janaína D.A.S. Diniz
This chap e has been made a ailable unde a CC-BY-NC-ND license.
Role o che s and gas onomy 37
ago, B asília’s epu a ion as he hi d la ges gas onomic hub in B azil is s iking
(Cong esso em Foco, 2017). Mo eo e , he popula ion o he Fede al Dis ic —
he adminis a i e a ea o which he ci y o B asília is pa —is abou 3-million
inhabi an s (IBGE, 2022), and i is home o many ci il se an s and employees
o in e na ional o ganiza ions who a e endowed wi h a high inancial and in el-
lec ual capi al and a e o en conce ned abou sus ainabili y issues. In he Fede al
Dis ic , one o he majo sus ainabili y conce ns is he apid de e io a ion o
he Ce ado biome, which su ounds B asília. The Ce ado biome is su e ing
om he expansion o ag ibusiness wi h high a es o de o es a ion and se e al
o ms o socio-en i onmen al damage (Eloy e al., 2018).
Agains his backd op, some au ho s ha e sough o g asp he ole o
gas onomy in p omo ing egional p oduc s om he Ce ado biome and o
analyse he p ocess o de eloping ma ke s o hese p oduc s, which a e
o en unknown o B azilian consume s (Dua e e al., 2020; Guéneau e al.,
2017; Zane i & Bales o, 2015). Ne e heless, u he esea ch is s ill needed
o be e unde s and he ela ionship be ween gas onomy, he consump ion
o hese p oduc s, and he impac s o he ac ions implemen ed by gas o-
nomic ac o s on he ans o ma ion o ood sys ems. Al hough gou me
che s in La in Ame ica p esen hemsel es as impo an ac o s in he de el-
opmen o al e na i e ood sys ems (Zanella, 2020; Zane i & Schneide ,
2017), sys ema ic s udies o hei oles and capaci y o s eng hen hese sys-
ems a e sca ce.
This chap e analyses he sus ainable p ac ices o che s wo king in B asília
and conside s hei po en ial o ans o m he ood sys em o he B azilian
capi al. In so doing, we seek o answe he ollowing ques ion: Wha a e he
ways in which che s ake ac ion and wha challenges do hey ace in he con-
s uc ion o sus ainable ood sys ems in he ci y o B asília?
The chap e is di ided in o ou sec ions. Sec ion 3.2 p esen s he concep ual
amewo k o he esea ch. Based on a e iew o he li e a u e on he concep s
o ood sus ainabili y and gas onomy, we de ine he concep o “sus ainable
gas onomy”, a new e m used by in e na ional ins i u ions such as he FAO bu
s ill li le s udied in he social science li e a u e. This de ini ion hen se es as a
baseline o ou analysis o he changes esul ing om he ac ions ini ia ed by
che s in B asília. Sec ion 3.3 p esen s he me hodological amewo k o he
esea ch, de ailing he da a collec ion p ocess and he U bal app oach (Vale e
e al., 2019).
Sec ion 3.4 ou lines he esul s o he esea ch in h ee subsec ions. The i s
subsec ion analyses he che s’ decision-making p ocess su ounding sus aina-
bili y, including he sus ainabili y c i e ia hey use in hei ac i i ies and o
wha ex en his may e lec a end in B asília’s gas onomy. The second sub-
sec ion conside s he poli ical dimension o che s’ wo k o build an al e na i e
ood sys em. Finally, he hi d subsec ion highligh s he limi a ions o he
che s’ p ac ices and ac i ism. Sec ion 3.5 p esen s he conclusions o he
esea ch, se ing ou he main indings and e lec ing on he u u e challenges
acing he ans o ma ion o B asília’s ood sys em.

38 Jessica Pe ei a Ga cia e al.
3.2 Concep ual amewo k: S eng hening he ela ionship be ween
ood sus ainabili y and gas onomy
Some s ands o con empo a y ood cul u e a e inc easingly inco po a ing
sus ainabili y conside a ions in o hei app oaches h ough mo emen s aimed
a educing mea consump ion, banishing ood o igina ing om monocul u e
p oduc ion sys ems, p omo ing o ganic and ag oecological p oduc s, and
a ou ing ood pu chased di ec ly om a me s (Po ilho e al., 2011; P eiss
e al., 2017).
Con empo a y socie ies’ ising in e es in ood sus ainabili y also coincides
wi h he g owing impo ance gi en o aes he iciza ion, as e app ecia ion, and
pleasu e in ea ing and cooking. This end, which Ba bosa (2009) desc ibes as
a p ocess o gas onomiza ion, has os e ed an inc easingly close ela ionship
be ween gas onomy and u al a eas, as he pleasu e o cooking and ea ing
combines a ques o be e -quali y ing edien s and g ea e alue gi en o p od-
uc s’ o igin, on he one hand, wi h he use o gas onomic echniques and
some imes adi ional culina y knowledge on he o he (Zane i, 2017).
The e is no consensus on he concep o gas onomy. His o ically, i was
shaped by he eme gence o he i s mode n es au an s. I has some imes
been associa ed mo e closely wi h eli e and as e, and a o he imes wi h social
mo emen s and ma ke s. Fo he pu poses o his s udy, we adop ed he con-
cep de eloped by Zane i (2017), who de ines gas onomy as:
[A] socio-cul u al p ocess o in e ac ion be ween, on he one hand, he
ajec o y o he ing edien s— om hei p oduc ion o hei dis ibu-
ion, hei p ocessing using culina y echniques, hei consump ion, and
hei disposal—and on he o he hand he ela ionships es ablished
be ween he ac o s ha make his ajec o y possible—such as p oduce s,
dis ibu o s, che s and/o cooks and consume s—media ed by knowl-
edge, i uals, and symbolic and aes he ic ep esen a ions along his pa h.
(Zane i, 2017, p. 47)
As a social phenomenon, gas onomy has also ound i s way in o he poli ical
a ena. Some au ho s, such as F anklin (2012), Ba be (2015), and Niede le and
Schube (2020), a gue ha che s play a social and poli ical ole su ounding
ood. This ole can be desc ibed as gas onomic ac i ism in he sense ha , in
using speci ic p oduc s in hei ki chens and jus i ying hese choices, che s may
in luence and educa e hei consume s owa ds sus ainable gas onomy.
Mo eo e , owing o hei ame, gou me che s a e also claim-make s who
can ac as policy en ep eneu s (Kingdon, 1995). As Sloan e al. (2015) no e,
“che s ha e he powe o change opinions and ha e highly in luen ial oles o
play in shaping he gas onomic desi es o socie y o a mo e sus ainable u u e”
(p. x i). Because o hei ins i u ional posi ion, amous che s ha e a ce ain
legi imacy ega ding ood issues and a e in a posi ion o de end a cause and
p opose solu ions o policymake s.
Role o che s and gas onomy 39
K ause and Bahls (2013) and Sloan e al. (2015) ou line a numbe o cha -
ac e is ics ha can make gas onomy a sus ainable ac i i y. These include in
pa icula :
1) he c ea ion o sus ainable menus, “in connec ion no only wi h new gas o-
nomic ends, bu also wi h a a ional and sensible me hod o using ou
esou ces” (K ause & Bahls, 2013, p. 439) based on seasonali y, o ganic and
local p oduc s, and cul u al ac o s;
2) he choice o ing edien s, in o med by packaging and s o age, anspo a-
ion, locali y/au hen ici y, and biodi e si y conside a ions;
3) en i onmen al educa ion, wi h educa ion and aining o he sec o ’s wo k-
o ce on his subjec , so ha hey can inco po a e he ene s o sus ainabili y
in o hei wo k and e e yday p ac ices.
I is in e es ing o no e ha al hough many enowned a an -ga de es au an s
do no use he e m sus ainable gas onomy o de ine hei es ablishmen s, a
signi ican numbe o hese p ac ices ha e been adop ed by con empo a y gas-
onomy che s. Mo eo e , hese p ac ices a e iden i ied as he basic e hos o
es au an s ecognized o se ing c ea i e hau e cuisine (Zane i, 2017).
Renowned che s, especially he s a s o gas onomic guides and ankings, ou-
inely inco po a e ce i ied and aceable o ganic oods in o hei cooking
because hese ing edien s a e p oduced on a small scale, o en by g oups o
adi ional peoples and communi ies and a e endemic o a speci ic egion.
Beyond hese ing edien s’ senso y a ibu es—quali ies ha may help de ine a
che ’s c ea i e signa u e—che s o en choose local and adi ional p oduc s
o ideological easons (Aze edo, 2015). In his sense, he e appea s o ha e
been a shi in he e y concep o gas onomy, which has eme ged om i s
echnical and eli is bubble buil a ound he F ench school1 (Pulici, 2012) and
which, as Zane i (2017) a gues, is expanding bo h ho izon ally in he wo ld o
cuisine and e ically o inco po a e less eli is cuisines. These cuisines bo h
o e dishes ha a e mo e a o dable while s ill being p oduced using elabo a e
echniques and, abo e all, place sus ainabili y c i e ia a he cen e o meal
p oduc ion.
Guided by his shi , se e al mo emen s a e d i ing con empo a y sus ain-
able gas onomy, including: a) he Slow Food mo emen , c ea ed in 1989 in
I aly o p omo e good, clean, and ai ood based on a coope a i e ela ionship
be ween a me s, cooks, and o he consume s (conside ed as co- a me s)
(Pe ini, 2015); b) he Loca o e mo emen , c ea ed by Cali o nian che Alice
Wa e s in 1971, which ad oca es consuming local p oduc s as a way o boos
he economy and local de elopmen by b inging a me s and consume s
oge he (Aze edo, 2015); and c) he Fa m o Fo k mo emen , c ea ed by New
Yo k che Dan Ba be , which commi s pa icipa ing che s o no buying p od-
uc s om mo e han 100 km away (Ba be , 2015).
Wi hin hese mo emen s, i is wo h highligh ing he wo k o ce ain che s
a he o e on o inno a i e gas onomic p ac ices s i ing o inco po a e
40 Jessica Pe ei a Ga cia e al.
elemen s o sus ainabili y, namely: René Redzepi, om he now closed es au-
an Noma in Denma k, who ini ia ed an i ine an school o imp o e local
ac o s’ gas onomic echniques in o de o enable hem o cook wi h local
ing edien s (Leleux & an de Kaaij, 2019); Vi gilio Ma inez, om Res au an
Cen al in Lima, Pe u, who applies mode n cooking echniques o indigenous
Pe u ian ing edien s and emb aces app oaches ha espec Andean ecosys-
ems (Ba andia án, 2018); and che s Ray Ad iansyah and Eelke Plasmeije ,
om he es au an Loca o e in Bali, Indonesia, whe e 95% o he ki chen’s
ing edien s a e Indonesian (Sga bi, 2019).
Such p ojec s ha e also de eloped in B azil, whe e se e al ac o s ha e con-
e ged o os e sus ainable ood ini ia i es. In his coun y, he ag icul u al
sec o is mainly cha ac e ized by la ge-scale monocul u e a ming and he p o-
mo ion o commodi y expo s ha con ibu e o sepa a ing socie y om
na u e and ende ing ood issues in isible (C uz e al., 2016). Howe e , since
1990, deba es on he heme o ood sus ainabili y ha e been aking o e he
policy agenda as well as scien i ic esea ch and de elopmen in B azil (Mon ei o
e al., 2015; Po ilho e al., 2011). Food ac i is s a e eage o be e unde s and
and communica e whe e ood comes om, how i is p oduced, and why i is
consumed (Da ol e al., 2016; Ma inelli & Ca alli, 2019).
Among he B azilian ep esen a i es o a con empo a y gas onomy ha
p omo es sus ainable ood ini ia i es, che s Tainá Ma ajoa a and Te esa
Co ção in pa icula a e wo h men ioning. Toge he wi h he companion
Ca los Ru eil, Tainá Ma ajoa a c ea ed he ood cul u e cen e ‘Iaci a á’ in he
Amazonian me opolis o Belém.
Iaci a á’ p omo es he same alues and o ms o dissidence agains he
dominan ood sys ems by c i icizing he exploi a i e ela ions b ough
abou by he indus ializa ion o ood p oduc ion and he a ending
s anda diza ion, educed a ie al di e si y, loss o la ou s and culina y
knowledge, and seed con ol.
(G anchamp, 2019, p. 13)
Te esa Co ção ounded he Mani a Ins i u e which aims o es o e adi ional
ood knowledge.
Based on a e iew o he li e a u e explo ing how he issue o sus ainabili y
has pe cola ed in o he concep o gas onomy, and how social ac o s hem-
sel es a e implemen ing inno a ions o ans o m gas onomy, he concep o
sus ainable gas onomy can be unde s ood as an app oach whe eby ing edi-
en s a e chosen acco ding o hei social, en i onmen al, and heal h- ela ed
cha ac e is ics ( ac o ing in dimensions such as p oximi y, au hen ici y, ai -
ness, nu i ional quali y, modes o p oduc ion, packaging, anspo , and dis-
ibu ion). Fu he mo e, he way hese ing edien s a e combined is in o med
no only by speci ic culina y echniques o ob ain e ined dishes wi h gus a o y
and aes he ic quali ies bu also by he goal o making op imal use o a ailable
ing edien s in o de o p ese e he en i onmen and a oid ood was e. Beyond
Role o che s and gas onomy 41
he con ines o he es au an , sus ainable gas onomy s i es o in luence con-
sump ion choices and wide policy p ocesses o ans o m he ood sys em as a
whole so ha i can become mo e inclusi e and sus ainable.
3.3 Tailo ing he U bal app oach o he analysis o he pa hways o
ood sys em ans o ma ion induced by B asília che s
In o de o analyse he sus ainable p ac ices adop ed by che s wo king in
B asília, a quali a i e esea ch me hodology was implemen ed in wo s ages.
The i s s age included in e iews wi h key ac o s.
Be ween 2018 and 2019, 26 semi-s uc u ed in e iews we e conduc ed: 16
wi h che s and es au an owne s in B asília; 1 wi h a ood coope a i e; 6 wi h
ood p oduce s (including 3 Communi y Suppo ed Ag icul u e (CSA) a me s
and 3 a me s om adi ional communi ies); 2 wi h comme cial in e media -
ies; and 1 wi h he pe son managing a gas onomic p og amme ha ope a es
in pa ne ship wi h he Fede al Dis ic Educa ion Sec e a ia . All in e iews
we e eco ded and ansc ibed, and a con en analysis guided by he esea ch
ques ion was pe o med o iden i y and ca ego ize he ac ions associa ed wi h
sus ainable gas onomy and he challenges ha he che s ace in implemen -
ing hem.
Res au an s we e chosen on he basis o hei own s a emen s abou hei
willingness o engage in sus ainabili y and acco ding o c i e ia se ou in he
li e a u e on sus ainable gas onomy. We sea ched o hese “sus ainabili y-
o ien ed” es ablishmen s using he snowball echnique (Vinu o, 2014), un il he
numbe o che s selec ed and in e iewed sa is ied he p inciple o sa u a ion
(Glase & S auss, 2006).
Se e al in e iew guides we e p oduced o he di e en ypes o ac o s
in e iewed. Wi h es au an s, he ques ions ocused p ima ily on how he
che s concei e o hei es au an s, wha di e en ia es hem om o he es ab-
lishmen s, and he his o y and ajec o y o he es au an s’ c ea ion. A se ies
o ques ions hen explo ed each che ’s p ac ices: he ypes o p oduc s used;
he p oduc selec ion c i e ia; he supply chain o he ing edien s used in he
es au an ; he es au an ’s was e policy; he che ’s ela ionships wi h suppli-
e s, cus ome s, and o he es au an s; and he inno a ions implemen ed speci -
ically o make hei es ablishmen o he ci y’s ood sys em mo e sus ainable.
The guides o in e iews wi h he o he ac o s ocused on he sus ainabili y o
he ac o s’ p ac ices ( o a me s, coope a i es, and in e media ies) o hei
p og ammes and ac ions o ad ance sus ainabili y in ood sys ems ( o he
public sec o ), and on he na u e o hei ela ionship wi h he es au an s o
B asília. The aim was pa icula ly o in es iga e he ype o pa ne ship buil
wi h he es au an s and he way in which his pa ne ship was able o change
hese o he ac o s’ p ac ices o ac ions.
The second s age o he esea ch consis ed o a pa icipa o y wo kshop
o ganized in B asília in June 2019. The wo kshop allowed he esea che s o
analyse he ac ions, iden i ied h ough he in e iews, which con ibu e o he
48 Jessica Pe ei a Ga cia e al.
3.4.3 Challenges o and limi a ions o sus ainable gas onomy
The pe spec i es sha ed by he g oup in e iewed sugges ha he i s chal-
lenge aced by he che s and o he ac o s o sus ainable gas onomy in B asília
is local a me s’ limi ed supply capaci y. This is due o he ac ha he la ge
es au an s o B asília equi e a gua an eed supply o speci ic p oduc s on a
egula basis, bu also o he expansion o sus ainable gas onomy in he
egion. Acco ding o he in e iewees, many o he amily a ming businesses
a e small and in o mal, which hinde s he de elopmen o s ong pa ne ships
wi h es au an s. This p eca ious supply s uc u e among amily a me s
en ails legal and con ac ual di icul ies, as many a me s canno issue in oices
and es au an s ha e o agmen hei pu chases, adding on g ea e iscal com-
plexi y o he es ablishmen s. An accoun by one o he in e iewees exempli-
ies his si ua ion:
A huge di icul y in wo king wi h amily a ming is ha , in my iew, i is
s ill a g oup ha has no o ganized i sel e y well, and ou weekly pu -
chase is gigan ic, and I ha e al eady aced se e al di icul ies in ge ing
hold o he a me and saying “man, can you supply me wi h 200 kilos o
oma oes?” and he said “no, I can o e you 40” and I said “and nex
week?” and he said “nex week I can’ o e you any hing, because 40 is
my whole p oduc ion.” The ickle o con ac is e y di icul , because
nowadays you go o Ceasa,7 you can ind a gian wholesale , o h ee
gian wholesale s ha can supply an en i e es au an [on hei own], and
i ’s di icul o wo k wi h amily a ming like his.
(In e iewee 15, 2019)
This ype o si ua ion, b ough on by local p oduce s’ limi ed supply capaci y,
ends o a ou es au an s ha adap hei menus o he a ailable ood supply,
c ea ing dishes om wha he a me s can p o ide. These es au an s gene ally
ha e a clien ele ha can adap o he o e : consume s who come no o as e
aspeci ic dish, bu a he because hey adhe e o a se o p inciples upheld
by he es au an while also app ecia ing he o e all quali y o he dishes
o e ed. These cus ome s no mally spend a g ea e amoun on pu chases. In
his sense, e e ing o ou ypology o es au an s engaged in sus ainable gas-
onomy inB asília, i appea s ha “al e na i e gas onomic” es au an s a e
gene ally es ic ed o small es ablishmen s ha se e a highe social class (see
Table 3.1).
Al hough he use o ui s om he Ce ado was a p ac ice men ioned by
mo e han hal o he che s in e iewed, hese ui s gene ally ea u e in small
quan i ies and o en on an i egula basis, o ins ance on special occasions
such as gas onomic es i als dedica ed o he Ce ado, wi h he excep ion o a
ew es au an s in he al e na i e gas onomic ca ego y (Dua e e al., 2021).
Asecond challenge o sus ainable gas onomy in B asília is hus he inclusion
o la ge quan i ies o Ce ado ui s in es ablishmen s’ dishes, on a mo e eg-
ula basis. Two impo an ac o s help o unde s and his challenge.

Role o che s and gas onomy 49
The i s is he che s’ lack o commi men o including Ce ado ui s in
hei cuisine. This may be linked o he end al eady iden i ied by Zane i and
Bales o (2015), who poin o a gap be ween he che s’ he o ic on he p o ec-
ion o he biome and hei ac ual commi men o changing hei culina y
p ac ices. Acco ding o he au ho s, his end can be due ei he o ope a ional
conside a ions by he es au an s (associa ed wi h he di icul y o wo king
wi h a changing menu, o he pu chasing ela ionship wi h a me s), o o con-
sume s choosing hese es au an s o he e inemen o hei dishes a he
han o p ese e he Ce ado biome. Fu he mo e, he lack o specialized s a
who unde s and he impo ance o ollowing he guidelines o sus ainable gas-
onomy can make i di icul o u n discou se in o eali y (K ause & Bahls,
2013), ul ima ely leading o he main enance o he s a us quo.
The second ac o ha explains he low quan i y o Ce ado ui s in he
e e yday menus o B asília’s es au an s ela es o che s cons an ly sensing
hei cus ome s’ eluc ance o y hese speci ic ui s. Many o hem epo ed
ha when hey o e hei cus ome s he choice be ween wo dishes, he one
con aining Ce ado ui s and he o he wi hou hese ui s, he cus ome s
consis en ly choose he op ion wi hou Ce ado ui s. The ollowing in e iew
exce p clea ly illus a es his si ua ion:
I hink people he e a e no e y com o able lea ing hei com o zone,
ying some hing new, ying some hing di e en . I see i a lo he e in
B asília, i seems ha o he people ha e o es i and say ha i is good
o i o be accep ed. We ha e a lo o cases like ha , when I ge called o
a able o sugges i and he pe son says “no, I wan he s eak wi h iso o”.
(Res au an 15, 2019)
This accoun indica es ha he clien s o gas onomic es au an s a e no will-
ing o change hei consump ion habi s and ha e a e y conse a i e gas o-
nomic p o ile. Many o B asília’s uppe -class esiden s s ill see meals made
om Ce ado p oduc s as popula dishes, as in he case o he adi ional “ ice
wi h pequi”, which would emo e hem om hei eli is bubble. In his sense,
he mo e consis en inclusion o Ce ado ui is hampe ed by a ma ke a ion-
ali y ha is no ye socially cons uc ed (Guéneau e al., 2017). The ollowing
accoun illus a es his p oblem:
A es au an ha se es dinne and ha wan s o sell some hing sophis i-
ca ed … ends up c ea ing a cycle whe e you need o ha e comme cial dishes
o be able o pay he en , and his ends up dilu ing he concep wi h s and-
a d op ions, because ha ’s wha people buy. And so he es au an ends up
selling, I don’ know, iso o wi h ille s eak o be able o pay he en .
(Res au an 14, 2019)
Some collec i e ini ia i es in ol ing che s a e s i ing o change his ep esen a-
ion among consume s. The publica ion o gas onomic ecipe books and he
o ganiza ion o gas onomy es i als and culina y e en s hos ed by g oups o
50 Jessica Pe ei a Ga cia e al.
che s—p i a e banque s o so s dedica ed o Ce ado gas onomy, he
en ance ee o which necessa ily limi s pa icipa ion o he uppe classes—a e
examples o such ini ia i es by he abo emen ioned ac i is mo emen s. These
e en s communica e he need o suppo he gas onomy based on Ce ado
p oduc s in o de o p o ec his h ea ened biome.
The issues desc ibed abo e poin o he hi d challenge o and limi a ion o
sus ainable gas onomy in B asília, which is he need o social inclusion o , in
o he wo ds, he need o expand gas onomic sus ainabili y o less p i ileged
cus ome s who ha e a lowe pe capi a income. B asília has he highes pe
capi a income in B azil (IBGE, 2021), and his income is concen a ed wi hin
a small g oup o esiden s o he capi al—usually ci il se an s and hei am-
ilies—who li e in mo e cen alized and upma ke a eas o he ci y. This is also
whe e he esea ched es ablishmen s wi h a sus ainabili y p o ile a e loca ed.
Based on ou indings, i is clea ha he ci y o B asília p omo es sus ainable
gas onomic ac ions o a mo e a luen social class. These a e he ac o s who
seek, consume in and sus ain his gas onomic ci cui s i ing o de elop sus-
ainable p ac ices. E en so, he e a e excep ions, especially in he case o che s
linked o local uni e si ies, which a e wo king o es ablish uni e si y ex ension
p ac ices in less a luen a eas, such as schools on he ou ski s o he ci y.
Howe e , his is no he dominan pa e n o sus ainable gas onomy obse ed
in he capi al o B azil. On he con a y, he p e ailing app oach is eli is and
es ic ed o mo e a luen social classes, hus aising ques ions abou u u e
challenges o socially inclusi e sus ainable p ac ices and he ex en o which
such p ac ices, e en hough hey exis on a small scale in he capi al8 (IESB,
2016), can se e as an ins umen o imp o ing he die o B asília esiden s.
3.5 Conclusion
This chap e analysed he ole o B asília che s in ans o ming he local ood
sys em, and he challenges hey ace in his endea ou . Ou indings shed ligh on
an ac i is p o ile sha ed by he che s su eyed ha s ee s hei ac ions owa ds:
• Imp o ing he quali y o he ood se ed, using o ganic, neglec ed, and
na i e species, and sou cing hei supply om local amily a me s, he eby
gene a ing suppo o local small-scale p oduce s and coope a i es such as
he Cen al do Ce ado.
• A se o ac i i ies ha p omo e a sus ainable gas onomy based on p oduc s
om he Ce ado biome, which sugges s he beginnings o building a ood
iden i y o he egion o he Fede al Dis ic , based on sus ainabili y p in-
ciples and suppo ed by mo emen s ha seek o gi e he Ce ado poli ical
isibili y, such as Slow ood Ce ado and Panela Candanga.
• A en i eness o he was e gene a ed by hei es ablishmen s, which has
encou aged he sea ch o sel -o ganized al e na i es o he adequa e col-
lec ion and ea men o was e wi h he inno a i e o ganiza ion Ecozinha,
he la ges ze o-was e es au an ini ia i e in B azil.
Role o che s and gas onomy 51
This se o inno a i e ac ions, a ising om coo dina ed engagemen by a spe-
ci ic g oup o che s in he ci y o B asília, demons a es he po en ial o ood
sys ems ans o ma ion owa ds mo e sus ainable p ac ices. This ans o ma-
ion has no happened ye in B asília. Inno a i e ac ions a e s ill es ic ed o
highe -income consume s, e en hough hey inc easingly include u al commu-
ni ies in B asília and he su ounding a ea. I can also be said ha his high-
e -class audience, which emb aces a Eu opean ideal o gas onomy, sha es a
somewha oman icized unde s anding o sus ainabili y. Despi e che s’ en i-
onmen al conce ns, ega ding modes o p oduc ion and he conse a ion o
biodi e si y o ins ance, economic conside a ions o en limi new ac ion, in
addi ion o such ac ion ha ing li le social impac , wi h a la ge pa o he local
popula ion s ill excluded.
Che s’ e y limi ed adop ion o some o he mos ele an sus ainable p ac-
ices, such as making ull use o he ing edien s, se ing seasonal menus, and
os e ing links wi h CSAs, e lec s he signi ican gap be ween hei discou ses
and hei p ac ices. Mo eo e , i e eals he sho comings o public policies
dedica ed o he ans o ma ion o ood sys ems, wi h a lack o echnical assis-
ance and u al ex ension se ices, o ins ance, o suppo inno a i e che s in
hei e o s o build sus ainable ood ma ke s and help a me s and adi ional
communi ies o access hese eme ging ma ke s.
Gas onomy p o ides a space o he c ea ion o new ma ke s and new p od-
uc s. In a ious places a ound he wo ld, i has come o encompass solida i y
es au an s, pa icipa o y can eens, and 100%-bulk o ze o-was e es au an s,
which can inc easingly be ound in wo king-class neighbou hoods. The ini ia-
i es ha ha e eme ged in B asília a e s ill in hei ea ly s ages, bu could d aw
inspi a ion om hese inno a ions o ans o m he ci y’s ood sys em.
No es
1 Pulici conduc ed su eys among membe s o he B azilian eli e and analysed gas-
onomic e iews published in he Paulis P ess be ween 2005 and 2009. She showed
how he B azilian eli e c ea ed a gas onomic uni e se, guided by F ench p o es-
sional gas onomy in he 2000s, in o de o dis inguish i sel om he wo king class.
Classical o p o essional gas onomy akes he F ench school as i s ame o e e -
ence, as he discipline was bo n in he pos -F ench Re olu ion e a when he ex-cooks
o he allen nobili y s a ed o open es au an s o he eme ging bou geoisie.
2 The B azilian e m “ adi ional peoples and communi ies”, as de ined in he B azil-
ian Cons i u ion (Dec ee 6.040 o 07/02/2007), includes na i e, A o-descendan ,
and mul i- acial popula ions.
3 In Po uguese Plan as Alimen ícias Não Con encionais (PANC).
4 Social media has become an ex ension o he es au an as well as he che . Bo h he
che ’s pe sona and he es au an ’s image a e cons uc ed h ough hei media p es-
ence. The media a e used as a space o ma ke ing, nu u ing a ela ionship wi h he
public and, mos o all, gas onomic b anding.
5 A species na i e o he Ce ado, Xylopia a omá ica.
6 A e y popula local newspape .
7 Ceasa (Cen ais de abas ecimen o) a e he main supply cen es o me opoli an
a eas in B azil, b inging oge he mos ood wholesale s in he same loca ion.
52 Jessica Pe ei a Ga cia e al.
8 The Bandeneón social p ojec de eloped by che Sebas ian Pa asole is one o he
ew examples o sus ainable gas onomy in B asília ca e ing o he lowe classes.
The p ojec p o ides i ine an educa ion o ulne able people, and wo ks owa ds
solida i y and sus ainabili y a ound he heme o ood. In o ma ion abou his p o-
jec is a ailable a h ps://www.sebas ianpa asole.com/bandoneon
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DOI: 10.4324/9781003285441-4
4.1 In oduc ion
This chap e p esen s he applica ion o he U bal app oach (see Chap e 1) in
he Mexican con ex o he company Maizajo, which is wo king o se up an
al e na i e dis ibu ion ne wo k o o illas made om na i e maize, p o-
cessed h ough nix amaliza ion. This p ocess in ol es cooking he maize ke -
nels in an alkaline solu ion, usually limewa e . The maize is hen milled a e
soaking o e nigh o ob ain a we dough (masa) used o make o illas and
o he maize p oduc s (B iones e al., 2000).
The company’s p emises consis o a p oduc ion uni , a mill loca ed on he
ou ski s o Mexico Ci y, which p ocesses na i e maize ha es ed di ec ly by
local a me s. The p oduc s ob ained, mainly o illas, a e sold o es au an s
in Mexico Ci y. The backg ound o he wo pa ne s behind he p ojec , who
bo h ained in gas onomy, acili a es access o his ou le .
Maizajo is an u ban-based ini ia i e. Mo e impo an ly, i is a ma ke -chain
inno a ion. The company was bo n ou o he obse a ion ha he quali y o
he o illas sold in he capi al was de e io a ing, which was seen as un ai o
consume s who we e unable o ob ain quali y o illas. The quali y o o illas
and hei p epa a ion me hods ha e e ol ed conside ably o e ime as p oduc-
ion has had o adap o ex emely high demand, especially in Mexico Ci y. A
p esen , he o illa ma ke in Mexico is la gely con olled by majo ood com-
panies (Maseca and Minsa, he main supplie s o maize lou ) (De I a, 2007).
This indus ial con igu a ion eme ged in he 1950s and has las ingly dis up ed
he o illa ade.1 Unlike nix amalized o illas, o illas sold by hese compa-
nies a e made om maize lou . The e a e also many o illas on he ma ke in
he capi al ha a e dyed wi h a i icial colou ing. These p ocesses a e used o
mimic he colou s o o illas made om na i e maize—which can ange in
colou om pink o blue depending on he a ie y—when mos o illas a e
made om selec ed hyb id seeds. The numbe o p ocessing mills has d as i-
cally educed, making mo e oom o indus ial o illas (Ce a, 2020; Rubio &
Rubio, 2013) and in ensi ying he compe i ion be ween he ood companies
and he p ocessing mills o e ing esh dough (Sánchez, 2017). Thus, he
4 T adi ional o illas in Mexico
Oppo uni ies and challenges o
p oduce s and consume s
Héloïse Leloup and Julie Le Gall
This chap e has been made a ailable unde a CC-BY-NC-ND license.
56 Héloïse Leloup and Julie Le Gall
ini ia o s o he p ojec ha e posi ioned hemsel es on a e y compe i i e ma -
ke , seeking o e i e p ocessing and dis ibu ion ac i i ies ha we e losing
g ound. Maizajo is also d i en by he desi e o os e be e collabo a ion
be ween he ma ke and a me s and o build ela ionships o us be ween he
di e en pa ne s.
The ision o he ini ia i e, o i s na a i e (De aux e al., 2009), is o o e
a new way o imp o e he p ospec s o small a me s on ag icul u al ma ke s
(Shephe d, 2007), while esponding o u ban demand o highe quali y oods
ha mee inc easingly s ingen sa e y s anda ds and con ibu ing o he
enewal o ood p ocessing models. The ini ia i e’s model o collec i e ac ion
ends o in ol e no only small a me s, bu o he s akeholde s as well. He e,
he in e media y is a ood p ocessing indus y playe , a ype o ac o ha does
no end o be ound in collec i e ac ion, o in ini ia i es guided by a pa icipa-
o y ma ke chain app oach (De aux e al., 2009). Unlike g ass oo s inno a-
ions, Maizajo is a ma ke -based inno a ion, and i is no s i ing o change
alues in he sys em (Ge ne e al., 2018). Ra he , i aims o gene a e mo e
bene i s o small a me s as well as o he ma ke chain ac o s.
Acco ding o classic de ini ions, inno a ion— he in oduc ion o some hing
new in o an economic and social o ganiza ion—is mo e han e e a ac o ha
d i es he compe i i eness o companies. Inno a ion allows o educing cos s,
imp o ing p oduc i i y o p oduc quali y, and c ea ing new ma ke s in a con-
ex o globalized compe i ion (Po e & Heppelmann, 2014). Fo Maizajo,
inno a ion means posi ioning i sel compe i i ely on an al eady sa u a ed ma -
ke , s anding ou wi h he quali y o he p oduc s i o e s.
In using a adi ional ans o ma ion p ocess, Maizajo is endea ou ing o
connec he pas wi h he p esen . Nix amaliza ion p eda es he Spanish con-
ques , ye i is in e wined wi h con empo a y knowledge, echnologies, and
ques ions (e.g., conce ns abou he hygiene o he p ocess). Du ing his p ocess,
d y maize ke nels a e boiled in an alkaline solu ion and hen insed. The
me hod so ens he ke nels and o ms a pas e, he “nix amal”, which is hen
used o cook o illas. Nix amaliza ion has pa icula ly in e es ing nu i ional
bene i s, as i eleases niacin, an amino acid ha is lacking in maize. A niacin
de iciency can cause pellag a, a disease in ol ing skin, diges i e, and ne e
p oblems. Beyond o illas, nix amal is he co e ing edien o many o he p od-
uc s de i ed om maize, including pozole (a adi ional soup made om nix-
amalized maize g ains), a ole (a d ink made by boiling and dilu ing he pas e
in wa e , possibly la ou ed wi h g ound ui o chocola e), and amales.
Wi h his me hod, Maizajo has he pa icula i y o being a e o-inno a-
ion, a e m gene ally deno ing he delibe a e e i al o his o ical p ac ices,
ideas, and/o echnologies (Zaga a e al., 2020). In his p ocess, old ( e o-)ele-
men s become d i e s o new (inno a i e) ideas. Acco ding o Roge s (1962),
wha ma e s is no whe he an idea is objec i ely new, bu how people pe cei e
he idea: “I he idea seems new o he indi idual, i is an inno a ion” (Roge s,
2010, p. 11).
T adi ional o illas in Mexico 57
This concep is ela i ely cen al o con empo a y discussions on u al
de elopmen and ag icul u al ansi ion (Zaga a e al., 2020). O en, e o-
inno a ion opposes mode nis ag icul u al p ac ices and gene a es speci ic
knowledge sys ems ha ep esen a “s a ing poin o ansi ion” (S ui e ,
2006). S ui e demons a ed ea ly on ha e o-inno a ion is a p ac ice ha
has been de eloped o coun e p oblema ic ends in he ag icul u al sec o . A
e y simila dynamic can be wi nessed in he con ex o ood p ocessing. The
ise o nix amaliza ion is a esponse o he gene alized indus ializa ion o o -
illas. Maizajo’s idea was bo n ou o he lack o quali y o illas accessible o
all on he capi al ci y’s ma ke and g ounded in discon en wi h he p esen
egime (S ui e , 2006). De eloping and dissemina ing nix amaliza ion appea s
o cons i u e a c i ical p ac ice, “an ac i e e o o coun e p e ailing mode n-
isa ion ajec o ies in he ag i- ood sec o ” (Zaga a e al., 2020, p. 643). This
c i icism o he cu en sys em ep esen s he igge o change in Maizajo’s
p ac ices (Su he land e al., 2012). The Maizajo U bal Food Inno a ion Lab
(UFIL) has posi ioned i sel wi hin a speci ic gap in he ma ke : a demand o
p oduc s ha a e non-indus ialized bu also mee he ag oindus y’s s ic
hygiene and quali y s anda ds.
The basic a ibu es o e o-inno a ion a e also consis en wi h e i o ial
s a egies o u al de elopmen (Zaga a e al., 2020). Maizajo’s ision aligns
wi h his dimension o he concep , as i claims o wo k o empowe he u al
sec o on he inges o he capi al.
The UFIL is cu en ly la gely posi ioned on a niche ma ke , selling i s o -
illas o es au a eu s in Mexico Ci y. Howe e , he p ojec leade s’ ambi ion is
o ex end hei model and con ibu e o a p o ound change in he ea ing habi s
o he inhabi an s o he Mexican capi al. Geels and Scho ’s (2007) wo k shows
how ini ia i es can eme ge in niches ha allow hem o ma u e o be elimina ed
and can hen g ow, sp ead in hei o iginal o m o in a new o m, and ul i-
ma ely change he dominan socio echnical egimes. Wi h he U bal app oach,
we endea ou ed o highligh he ac o s c ucial o achie ing he objec i es o
he ini ia i e, allowing i o become sel -sus aining. We also bo ow om Geels
o iden i y o he ac o s ha suppo he main enance and g ow h o an inno-
a ion, such as “poli ics and powe ”, “cul u al discou se and aming s ug-
gles”, and “policy analysis” (Geels, 2019, p. 187). The analysis o hese ac o s
was made possible by he me hodology chosen, which conside s all he ac o s
o he supply chain, as well as ex e nal ac o s ha can os e o hinde he
inno a ion’s de elopmen .
This chap e conside s all he cha ac e is ics o he UFIL (an inno a ion
ha e i es old p ocesses, wi h ood p ocessing a he co e o he ini ia i e) o
highligh he impac s o he inno a ion on p oduce s and consume s, as well as
obse ed o po en ial ba ie s. In Sec ion 1, we i s e lec on he pa icula i-
ies o he p oduc (maize and nix amalized pas e) and he company (as a p o-
cesso , a ca ego y o ac o s o en o go en in s udies on ood sys ems). Be o e
analysing he esul s o ou esea ch, we ou line he di e en s ages o he
64 Héloïse Leloup and Julie Le Gall
wi h he cons ain s o p oduc ion. To mee he expec a ions o he company’s
ounde s, we b oadened he e lec ion ca ied ou as pa o he U bal ame-
wo k o conside he p oduc ion- ela ed dimension o he ini ia i e’s ac i i ies.
4.5 Resul s om he impac pa hways: Shedding ligh on he co e o
he ini ia i e
This sec ion highligh s how he U bal app oach, h ough he collec i e iden i ica-
ion o impac pa hways, can d aw a en ion o speci ic aspec s o he ini ia i e
and ul ima ely e eal he co e o he ood sys em inno a ion. Acco ding o
De aux e al. (2009), a numbe o ac o s can in luence he pe o mance o inno-
a ion sys ems, such as he ex e nal en i onmen , he ange o ac o s in ol ed, he
alues and a i udes o he key ac o s, ins i u ional a angemen s, and pa e ns o
in e ac ion. Di e en ac o s can also igge he inno a ion, such as changes in
policy, ma ke s, and echnology. The aim o he U bal wo kshop was o iden i y
and explo e hese ac o s collec i ely. Any inno a ion p ocess goes h ough pe i-
ods o accele a ion, slowdown, and c isis, and no all inno a ions a e iable—a
selec ion p ocess occu s (Nelson, 1993). The wo kshop s o e o de elop awa e-
ness, wi hin he UFIL ne wo k, o i s posi ion in he ins i u ional en i onmen ,
using in e ac i e lea ning and a moni o ing app oach (Schue z e al., 2009). I
shed ligh on he esou ces and compe ences a ailable o he UFIL o os e inno-
a ion, including ins i u ional ea u es such as ac o s’ no ms and ules (Edwa ds,
2000). Sec ion 4.5.2 p esen s some o he main esul s o he wo kshop.
Maizajo akes pa in he ood sys em by p omo ing a speci ic ma ke ing
ci cui , and he e o e has se e al po en ial and expec ed impac s on sus aina-
bili y. Mos signi ican ly, he ini ia i e educes he numbe o in e media ies
be ween maize p oduce s and he buye , wi h posi i e epe cussions on he
economic dimension o sus ainabili y. As a ood dis ibu o , i mus play a ole
in ood secu i y. A he same ime, Maizajo ends o communica e on he nu i-
ional alue o i s p oduc , especially he nu i ional alue de i ed om he use
o nix amaliza ion o p ocess he maize ke nels.
The p ojec also has po en ial impac s on he sociocul u al and en i on-
men al dimensions o sus ainabili y. The p oduc is cen al o Mexican gas-
onomy and i s his o y. The nix amaliza ion p ocess is a dis inc i e cha ac e -
is ic o Mesoame ican cooking ha has su i ed o his day (Fe nández Suá ez
e al., 2013). Maizajo is con ibu ing o sp eading he nix amaliza ion p ocess
so as o p omo e adi ional Mexican expe ise.
4.5.1 An inno a ion ha add esses ood secu i y… o whom?
The impac pa hway analysis shows ha Maizajo’s ac i i ies can a ec se e al
dimensions o sus ainabili y (Figu e 4.1). Among hem, ood secu i y is he one
ha was men ioned mos o en, in connec ion wi h bo h oppo uni ies and
isks, o he p oduce s as well as consume s. We de ine ood secu i y based on
he i e A’s o ood secu i y iden i ied by Cecilia Rocha: ood a ailabili y, acces-
sibili y, adequacy, accep abili y, and agency (Chappell & LaValle, 2011; Rocha,
2007).3 Fu he mo e, Hammelman and Hayes-Con oy (2015) ha e sugges ed

T adi ional o illas in Mexico 65
Figu e 4.1 Impac pa hway o he ac i i y “Nix amaliza ion” based on he esul s o he i s exe cise in he wo kshop. I shows he di e en
s ages leading o impac s, as well as he condi ions and obs acles along he way.
66 Héloïse Leloup and Julie Le Gall
adop ing a mo e comp ehensi e unde s anding o cul u al accep abili y in he
con ex o ood secu i y, in o med by “human igh s-based app oaches, cul u al
alues e iden in p oduc ion and consump ion p ocesses, he impo ance o
in e wea ing mul iple knowledges, and challenging decision-making powe s in
oday’s co po a e ood egime” (p. 43).
Sp eading be e quali y o illas, a s aple o he na ional die , seems o logi-
cally lead o an imp o ed die . Howe e , his sp ead is subjec o many con-
s ain s and equi es adjus men s and suppo in o de o b eak ou o he niche
ma ke in which Maizajo is cu en ly posi ioned. In pa icula , he g oup discus-
sions highligh ed he impo ance o educa ion on he as e, ex u e, and s o age
o nix amalized o illas compa ed o lou o illas. I is also necessa y o sup-
po consume s in e-lea ning o ecognize he as e o a nix amalized o illa. A
simila obse a ion applies o cooks, as well as supplie s o p epa ed ood in he
b oades sense— om he pe son in cha ge o a household’s ood supply o he
che a a es au an o he s ee endo s who abound in Mexico Ci y. I is nec-
essa y o acili a e hese ood ac o s’ in eg a ion o nix amalized o illas in
hei p epa a ions and each hem how o handle hem p ope ly so as o educe
he isk o losses (see he map o ac o s in Figu e 4.3 o unde s and he signi i-
can ole played by ac o s om di e en sec o s in he de elopmen o Maiza-
jo’s ac i i ies). I is impo an o no e ha he discussions ocused on he place
o ood sys em ac o s who ypically ecei e li le a en ion: he ood p ocesso s,
especially he local mills. These mills, once cen al o he dis ibu ion o o illas,
a e now disappea ing in he capi al (Ce a, 2020). In o de o achie e he impac
o “imp o ing ood secu i y” o he inhabi an s o he capi al, Maizajo canno
ac alone. I s goal is o sha e i s model wi h o he p ocesso s. Howe e , his dis-
semina ion mus go hand in hand wi h poli ical suppo in o de o es o e hese
es ablishmen s’ cen al ole. This is no a ecen conce n: as ea ly as 2017, he
p ocesso s’ ade associa ions u ned o he Mexican au ho i ies o be be e
aken in o accoun in he aid schemes o al e na i e indus ies.
In e ms o isks, Maizajo’s ac i i ies may ha e se e al unin ended ad e se
e ec s on ood secu i y. Fo example, he a ac i e p ices o e ed by Maizajo
may cause a me s o sell hei en i e c op, wi hou sa ing any seeds o hei own
consump ion. P oduce s, who a e supplie s o quali y g ains, could be o ced o
buy lou o illas om classic ma ke chains, which a e o a lowe quali y and
less nu i ious. The in oduc ion o a s aple ood in a specialised ma ke channels
has al eady been highligh ed as a isk ac o o p oduce s in he case o quinoa
in Boli ia (Jacobsen, 2011). The ep esen a i e o a consume associa ion p es-
en a he wo kshop also poin ed o he example o he sale o Mexican co ee o
ag oindus y, which had he e ec o impo e ishing p oduce s and weakening
he coun y’s ood so e eign y. Simila ly, he c ea ion o new oppo uni ies o
na i e maize may lead o inc eased demand o his c op, a he expense o o he
c ops o household consump ion, and e en o he de imen o milpa.4
Ano he isk conce ns no he p oduce s, bu he p ocesso s. To make nix-
amalized o illas widely a ailable, Maizajo is s i ing o make hem mee a
numbe o sani a y s anda ds ega ding he aceabili y o he seeds’ o igin
and he con ol o p oduc ion sys ems (see Figu e 4.2). These s anda ds ha e
T adi ional o illas in Mexico 67
Figu e 4.2 De ailed pa hway leading o an in e media e e ec (s anda diza ion o ans o ma ion p ocesses) based on he esul s o he second
exe cise in he wo kshop. I de ails a speci ic pa hway om he ac i i y o he in e media e e ec chosen by he pa icipan s. Mo e
speci ically, i sheds ligh on he mul iple ba ie s and le e s a play.
68 Héloïse Leloup and Julie Le Gall
also been iden i ied as a condi ion o he success o impac pa hways. A he
same ime, hey ep esen a ba ie o many small-scale p ocessing mills, which
do no ha e he necessa y means o adop and mee hese s anda ds.
This example o he con adic o y e ec s associa ed wi h he implemen a ion
o egula o y s anda ds highligh s one o he oles o he g oup discussions, whe e
ambi alen e ec s ha e been poin ed ou by ac o s wi h di e en pe spec i es.
This shows he impo ance o in ol ing a di e se ange o ac o s in social lea ning.
Thanks o he U bal me hod, we ealized ha he impac s o he ini ia i e
ela ed o downs eam ac i i ies a he han ups eam ones. The s eps ocused
mo e on g ain p ocessing han on p oduc ion and he modali ies o collec ion.
While we had wished o ocus on he links be ween p oduce s and he ini ia i e,
he p ocess o de ining he impac pa hways highligh ed he ac ha his con-
ce n was seconda y in he conduc o Maizajo’s ac i i ies. Su p isingly, his
in e es in downs eam ac i i ies was sha ed no only by he manage s o he
ini ia i e bu also by he o he ac o s in ol ed. Maizajo’s inno a ion lies abo e
all in g ain p ocessing and he nix amaliza ion echnique. Fu he mo e, gene -
alizing nix amalized o illas is mo e o a p io i y o he p ojec ’s p omo e s
han ensu ing ai e incomes o local p oduce s.
4.5.2 Resul s de i ed om he pe spec i es sha ed by s akeholde s
Gi en he na u e o he inno a ion, he wo kshop pa icipan s’ a en ion was
di ec ed o he o e all supply chain capaci y—no jus he p oduce s—and he
deg ee o which he chain in i s en i e y can compe e/en e he ma ke . Since
ou me hodology ocused on ac o s, we wan ed o ake his oppo uni y o
c ea e an ad hoc s akeholde o um o iden i y he cu en and po en ial u u e
oles o all he ac o s ac oss he supply chain, including hose who we e absen
om he wo kshop (see Figu e 4.3).
The aim was pa icula ly o p epa e he second wo kshop included in he
U bal app oach by shedding ligh on he ins i u ional and mac oeconomic en i-
onmen s.5 These play a ole h ough he ules, no ms, and alues ha suppo
he dominan ajec o y o allow niche inno a ions o lou ish (Fau e e  al.,
2018). The impo ance o in ol ing a di e se ange o ac o s has been highligh ed
by a la ge numbe o s udies on collec i e ac ion. As De aux and colleagues
poin ou , inno a ion is s imula ed by he in e ac ion o indi iduals and g oups
wi h di e en backg ounds, in e es s, and pe spec i es (De aux e al., 2009).
Figu e 4.3 shows all he ac o s men ioned du ing he exe cise conce ning
s akeholde s and dis inguishes be ween he di e en ypes o ac o s mos e-
quen ly men ioned in ela ion o he conduc o ac i i ies. We o ganized he
ac o s in o six ca ego ies. The p oduce /p ocesso /consume ip ych is he
mos signi ican . A pa icula ea u e o he inno a ion is he inc eased p es-
ence o p ocessing ac o s, who a e a ely men ioned in ood sys em inno a-
ions. As Maizajo is a p ocessing ac o , his inding is no su p ising. Howe e ,
his ca ego y encompasses a wide a ie y o ac o s, p esen on many di e en
scales and ma ke s ( om s ee endo s o che s a upma ke es au an s). The
T adi ional o illas in Mexico 69
Figu e 4.3 Map o ac o s.

70 Héloïse Leloup and Julie Le Gall
wo kshop exe cise ega ding ac o s (men ioned abo e) illus a ed p ocessing
ac o s’ impo ance in he ood sys em and he alue o including hem in ood
inno a ions.
Howe e , Figu e 4.3 also highligh s he ole o he educa ion sec o , pa -
icula ly in esea ch and suppo o inno a ion. Pa icipan s s essed he
ole o uni e si ies no only in suppo ing al e na i e ma ke ini ia i es bu
also in conduc ing esea ch on na i e seeds and p o iding echnical guid-
ance. Acco ding o he li e a u e on go e nance, policymake s should play a
key ole in acili a ing he in e ac ion, discussions, lea ning p ocesses, and
in o ma ion sha ing su ounding an inno a ion (Smi h e al., 2005). The e
a e he e o e high expec a ions o go e nmen suppo , pa icula ly in he
o m o s anda ds o na i e seeds and nix amalized dough. Go e nmen s
and policymake s can p o ide long- e m di ec ion and o mula e speci ic
policy a ge s, which enable ac ion and accoun abili y (Ka el & Mazzu-
ca o, 2018).
Depending on he composi ion o each g oup, he ac o s iden i ied a ied.
The g oup ha included a UNAM6 esea che hus placed g ea e emphasis on
he ole o uni e si ies in he dissemina ion o mo e sus ainable ood models.
Likewise, he g oup ha included a membe o an associa ion o he p o ec-
ion o na i e maize seeds poin ed o he impo ance o ce i ica ion bodies o
policies o he public dissemina ion o in o ma ion abou he cha ac e is ics
o na i e seeds.
This exe cise p o ided an oppo uni y o hink abou he popula ion le ou
and hei possible in eg a ion: no only he ma ginalized popula ion bu also
powe ul ac o s ha could possibly in e ene o suppo he p ojec and i s
scaling. This in u n aised he ques ion o how o each and in ol e hese
ac o s, and how o b oaden he scope o ac ion o ood jus ice.
Expe s p esen a he wo kshop sugges ed a a ie y o po en ial de elop-
men s. The CIMMYT ep esen a i e poin ed o he possibili y o ex ending
he p ocess o hyb id, selec ed seeds, which could p o ide secu i y o p oduc-
e s, while membe s o Mexican maize p o ec ion associa ions s essed he
impo ance o keeping na i e seeds a he hea o he p ocess. Meanwhile, he
ood sys ems esea che discussed possible ways o ma ke ing he o illas o
mo e away om sys ema ically in ol ing es au an owne s. This di e se ange
o ac o s allowed o di e en kinds o issues o eme ge, which he UFIL
leade s can e lec on in o de o enhance hei decision-making ega ding he
ini ia i e.
4.5.3 The e ec s o he COVID-19 heal h c isis on he company’s
ma ke o ien a ion
The COVID-19 c isis o ced Maizajo o educe i s na i e maize supply. Fo he
p oduce s, his has mean ewe o de s om he company. Con a y o expec-
a ions, p oduce s we e no so conce ned abou losing his buye , o e en abou
he di ec consequences o he ecession (Leloup & Le Gall, 2020). The
T adi ional o illas in Mexico 71
eedback om he p oduce s e ealed con inui y mechanisms mo e han clea
sudden changes in hei o ganiza ion (e.g., p oduc ion ac o s such as ain all,
access o inpu s, and go e nmen suppo emained p ima y conce ns). The
con inua ion o he p oduce s’ ac i i ies and he con inui y o hei conce ns,
despi e he loss o a buye ha posi ions i sel as an agen o ai e ade,
demons a e he ela i ely low impac o such an en e p ise on he e i o ies
whe e he maize is g own. Ma ke ou le s a e no a ac o limi ing hei ac i i y.
While Maizajo’s p ices a e ce ainly a ac i e, o he oppo uni ies a e a aila-
ble o he p oduce s. Wha ma e s o hem is selling hei p oduce; he p o i s
a o ded by a highe p ice a e seconda y. The heal h c isis has highligh ed he
ac ious ela ionship be ween he p oduce s and he ini ia i e, bu he e we e
wa ning signs. The ela ionship wi h p oduce s is cen al o he ision o he
ini ia i e and i is pa o he discou se and symbolism de eloped by Maizajo
(Plowman e al., 2007). This has emained he case h oughou he inno a ion
p ocess, as pa ne s had le and joined he ne wo k. In he case o Maizajo,
he na a i e has emained he same, al hough he ac i i y has changed adi-
cally. The company con inues o p ojec he image o locally g own maize and
emune a ion o local p oduce s, e en i his is no co e o i s cu en ac i i y.
I s ocus has shi ed downs eam, while i con inues o sell i sel hanks o i s
ups eam ac i i ies.
4.6 Conclusion: Ups eam and downs eam challenges
The company’s ision is o impac all segmen s o he ma ke ing chain, om
imp o ing he li ing condi ions o p oduce s o enhancing he Mexico Ci y
popula ion’s ood supply. The me hodology p oposed by he U bal app oach
shed ligh on he impac pa hways o he UFIL’s ac i i ies o p omo e sus ain-
abili y, as well as he accele a o s, condi ions, and obs acles along he way.
Du ing he wo kshop, by explo ing he le e s o and ba ie s o conduc -
ing an ac i i y, and hanks o he p esence o a ange o ac o s (some o
whom we e scep ical o he ini ia i e), we we e able o iden i y many poin s o
cau ion. While he UFIL can ha e posi i e impac s on consume nu i ion
(heal h dimension o sus ainabili y) and on he p ese a ion o seed di e si y
(social dimension, en i onmen al dimension), s akeholde s a e also awa e o
he po en ial nega i e e ec s o Maizajo’s ac i i ies. Fo ins ance, his chap e
p o ided an in-dep h discussion o he impac s o “ e o-inno a ion”. The
analysis o impac pa hways enabled us o highligh some o he dange s o
his ype o inno a ion. By e i ing old p ocesses in u ban neighbou hoods,
which a e s ill used in u al a eas o Mexico, he company is a isk o causing
a end owa ds he gen i ica ion o nix amalized o illas. The mode niza-
ion o his p ocess and i s adap a ion o align wi h sani a y and legal equi e-
men s, including s ingen hygiene and adminis a i e s anda ds, may push
ou he ac o s con ibu ing o main aining he p ocess in he i s place (e.g.,
local mills, in o mal o ille ias). In his case, he impac o he UFIL could
72 Héloïse Leloup and Julie Le Gall
nega i ely a ec he economic wellbeing o di e en s akeholde s, om small
ood p ocesso s o low-income consume s.
Beyond he impac pa hways, he U bal me hodology highligh ed Maizajo’s
main p io i ies, wi h p ocessing as i s co e business. The company’s ini ial con-
ce n ega ding he weakness o i s ela ionship wi h p oduce s was con i med
du ing he diagnosis and he wo kshop. This is one o he main con ibu ions o
his UFIL: i shed ligh on he di icul ies, o he p oduc i e sec o , o in eg a -
ing app op ia e ood inno a ions a ising om u ban a eas. The e a e s ill many
ba ie s o he widesp ead adop ion o he inno a ion by p oduce s. Many p o-
duce p o iles emain excluded om he ma ke ing ci cui p oposed by Maizajo.
While he ini ia i e highligh s he con inui y o ela ions wi h p oduce s as
a gua an ee o he quali y o he inal p oduc , his aspec o Maizajo’s ac i i-
ies is p obably he mos unce ain. The agili y o he ela ionship be ween
he p ocesso and he p oduce s e lec s he isks aised by his kind o ini ia-
i e su ounding he economic dimension o sus ainabili y, such as he agili y
o ou le s o p oduce s and poo esilience o he ela ionship in case o c ises,
as he heal h c isis o 2020 con i med.
Box 4.1 On he ole o che s in ood sys em sus ainabili y
Maizajo is an inno a ion ha was en isioned by che s. As ou lined in
Chap e 3 (B azilian case) o his book, che s con ibu e o c ea ing a
gas onomic iden i y and can play an in luen ial ole in shaping a mo e
sus ainable ood sys em o he u u e. While Maizajo’s ini ia o s ha e a
keen unde s anding o he possible ou le s and po en ial o a nix amal-
ized o illa on he capi al’s ma ke , hey a e less amilia wi h he eali-
ies o he p oduc i e sec o . This disc epancy was con i med du ing he
diagnos ic phase and in hei esponse o he heal h c isis as he p ojec
leade s na u ally u ned o he sale o p epa ed meals o ea a home. The
wo leade s had expe ise in cooking and pas y making.
Gi en his con ex , wha ole can che s play in suppo ing sus ainable
ood ini ia i es?
Kle kx e al. (2010) highligh he ole o “bounda y spanning ac o s”
in “enhancing adap i e managemen capaci y o e ec i e e o mism”.
Che s, and gas onomy in gene al, can be in luen ial and powe ul ac o s
who help c ea e a conduci e ins i u ional en i onmen when he la e is
no suppo i e o change (Kle kx e al., 2010). In he case s udied, he
ood c aze in Mexico ep esen s an oppo uni y o de elop inno a ions
a ound ood sys ems. Che s can showcase p oduce s’ know-how and
become ambassado s o a coun y’s ood he i age (Ma a, 2015). In his
con ex , che s, al hough hey a e disconnec ed om he eali ies o p o-
duc ion, can c ea e an en i onmen a ou able o he de elopmen o
inno a ions ha p omo e be e p oduc ion condi ions. In ood sus ain-
abili y, gas onomy can play he ole o an “inno a ion b oke ”.
T adi ional o illas in Mexico 73
No es
1 Ou in e iews wi h ade associa ions o o illa and p oduce s as well as he
UFIL i sel e ealed a elling igu e: a ound 90% o he o illas sold in Mexico Ci y
a e manu ac u ed by hese companies. Howe e , we we e no able o co obo a e
hese s a emen s wi h o icial igu es.
2 Cen o In e na ional de Mejo amien o de Maiz y T igo—In e na ional Maize and
Whea Imp o emen Cen e .
3 F om Chappell and LaValle (2011, p. 36): “A ailabili y e e s o he su iciency o a
ood supply o mee people’s needs; Accessibili y e e s o people’s economic and
physical abili y o acqui e ood; Accep abili y add esses he cul u al and nu i ional
sui abili y o he a ailable ood; App op ia eness e alua es he ecological sus aina-
bili y and he sa e y o a ood supply; Agency is he ‘ igh o knowledge, and knowl-
edge o igh s’ – access o accu a e in o ma ion on ood supply, quali y, and sa e y
in o de o make in o med ma ke choices, igh s o such in o ma ion and o he
o he aspec s o ood secu i y, and a compe en sociopoli ical sys em o gua an ee
hese igh s”.
4 An ag icul u al echnique which consis s in combining complemen a y c ops, usu-
ally squash, beans, and maize. The wo d has come o be used in Mexico o e e o
a small ag icul u al plo on which his echnique is p ac ised.
5 Due o he COVID19 heal h c isis ha occu ed in 2020, we we e no able o imple-
men he 2nd wo kshop included in he U bal me hodology. Indeed, we we e no in
posi ion o gua an ee he necessa y sa e y dis ances o a public e en . Ou esul s
a e he e o e based on he esul s o he diagnos ic phase and he i s wo kshop.
6 Uni e sidad Nacional Au onoma de Mexico—Na ional Au onomous Uni e si y
o Mexico.
Re e ences
Blay-Palme , A. (2005). G owing inno a ion policy: The case o o ganic ag icul u e in
On a io, Canada. En i onmen and Planning C: Go e nmen and Policy, 23(4), 557–
581. h ps://doi.o g/10.1068/c17
Boege, E. (2008). El pa imonio biocul u al de los pueblos indígenas de México: Hacia
la conse ación in si u de la biodi e sidad y ag odi e sidad en los e i o ios
indígenas.
B iones, F. C., I iba en, A., Peña, J. L., Rod iguez, R. C., & Oli a, A. I. (2000). Recen
ad ances on he unde s anding o he nix amaliza ion p ocess. Supe icies y acío,
10, 20–24.
Ce a, D. (2020, Janua y 12). Sob e los casi ex in os molinos de nix amal (y po qué
comp a les masa). local.mx. h ps://local.mx/ciudad-de-mexico/molinos-nix amal/
Chappell, M. J., & LaValle, L. A. (2011). Food secu i y and biodi e si y: Can we ha e
bo h? An ag oecological analysis. Ag icul u e and Human Values, 28(1), 3–26. h ps://
doi.o g/10.1007/s10460-009-9251-4
Conklin, B. A., & G aham, L. R. (1995). The shi ing middle g ound: Amazonian Indi-
ans and eco-poli ics. Ame ican An h opologis , 97(4), 695–710. h ps://doi.o g/10.1525/
aa.1995.97.4.02a00120
De I a, A. (2007). Ca o ce años de TLCAN y la c isis de la o illa. P og ama de las
Amé icas, Repo e Especial.
Demeulenae e, E. (2014). A poli ical on ology o seeds: The ans o ma i e ic ions o
a a me s’ mo emen in Eu ope. Focaal, 2014(69), 45–61. h ps://doi.o g/10.3167/ cl.
2014.690104
80 Ma lène Pe ignon e al.
app oach aimed o shed ligh on he IPs by aking in o accoun he pe spec-
i es o di e se s akeholde s conce ned by he p og amme o p o ide insigh s
on wha impac s should be expec ed and how/why hey could be achie ed.
5.2 Me hodology
The MCA case s udy was ca ied ou in h ee s eps, guided by he U bal me h-
odological amewo k. Fi s , a s udy cha ac e ized and p o ided a be e
unde s anding o he MCA p og amme, i s inno a i e ac i i ies, imeline, and
s akeholde s. The esea ch eam hen ca ied ou a mul i-s akeholde pa ici-
pa o y wo kshop o collec i ely iden i y he main impac s and IPs o a se o
inno a i e ac i i ies. Faced wi h he legal and p ac ical di icul y o di ec ly
in ol ing school child en in he wo kshop, he esea ch eam decided o con-
duc a sepa a e s udy o collec hei iews. The esea ch eam analysed all he
da a collec ed o de elop a mo e de ailed and explici unde s anding o he IPs
o ac i i ies and p oduce a syn he ic map showing ba ie s o and le e s o he
impac s. Finally, he esea ch eam o ganized a second wo kshop, du ing which
his analysis was p esen ed and in o med a discussion abou s a egies o scale
ou an inno a ion such as he MCA p og amme.
5.2.1 Cha ac e iza ion o he p og amme (ac i i ies and s akeholde s)
The s udy was ca ied ou om mid-Janua y o ea ly May 2019, d awing on a
ange o sou ces. The U bal p ojec esea ch eam bene i ed om he di ec
suppo o he Mon pellie Food Policy Di ec o , who is also he Mon pellie
School Ca e ing Di ec o and he main MCA designe . The Food Policy Di ec-
o helped o p o ide access o documen s, made himsel a ailable o answe
ques ions, and connec ed he U bal in e n in cha ge o ca ying ou his i s
s age o he esea ch wi h an in e n a he FPD. The ini ial da a sen by he
FPD comp ised o documen s in a ious o ma s (Powe Poin p esen a ions,
in e nship epo s, documen a y no es, maps, eaching scena ios) and o di -
e en kinds, such as u ban ood policy benchma ks, ood was e managemen
documen a ion, ac ion plans, decisions made by he MCA s ee ing commi ee,
engagemen le e s om he Mayo , p og ess epo s and e alua ions o he
measu es’ implemen a ion, p ess eleases, e c. These documen s we e o gan-
ized and ca ego ized. In e iews wi h he Food Policy Di ec o comple ed his
da a. This ma e ial was used o p oduce h ee main documen s:
1. A imeline o he di e en measu es implemen ed as pa o he MCA p o-
g amme om 2014, when he i s ood was e measu emen ope a ions we e
launched, o he end o 2019
2. A lis o he ac i i ies ca ied ou as pa o he MCA p og amme om 2016
o 2020 (see Table 5.1)
3. A map ep esen ing he main ac o s and ca ego ies o ac o s in ol ed in he
MCA p og amme (see Table 5.2)

Role o school can eens in building sus ainable ood sys ems 81
Table 5.1 Comple e lis and desc ip ion o he MCA p og amme ac i i ies
Axes Ac i i ies
Pilla 1: Food
p ocu emen
policy
1. Mo e a ge ed allo men by p oduc o amily o p oduc s: he
sizeo he ba ches o de ed is educed and p oduc s a e
unbundled o encou age smalle local p oduce s o espond o
calls o ende s
2. Speci ica ion o highe quali y s anda ds o public con ac s: his
ac i i y allows o he in eg a ion o quali y c i e ia such as
o ganic ce i ica ion and o he quali y labels
3. Wo king g oup on local ou le s: hese mul i-s akeholde g oups,
which include a me s, mee egula ly o s uc u e and acili a e
he local esponse o calls o ende s
4. Adminis a i e se ices coope a i e suppo ing local p oduce s:
his se ice o e aims o s eng hen local a me s’ capaci y o
espond o public calls o ende s
Pilla 2:
P oduc ion
managemen
5. C ea ion o ui and ege able p ocessing s a ions: his
p oduc ion ool makes i possible o use a g ea e numbe o
i s - ange p oduc s ( aw ag icul u al p oduce ha has no ye
been p ocessed) in he p oduc ion o meals
6. Imp o emen o ecipes and po ion weigh s: hese adjus men s
a e made dish by dish, guided by p elimina y s udies o he meal
le o e s, o minimize ood was e
7. Reo ganiza ion o he booking sys em: an online pla o m is se
up o allow pa en s o book meals o a sho e pe iod han
be o e (6weeks)
8. Seasonal menu cycles: his menu design aims o p omo e local
and seasonal p oduc s and is suppo ed by communica ion
a ge ing he pa en s and child en
9. Fou -componen meals ( eplacing he usual i e-componen meals):
his simpli ica ion o he meal s uc u e was in o med by a s udy
o meal le o e s o minimize was e
10. Food dona ion ag eemen wi h cha i ies: his ag eemen wi h local
cha i ies acili a es he ecycling o p oduc ion su pluses h ough
ood aid
Pilla 3: Meal
dis ibu ion 11. Nu i ion aining o s a : hese aining cou ses a e accessible
o ki chen and acili a ion s a and p o ide hem wi h
nu i ional knowledge and skills
12. Hospi ali y and se ice aining o s a : hese aining cou ses
a e accessible o ki chen and acili a o s a and p o ide hem
wi h hospi ali y knowledge and skills
13. Cu ing ki : his se o ools is designed o acili a e he wo k o
ki chen s a and allows o cu ing ui di ec ly a he able
14. Limi ing cu ing wo k o one ask pe meal: his ac ion aims o
acili a e he wo k o ki chen s a
15. Expe imen wi h sel -se ice es au an s: his expe imen aims o
minimize was e by allowing child en o choose dishes acco ding
o hei as e p e e ences
(Con inued )
82 Ma lène Pe ignon e al.
5.2.2 Iden i ica ion o impac pa hways by he s akeholde s
Based on he se o ac i i ies iden i ied in he i s s age o he s udy, he
esea ch eam o ganized a pa icipa o y wo kshop, bu decided o ocus on jus
12 ac i i ies, spanning all ou MCA pilla s and om among hose wi h he
mos po en ial o impac . This allowed he pa icipa o y exe cise o be con-
duc ed du ing a ew hou s’ wo kshop co e ing a limi ed bu comp ehensi e
ange o ac i i ies.
5.2.2.1 Pa icipa o y wo kshop
We o ganized he pa icipa o y wo kshop on Wednesday 26 June 2019, in a
la ge class oom designed o accommoda e 50 people, om 5: 00pm o 8: 00pm
(in o he wo ds a e he end o he wo kday, bu no oo la e). The chosen
loca ion was on he campus o he ag onomic school o Mon pellie , close o
he ci y cen e and easily accessible. We in o med he pa icipan s ha d inks
and snacks would be p o ided du ing he wo kshop and ha a iendly, mo e
in o mal cha would ollow.
The in i a ion men ioned he e en ’s i le: “Wha a e he impac s o ‘Ma
Can ine Au emen ’?” Based on he in en o y o ele an ac o s ca ied ou in
he p e ious s age, we wished o b ing oge he a di e se ange o p o agonis s:
he Di ec o o Food Policy and School Ca e ing; people wo king in
Axes Ac i i ies
Pilla 4:
Sus ainabili y
awa eness
16. Eco-ci izen meal (wi hou any animal-based ood): his menu,
which was ini ially se ed mon hly, is coupled wi h
communica ion on limi ing en i onmen al impac s and on
nu i ional quali y
17. Bio-compos able ood con aine s: hese plan -based con aine s,
which hold po ions o an en i e able, eplace plas ic con aine s
18. Gene aliza ion o was e so ing and biowas e eco e y: his ac ion
is aimed a be e so ing he di e en ypes o was e while
in ol ing he child en
19. So ing able wi h an in eg a ed scale: his de ice makes he
quan i ies o was e gene a ed by meals isible o all
20. Educa ional bookle and in e ac i e map: hese communica ion ools
a e designed o aise pa en s’ and child en’s awa eness o MCA
ac ions and can be used as a eaching de ice du ing school ime
21. Educa ional hea e play “Opé a ion B ocoli”: his ec ea ional
play aims o aise he child en’s awa eness o he sus ainabili y
issues and challenges su ounding ood
22. Teaching ac i i y on as e un by die i ians: his ac i i y s i es o
expand he child en’s pala e by enabling hem o open up o new
as es
23. Communica ion sen o pa en s wi h p oposed e ening menus: his
communica ion ool sugges s menu and ecipe ideas o dinne
meals a home
Table 5.1 (Con inued)
Role o school can eens in building sus ainable ood sys ems 83
p oduc ion a he CPU; a die i ian om he FPD; a me s/p oduce s supply-
ing he CPU; a pe son wo king a Mon pellie ’s Ma ke o Na ional In e es
(Mon pellie wholesale ma ke ); a pe son om he Chambe o Ag icul u e;
ep esen a i es o non-p o i s in e es ed in MCA (o ganiza ions ha can ben-
e i om he p oduc ion su pluses, such as Sain Vincen de Paul, o ha a e
wo king o imp o e he sus ainabili y o school ca e ing, such as G eenpeace);
pa en s, including some in ol ed in a non-p o i p omo ing he use o o ganic
and local ood in Mon pellie ’s can eens (named Collec i Can ines); o ganiz-
e s o ex acu icula ac i i y (manage s and acili a o s); main enance s a
(school ope a ions manage s, main enance, and ca e ing s a ); and expe
esea che s o sociology, economy, nu i ion, and ag onomy. In o de o un
he wo kshop e icien ly, we chose o limi pa icipa ion o 20 people.
We aced di icul ies in in i ing acili a o s o ex acu icula ac i i ies,
ac o s who play a c ucial ole in can eens since hey a e in cha ge o acili a ing
meal imes. They a e employed by he municipali y, mo e p ecisely by he
Table 5.2 Main g oups o ac o s in ol ed in he MCA p og amme
Ins i u ional ac o s
Ac o s whose decisions and suppo ha e di ec e ec s (mayo , elec ed
ep esen a i es, municipal se ice depa men s, e c.) o indi ec e ec s (local
chambe o ag icul u e, Regional Depa men o Food and Ag icul u e,
En i onmen al and Ene gy Managemen Agency, e c.) on he implemen a ion o
he MCA p og amme.
Field ac o s
Ac o s ha a e di ec ly in ol ed in unning school ca e ing and he MCA
p og amme on a daily basis (FPD, cooking s a , acili a o s o ex acu icula
ac i i ies and school suppo s a , die i ians, compos ing cen e, was e ea men
plan , Mon pellie Ma ke o Na ional In e es , Na ional Cen e o Local Ci il
Se ice, e c.).
Economic/indus ial ac o s
Ac o s ha a e di ec ly in ol ed in he p oduc ion o meals (supplie s, CPU, e c.).
Financial ac o s
Ac o s ha und he MCA p og amme (municipali y, Regional Depa men o Food
and Ag icul u e, En i onmen al and Ene gy Managemen Agency, e c.).
Non-p o i / ounda ion ac o s
Social o ganiza ions ha a e pa ne s o he MCA p og amme (cha i ies, local
a ming o ganiza ions, e c.).
Social ac o s
Child en, pa en s, pa en associa ions, o e s, e c.
Resea ch ac o s
The U bal esea ch eam, esea che s om he MoISA esea ch uni , he F ench
Ag icul u al Resea ch Cen e o In e na ional De elopmen , he Na ional
Resea ch Ins i u e o Ag icul u e, Food and En i onmen , and he UNESCO
Chai in Wo ld Food Sys ems.
Ne wo k ac o s
Ac o s in ol ed in s uc u ing he local sus ainable ood ne wo k.
84 Ma lène Pe ignon e al.
Depa men o Educa ion, which was no willing o le hem ake pa in he
wo kshop o ea ha hey migh oice c i icism. This may ha e had o do
wi h he ac ha an elec ion was coming up—which also explained he Depa -
men o Educa ion’s lack o in ol emen in he MCA p og amme—and wi h
he powe asymme y be ween he FPD and he Depa men o Educa ion, a
much bigge b anch o he municipal se ices. We ul ima ely decided o con-
duc sepa a e in e iews wi h ex acu icula ac i i y acili a o s o collec
hei iews abou he ac i i ies’ impac pa hways. Some o he s a emen s col-
lec ed we e quo ed du ing he wo kshop.
In o de o each he a ge o 20 wo kshop pa icipan s, we sen an in i a-
ion o abou 40 people. Thi een people a ended he wo kshop. Al hough his
was ewe han expec ed, i was enough o o ganize he wo kshop ollowing he
desi ed s uc u e, ha is, wi h plena y sessions a he s a and end o he wo k-
shop, and wi h wo king g oup sessions.
In p ac ice, he wo kshop was s uc u ed as ollows:
1. Fi s , we held a plena y session o p esen he U bal app oach, he IP concep ,
he dimensions o sus ainabili y, and he se o 12 inno a i e MCA ac i i ies.
2. We hen spli he pa icipan s in o g oups— he co e s age o he wo kshop.
We had h ee g oups o h ee pa icipan s, and one g oup o ou pa ici-
pan s. Each g oup wo ked on h ee ac i i ies and had i s own able, wi h one
acili a o pe able, and mo ed o a di e en able once, in o de o p oduce
cumula i e iews abou ano he se o h ee ac i i ies (Table 1: (a) mo e a -
ge ed allo men by p oduc o amily o p oduc s, (b) mo e o ganic and local
p oduc s, and (c) al e na i e eco-ci izen meal (wi hou any animal-based
ood); Table 2: (a) ou -componen meal, (b) imp o emen o ecipes and
po ion weigh s, and (c) eo ganiza ion o he booking sys em; Table 3: (a)
s a aining, (b) cu ing ki , and (c) bio-compos able ood con aine s;
Table4: (a) gene aliza ion o was e so ing and biowas e eco e y, (b) so ing
able wi h an in eg a ed scale, and (c) educa ional bookle and in e ac i e
map). We endea ou ed o ha e di e se g oups, wi h one expe , one pe son
di ec ly in ol ed in MCA, and one pa en o non-p o i membe pe g oup.
Each g oup spen 45 minu es discussing he i s se o h ee ac i i ies be o e
o a ing and spending 30 minu es on he second se o ac i i ies, which had
been discussed by a p e ious g oup. Each g oup hus wo ked on six ac i i ies
in o al. A e he o a ion, each g oup a i ed a a new able was b ie ed on
wha had been said by he p e ious g oup. We used pape boa ds o summa-
ize and ansc ibe he discussions in eal ime, making su e ha all pa ici-
pan s ag eed on he o mula ion. The acili a o a each able was in cha ge
o acili a ing, audio- eco ding and ansc ibing he discussion.
3. Finally, he hi d s age b ough all he pa icipan s oge he again in a ple-
na y session. While he aim was ini ially o collec i ely discuss he syne gies
be ween he ac i i ies, his ime essen ially allowed he pa icipan s o sha e
hei hough s on he wo kshop, hei su p ises ega ding ce ain impac s,
hei lea nings, o hei assump ions ha had been con i med.
Role o school can eens in building sus ainable ood sys ems 85
The wo kshop an smoo hly, and pa icipan s sha ed posi i e eedback abou
he e en and we e unanimous on he impo ance o such mul i-s akeholde
spaces—which p e iously did no exis —su ounding school ca e ing.
5.2.2.2 In e iews wi h child en and obse a ional wo k
Be o e o ganizing his wo kshop, we had o make a decision ega ding a sensi-
i e ques ion: should school child en be in i ed o he wo kshop? While school
child en could indeed be conside ed as he main ac o s impac ed, i seemed
e y di icul o in ol e hem di ec ly, due o legal conside a ions and he di -
e ence in language used. We he e o e decided o conduc a sepa a e s udy
wi h school child en be o e he wo kshop, so as o be able o sha e some o
hei s a emen s du ing he wo kshop and o agg ega e hei iews on he ac i -
i ies’ impac du ing he analysis s age ollowing he wo kshop. We conduc ed a
quali a i e s udy wi h child en a se e al schools in Mon pellie . Wi h he sup-
po o acili a ion s a , eigh g oup discussions wi h i e o eigh child en,
each las ing abou 30 minu es, we e ca ied ou “ o alk abou he can een”, as
was announced o he child en. We we e also able o ake pa in h ee sessions
o he child en’s municipal council, wi h ime dedica ed o discussing wha he
child en knew and hough abou he MCA ac i i ies. Each session b ough
oge he he elec ed ep esen a i es o he child en om ou di e en schools.
Eigh child en ook pa in he i s session, i e in he second session, and 12
in he las one. This s udy was comple ed by in si u obse a ions and by discus-
sions wi h abou 45 di e en child en in o al, while sha ing meals wi h hem
a hei can eens, a ound ables o six o eigh child en. While we did quo e
some o hese ield da a du ing he wo kshop, hei analysis ook place la gely
a e he wo kshop.
5.2.3 Syn hesis/mapping o he impac pa hways and iden i ica ion o
ba ie s and le e s by he esea ch eam
Based on he ma e ial p oduced in he wo kshop, he sepa a e ieldwo k wi h
school child en and he addi ional in e iews, he esea ch eam wo ked on
d awing he IP maps o each o he 12 ac i i ies. The aw da a om he wo k-
shop, namely 12 pape boa ds showing an ac i i y a hei cen e and boxes
lis ing he e ec s associa ed wi h his ac i i y, could be ha dly called “IP maps”.
They could be e be desc ibed as “e ec s maps”: o he mos pa , he in e -
media e e ec s leading o he long- e m e ec o impac , in o he wo ds he
conc e e pa hways om he ac i i y o i s impac s, we e no made explici .
The esea ch eam analysed he aw ma e ial, lis ening o he audio eco d-
ings when he no es aken du ing he wo kshop o he in e iews we e no su -
icien ly clea . In o de o a i e a eadable impac pa hways, he esea ch eam
o en had o e o mula e he impac s in a clea e , mo e p ecise way and s a e he
in e media e e ec s ha we e no explici ly men ioned by he wo kshop pa ic-
ipan s. In some cases, he esea ch eam also added some ob ious impac s ha

86 Ma lène Pe ignon e al.
had no been iden i ied du ing he wo kshops bu we e documen ed in he sci-
en i ic li e a u e. This analy ical s ep amoun ed o a ansla ion p ocess, balanc-
ing wo dis inc equi emen s: o cap u e all he in o ma ion p o ided by he
pa icipan s and emain ue o wha hey mean , while also p oducing signi i-
can and p ecisely de ined IPs ha could be unde s ood unambiguously. This
analy ical s ep also in ol ed si ua ing ba ie s, le e s, and possible bi u ca ions
as miles ones on he pa hways om ac i i ies o hei impac s. Some o hese
le e s, ba ie s, and bi u ca ions had been iden i ied by he pa icipan s du ing
he wo kshop, bu we e mainly iden i ied and o mula ed by he esea ch eam
based on he scien i ic li e a u e and he aw da a. In ine- uning he o mula-
ion and iden i ica ion o hypo he ical o documen ed ba ie s, le e s, and
bi u ca ions, we made he choice o essen ially s ike a balance be ween he
pa icipa o y spi i o U bal and he alue added by he knowledge in he li e -
a u e. This balance was in o med by he a ailabili y and alloca ion o ime and
human esou ces o he wo kshop, on he one hand, and o he analysis by he
esea ch eam on he o he . The esul o his analy ical s ep consis ed o 12 IP
maps—one o each ac i i y—and a global map syn he izing he o e all impac s
o hese 12 ac i i ies ( he IP maps o wo ac i i ies a e shown u he in his
chap e ). Each iden i ied impac was assigned o one o se e al o he i e di -
e en dimensions o sus ainabili y add essed in he MCA case s udy: en i on-
men al, heal h, socio-cul u al, go e nance, and economic.
5.2.4 Iden i ica ion o s a egies o suppo he p og amme’s e ec i eness,
and condi ions o i s scaling ou
Based on his syn he ic IP mapping and wo king in close collabo a ion wi h he
FPD, he esea ch eam decided o collec i ely u he he discussion on he
condi ions o success and on he issues in ol ed in scaling ou he MCA p o-
g amme, ha is, in ans e ing he concep and me hods o MCA o implemen
he p og amme in o he e i o ies o communi ies. A he ime o he p ojec ,
he MCA p og amme implemen ed in he ci y o Mon pellie was s a ing o be
seen as an inspi ing p oo o concep o o he F ench ci ies, and se e al com-
muni ies asked he FPD o sha e i s expe ience. The municipali y’s commi men
o imp o ing school ca e ing in suppo o g ea e sus ainabili y, which began in
2016, an icipa ed and in se e al ways e en exceeded he ecommenda ions o
he 2018 EGalim Law. The FPD exp essed he need o e lec on how he p o-
g amme could be e icien ly ans e ed o o he con ex s. The decision was hus
made o explo e he ques ion o scalabili y collec i ely, as pa o he U bal s udy.
To his end, he esea ch eam o ganized a second wo kshop on Tuesday 3
Decembe 2019, om 5:00 pm o 8:00 pm. I in i ed 74 people: he a endees
om he p e ious wo kshop (N = 13); he people who had been in i ed bu had
no pa icipa ed (N = 26); and o he people whose p esence had been iden i ied
as ele an gi en hei in ol emen in p og ammes simila o MCA o ac i i ies
associa ed wi h he p og amme (N = 35). A o al o 24 people a ended his
wo kshop, spanning a di e se ange o posi ions and o ms o in ol emen wi h
Role o school can eens in building sus ainable ood sys ems 87
school ca e ing and he MCA p og amme. I is wo h no ing ha we we e once
again unable o secu e he a endance o eache s om he schools in ol ed and
ha wo child en we e p esen wi h a pa en . The e en ’s objec i e was wo old:
1) To sha e and discuss he esul s o he p e ious wo kshop; and
2) To o ganize a deba e a ound wo majo c osscu ing ques ions ha had
eme ged om he IP mapping: (a) how o os e he in ol emen o all
s akeholde s and ensu e he success o he p og amme “Ma Can ine Au e-
men ” o a mo e sus ainable ood sys em; and (b) wha a e he majo ba i-
e s o and condi ions o ans e abili y o he MCA p og amme?
The wo kshop was o ganized in h ee s ages. Fi s , a plena y session was held,
in which he esea ch eam p esen ed U bal and he MCA p og amme and
summa ized he indings om he p e ious wo kshop, s essing he issues ha
appea ed o be common o se e al MCA ac i i ies (see Sec ion 5.4.2). The
second s age o he wo kshop was dedica ed o discussing he majo c oss-
cu ing ques ions a ound in ol emen and ans e abili y. The pa icipan s
we e spli in o wo di e se g oups o 11 and 12 people espec i ely, each a a
sepa a e able. Fo 45 minu es, one g oup wo ked on Ques ion (a) while he
o he wo ked on Ques ion (b). The wo g oups hen swapped ables o spend
25minu es discussing he o he ques ion, so ha he discussion was cumula-
i e. Each able had a acili a o mode a ing he discussion and ano he
esea ch eam membe aking no es on a pape boa d. The hi d and inal s age
consis ed o a plena y session o summa ize he discussions and collec he
pa icipan s’ eedback abou he wo kshop. We concluded wi h mo e in o mal
discussions o e e eshmen s.
A e he wo kshop, he esea ch eam analysed he esul s and syn hesized
hem in a 10-page documen ha was sen o all he pa icipan s and published
as a wo king pape on he MoISA esea ch uni ’s websi e.
5.3 Resul s and discussion
5.3.1 Wha a e he impac s o MCA? Who do hey a ec and how/whe e do
hey ma e ialize?
The IP analysis (Dou hwai e e al., 2007) highligh ed he inpu s, ou pu s, ou -
comes, and impac s o each o he 12 MCA ac i i ies s udied. Inpu s e e o
he esou ces (ma e ial, inancial, e c.) used o implemen an ac i i y; ou pu s
e e o he immedia e e ec s p oduced by he ac i i y; ou comes e e o he
changes o in e media e e ec s esul ing om he ou pu s; and impac s e e o
he long- e m e ec s gene a ed by he ac i i y (Ba e e al., 2018; Walke e al.,
2008). Figu e 5.1 p o ides an example o he aw da a om he wo kshop.
Thisshee summa izes he discussion on one o he MCA ac i i ies ( he imple-
men a ion o ou -componen meals). I was comple ed by audio eco dings.
Figu e5.2 shows he inal e sion o he IP map o his same ac i i y.
88 Ma lène Pe ignon e al.
Figu e 5.1 Shee summa izing he wo kshop discussion on he ac i i y “Implemen a ion o ou -componen meals”.
Sou ce: Roudelle, 2019.
Role o school can eens in building sus ainable ood sys ems 89
Figu e 5.2 Impac pa hway map o he MCA ac i i y “Implemen a ion o ou -componen meals”.
96 Ma lène Pe ignon e al.
In he MCA wo kshops, he esea ch eam ailed o ully apply hese p inci-
ples, as no child was p esen in he i s wo kshop, and no eache a ended
ei he o he wo kshops. The wo kshop acili a ion me hod could ha e been
adap ed so as o di ec ly in ol e child en, and a solu ion could ha e been ound
o each eache s and mo i a e hem o a end. Teache s’ a endance was di i-
cul o secu e due o he s ong sepa a ion be ween ex acu icula ac i i ies
and school, in e ms o bo h he imes o days when hey ake place and he
adminis a ions go e ning hem. Ul ima ely, he esea ch eam was cons ained
by his limi a ion and was unable o o e come i . Ye some eache s a e e y
in e es ed in ood and a e e en in ol ed in educa ional p ojec s on he opic. I
hey ook pa in he MCA p og amme and he ci y o Mon pellie ’s ood pol-
icy, hey could play an ac i e ole in his inno a ion owa ds mo e sus aina-
ble ood.
5.4.1.2 Lea nings abou he p epa a ion o he wo kshops
The p epa a ion o he wo kshops could ha e been imp o ed o acili a e he
pa icipan s’ con ibu ion o he mapping, and consequen ly acili a e he
analysis wo k pe o med by he esea ch eam. I appea s c ucial o e y p e-
cisely de ine he di e en ac i i ies discussed du ing he wo kshops, so as o be
able o easily explain hem o he pa icipan s and a oid any ambigui y in he
o mula ion o he impac s. Mo eo e , as men ioned abo e, he i s wo kshop
p oduced aw ma e ial ha could no eally be conside ed as IP maps, bu only
maps o impac s, wi hou in e media e e ec s o causali y chains.
To ocus he discussion mo e di ec ly on IPs, o e en he ba ie s, le e s, and
condi ions o success, and hus make be e use o he wo kshop ime, i would
be mo e bene icial o p epa e he IPs ups eam, pe haps wi h he MCA p o-
g amme designe , and o ha e hem discussed and alida ed collec i ely du ing
he wo kshop. The pa icipan s could hus be shown IP maps—a leas he mos
ob ious ones. Finally, a ph asing ule could also acili a e he pos -wo kshop
analysis signi ican ly, namely asking he pa icipan o sys ema ically de ine he
impac s ollowing his simple o mula: who/wha does wha o who/wha ?
Bo h he FPD and he esea ch eam saw he second U bal wo kshop as a
good oppo uni y o collec i ely explo e he condi ions equi ed o scale ou
he p og amme. I is impo an o no e, howe e , ha his was op ional and
ha o he opics could be explo ed, depending on he con ex in which he
inno a ion is deployed.
5.4.1.3 Summa y o he me hodological and concep ual ecommenda ions o
acili a e he mapping o impac pa hways
The IP analysis highligh s he inpu s, ou pu s, ou comes, and impac s o an
ac ion. To acili a e he IP analysis, we ecommend ca ego izing inpu s as ei he
condi ions o implemen a ion (i.e., necessa ily equi ed o implemen he ac i i y)

Role o school can eens in building sus ainable ood sys ems 97
o implemen a ion acili a o s (i.e., no equi ed bu conduci e o implemen a-
ion), and o iden i y whe he hey a e con ex - ela ed, ma e ial, o o ganiza-
ional inpu s. Fo he ou pu s and ou comes s ep, we ecommend speci ying
which g oup o ac o s hey a ec , and ca ego izing hem as ei he posi i e o
nega i e e ec s. In addi ion o his, nega i e e ec s should be ca ego ized as
ei he a oidable o una oidable e ec s, in o de o subsequen ly iden i y how
he o me could be a oided, and how he la e could be alle ia ed. As a las
s ep in he analysis o impac s, we ecommend iden i ying he sub-dimensions
ha could be a ec ed by he ac i i ies a ge ing each sus ainabili y dimension.
As much as possible, he se o sub-dimensions iden i ied should be s anda d-
ized ac oss he di e en ac i i ies s udied, o make he maps easie o ead.
Finally, we ecommend iden i ying he ba ie s and enable s associa ed wi h
each IP and ca ego izing hem as 1) condi ions o success ( equi ed o each he
expec ed impac ), 2) impac acili a o s (no necessa y o each he impac bu
conduci e o achie ing i ), o 3) ba ie s (i.e., ac o s ha limi he e icacy/
pe o mance o he p og amme).
5.4.2 Lea nings and p ospec s o he MCA s akeholde s
5.4.2.1 Lea nings on he impac pa hways o he MCA p og amme
The U bal app oach allowed he esea ch eam o iden i y he di e en g oups
o ac o s di ec ly o indi ec ly impac ed by he MCA ac ions. While child en
and can een s a we e he mos di ec ly a ec ed by he p og amme, in e me-
dia e e ec s and impac s eached a wide pool o ac o s, in pa icula pa en s.
The p og amme has he po en ial o ha e an e ec on he i e dimensions o
sus ainabili y, especially he en i onmen al and social dimensions. The analy-
sis highligh ed ha mos nega i e impac s ca ego ized as “a oidable” pe ain
o he go e nance dimension, and mainly in ol e a loss o con idence in he
school can een quali y caused by a lack o unde s anding o he ac i i ies
implemen ed. Clea ly in o ming he ac o s (child en, pa en s, can een s a )
abou he objec i es and expec ed bene i s o each ac i i y implemen ed was
hus iden i ied as a majo condi ion o success. This in u n unde sco ed
hedecisi e ole o can een s a —as key poin s o con ac o child en and
pa en s—in ensu ing he p og amme’s success. When discussing ways o
imp o ing communica ion and he in o ma ion on he p og amme, pa ici-
pan s showed a s ong in e es in o ming a mul i-ac o commi ee b inging
oge he all school can een s akeholde s. The IP analysis also highligh ed he
complemen a i y o di e en MCA ac i i ies, which pa icula ly allowed o
balancing he cos o he p og amme by combining ac i i ies in ol ing highe
cos s wi h ones ha a o d budge sa ings. Fu he mo e, complemen a i y was
ound o mu ually enhance he esul s o di e en ac i i ies, o o o se nega-
i e e ec s wi h posi i e e ec s, ei he wi hin a same ac i i y o ac oss se e al
ac i i ies.
98 Ma lène Pe ignon e al.
5.4.2.2 A e he impac pa hway mapping: Iden i ying indica o s o a
quan i a i e assessmen o impac
Fo s akeholde s equi ing a quan i a i e e alua ion sys em, he in-dep h
and nuanced analysis, using collec i e in elligence, o he p ocesses o change
induced by a p og amme (IPs) can play an impo an ole in he p epa a ion
o imp o emen o quan i a i e sus ainabili y assessmen s (Chap e 10). The
de elopmen o a s anda dized quan i a i e e alua ion amewo k o docu-
men and moni o he impac s o MCA, and i necessa y adjus ac ions, was
eques ed by he FPD. Quan i ied indica o s ca y g ea weigh in he e alu-
a ion o public policies. Bu he co e ques ion emains: wha should be meas-
u ed and how? The U bal quali a i e app oach helps o answe his ques ion
by iden i ying socially ele an indica o s. Focusing on he p ocesses o
change a he han on he esul s, and building on mul i-s akeholde dia-
logue, he U bal app oach can guide he choice o indica o s by p io i izing
ce ain key elemen s ha suppo o hampe he achie emen o sus ainabil-
i y objec i es, and by aking in o accoun he con ex and he iews o
s akeholde s.
The FPD al eady had a basic se o indica o s o assess he esul s o he
MCA p og amme, and in ended o demons a e he implemen ed ac ions’
alignmen wi h and con ibu ion o he mul i-scale no ma i e amewo ks on
ood sus ainabili y o which i has commi ed, including he ag i- ood policy o
Mon pellie (called P2A, “poli ique ag oécologique e alimen ai e”), he F ench
Food law (EGalim), and he Milan U ban Food Policy Pac .
To mee he FPD’s needs, i he e o e seemed aluable o es he use ulness
o he knowledge acqui ed h ough he applica ion o he U bal app oach by
e ining a se o exis ing MCA indica o s, so as o enhance hei ele ance and
be e align hem wi h he h ee abo emen ioned no ma i e amewo ks. The
las chap e (Chap e 11) o his book discusses he s udy o he use o U bal
esul s o guide he de elopmen o ele an indica o s, and he expe imen
conduc ed a ound Ma Can ine Au emen .
Acknowlegmen
The au ho s hank Luc Lignon, Di ec o o he Food Policy Depa men o he
ci y o Mon pellie , F ance, o his con ibu ion o he con en o his chap e .
No e
1 The Ma ke s o Na ional In e es (“Ma chés d’in é ê na ional”, MINs) a e whole-
sale ma ke s loca ed nea majo ci ies. The e a e abou 20 such ma ke s in F ance.
The MIN s a us, c ea ed in 1953, is a public se ice s a us. The managemen o
MINs can be ca ied ou di ec ly by a public au ho i y, o i can be delega ed o a
public o p i a e ac o . The bes -known MIN is ha o Rungis, which supplies Pa is
and he Ile-de-F ance egion. The Mon pellie MIN was c ea ed in 1965.
Role o school can eens in building sus ainable ood sys ems 99
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in e en ions. FAO. h p://www. ao.o g/3/i7848en/I7848EN.pd
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DOI: 10.4324/9781003285441-6
6.1 In oduc ion
Sho Food Supply Chains (SFSCs) a e seen as possible sus ainable al e na-
i es o long globalized ood supply chains. Di e en SFSC models in he li e -
a u e a e buil on he mul idimensional concep o p oximi y, which e e s no
only o geog aphical closeness bu also o he ela ionship be ween supply chain
ac o s ( ela ional p oximi y) and he deg ee o in o ma ion sha ing ups eam
and downs eam (in o ma ion p oximi y). The h ee dimensions o p oximi y
can p oduce di e en sus ainabili y impac s.
This chap e in es iga es he inno a ion o in oducing SFSC p oduc s in
he school can een meals se ed by Milano Ris o azione (MiRi) in Milan,
based on he U bal amewo k and he concep o SFSC. We explo e his inno-
a ion by d awing on in e iews wi h MiRi ep esen a i es as well as he esul s
o a pa icipa o y wo kshop wi h 20 s akeholde s. To co obo a e ou indings,
we analyse he MiRi’s meal deli e y se ice om p oduc ion cen es o school
can eens. We conclude ha he geog aphical p oximi y o MiRi’s ood suppli-
e s and ki chen cen es o school can eens is no su icien o gua an ee he
sus ainabili y o locally sou ced p oduc s and sho -dis ance logis ics sys ems,
bu ha new o ms o e ical coope a ion and in o ma ion sha ing cons i u e
key le e s o sus ainabili y. Finally, he U ban Food Inno a ion Lab (UFIL)
p o ides lea nings o p ac i ione s and policymake s, owa ds a new pa ici-
pa o y app oach o he de elopmen o p ocu emen ende s ocused on
sus ainabili y.
6.2 Sho Food Supply Chains and sus ainable de elopmen :
Insigh s om he li e a u e
Consume s a e inc easingly asking o high quali y s anda ds, p oduc a ie y,
and ood sa e y gua an ees, along wi h in o ma ion on he o igin o p oduc s
and he sus ainabili y o he whole alue chain (Ja zebowski e al., 2020).
Howe e , ag i- ood supply chains ope a ing on he global ma ke mus con-
end wi h g owing dis ances ups eam and downs eam o he alue chain,
6 The po en ial o Sho Food
Supply Chains o sus ainable
u ban ag i- ood sys ems
The UFIL o Milano Ris o azione
Giulia Ba ezzaghi and Fede ico Cania o
This chap e has been made a ailable unde a CC-BY-NC-ND license.

102 Giulia Ba ezzaghi and Fede ico Cania o
pa icula ly in ol ing long geog aphical dis ances and mul iple in e media -
ies, which p esen challenges o supply chain con ol and a ec consume
us . SFSCs ha e eme ged as possible sus ainable al e na i es o global ood
supply chains. SFSCs a e cha ac e ized by sho geog aphical dis ances
(Engelse h, 2016), ewe in e media ies, a s onge ela ionship be ween p o-
duce s and consume s (Todo o ic e  al., 2018), and in o ma ion closeness
(Ren ing e al., 2003; Cania o e al., 2012). Geog aphical p oximi y “exp esses
he kilome ic dis ance ha sepa a es wo uni s (e.g. indi idual o ganiza ions
o owns) in geog aphical space” (To e & Ralle , 2005, p. 4). Rela ional p ox-
imi y is de ined in e ms o he numbe o in e media ies along he chain (Bos
& Owen, 2016; Malak-Rawlikowska e al., 2019) and he ype o con ac ual
ag eemen s in place be ween supply chain ac o s (Edelmann e  al., 2019).
In o ma ion p oximi y is measu ed acco ding o he ype o in o ma ion sha ed
along he chain (such as p oduc o igin, p oduc quali y, sus ainabili y p ac-
ices, and p o ocols obse ed), he accessibili y o he in o ma ion, and he
le el o isibili y o e p oduc s, p ac ices, and p ocesses along he alue chain
(Ga cia-To es e al., 2019).
Sus ainabili y has come o be closely associa ed wi h SFSCs, as has been
highligh ed by EU Regula ion 1305/2013, which de ines hese supply chains as
a p oduc ion model ha gene a es economic, social, and en i onmen al bene i s.
E en hough SFSCs a e conside ed as al e na i es o global and unsus ainable
ood chains, he e is o en a lack o e idence ega ding he ac ual sus ainabili y
o hese “sho e ” ood supply chains.
SFSCs’ con ibu ion o he sus ainabili y o ood sys ems should no be
aken as a gi en. The di e en le e s o p oximi y can ein o ce o cancel each
o he ou , gene a ing mul iple and in e dependen economic, social, and en i-
onmen al impac s ha can also o se one ano he . Fo example, SFSCs a e
o en associa ed wi h en i onmen ally sus ainable p ac ices, as small-scale
a ming is conside ed o use less ene gy han la ge-scale, indus ial ag icul u e
(Woodhouse, 2010). Mo eo e , he sho e a elling dis ances can acili a e
he p e en ion o ood was e (Ja zebowski e al., 2020). On he o he hand,
SFSC p oduce s migh ace economic ba ie s in accessing he ma ke which,
among o he hings, can s em om a weak o ganiza ion and limi ed in as uc-
u e, wo key ac o s a ec ing compe i i eness (Yacamán Ochoa e al., 2019).
Ano he example is ha SFSCs help connec u ban and u al a eas, enhanc-
ing u al de elopmen and he e i aliza ion o local communi ies (Ja zebowski
e al., 2020). Howe e , p oximi y does no au oma ically imply posi i e e ec s
on wo king condi ions.
Fu he mo e, he concep o sus ainabili y is associa ed wi h he no ion o
esilience, de ined by Rice and Cania o (2003) as “ he o ganisa ion’s abili y o
eac o an unexpec ed dis up ion”. Resilience can be conside ed as a sho -
e m enable o achie e long- e m sus ainabili y (McDaniels e al., 2008): in
many cases, esilience and sus ainabili y a e a ec ed by he same managemen
p ac ices (Mac adyen e al., 2015). In he con ex o ag i- ood supply chains,
esilience ela es o he abili y o main ain he “ unc ion” o he sys em
The po en ial o Sho Food Supply Chains 103
(Tendall e al., 2015), ha is, o gua an ee he a ailabili y, s abili y, and acces-
sibili y o ood o e ime (FAO & UNICEF, 2020).
The concep o esilience is cu en ly gaining momen um, ollowing he dis-
up i e e ec s o he COVID-19 pandemic ha posed se ious h ea s o he
con inui y o he ag i- ood supply chain, as i did in o he indus ies (Cullen,
2020). Howe e , he e is no clea consensus on he mos ele an ac o s o
achie ing esilience in ag i- ood supply chains (S one & Rahimi a d, 2018).
Acco ding o S one and Rahimi a d (2018), he quali ies cen al o ag i- ood
supply chains’ esilience a e collabo a ion, lexibili y, agili y, isibili y, adap -
abili y, and edundancy and each o ganiza ion can de e mine which dimen-
sions o esilience o le e age in a gi en con ex , building di e en esilience
s a egies. In his ega d, SFSCs can play a c ucial ole in he esilience and
sus ainabili y o he ag i- ood supply chain, by le e aging geog aphic, ela ional
and/o in o ma ion p oximi y.
6.3 The Milano Ris o azione UFIL: In oducing p oduc s om
Sho Food Supply Chains in school can eens in Milan
Gi en he apidly e ol ing egula o y en i onmen and he con inuous changes
in ood consump ion habi s, he de elopmen agendas o ci ies a ound he
wo ld ha e s a ed o p io i ize educing he dis ances be ween p oduce s and
inal consume s by c ea ing linkages be ween u ban, pe i-u ban, and u al
a eas, as well as p omo ing mo e sus ainable die s, s a ing in school can eens.
In 2014, he Milan Municipali y es ablished a Food Policy O ice in cha ge
o de eloping a comp ehensi e ood policy s a egy o he ci y o Milan,
based on a Memo andum o Unde s anding signed wi h he philan h opic
o ganiza ion Fondazione Ca iplo. The Milan Food Policy was de eloped
a ound i e p io i ies:
1) ensu ing he supply o heal hy ood and su icien d inking wa e as p ima y
nou ishmen o e e yone
2) os e ing he sus ainabili y o he u ban ood sys em in Milan, by enabling
he condi ions necessa y o he managemen o a sus ainable ood sys em
and p omo ing he local p oduc ion and consump ion o esh and seasonal
quali y ood
3) unde s anding ood, by inc easing consume awa eness su ounding heal hy,
sa e, cul u ally app op ia e, and sus ainable ood
4) igh ing was e
5) suppo ing and p omo ing scien i ic ag i- ood esea ch
Since 2015, he Milan Food Policy O ice has p omo ed he de elopmen o an
in e na ional pac on U ban Food Policies— he Milan U ban Food Policy
Pac (MUFPP), now signed by mo e han 210 ci ies wo ldwide—wi h a iew
o dissemina ing bes p ac ices o u ban ood policies and ac i a ing join
ac ions owa ds mo e sus ainable ood sys ems. Mo eo e , in 2018 he Milan
104 Giulia Ba ezzaghi and Fede ico Cania o
Municipali y joined he “100 Resilien Ci ies” p og amme pionee ed by The
Rock elle Founda ion, which suppo s ci ies a ound he wo ld o in eg a e
esilience measu es in o hei u ban de elopmen s a egies, so as o be able o
p e en and ace exis ing and eme ging en i onmen al, social and economic
u ban shocks and s esses ( o ins ance, ela ing o po e y, unequal access o
public se ices, looding, ai pollu ion, and clima e change). Like he o he
ci ies in ol ed in he p og amme, in 2017 Milan appoin ed a Chie Resilience
O ice in cha ge o leading he ci y’s esilience e o s, coo dina ing ac ions
wi h he o he Milan Municipali y depa men s.
Wi hin his amewo k, MiRi ope a es as a la ge public company owned by
he Milan Municipali y ha manages ca e ing o a wide ne wo k o public
schools and p epa es meals o nu sing homes, he elde ly a home, disabili y
cen es, immig a ion cen es, and a ilia ed p i a e schools in Milan. I s p io -
i y mission is o o e child en sa e, heal hy, and nu i ious ood a school,
along wi h educa ional ac i i ies on adequa e nu i ion and sus ainable con-
sump ion. MiRi p o ides an a e age 85,000 meals pe day, p epa ed in 26
ki chen cen es and dis ibu ed o a ne wo k o 437 school can eens. I employs
815 people di ec ly (in i s ki chens, i s o ices, e c.), and ano he 2,900 indi ec ly
(dis ibu ing ood in he schools, p o iding cleaning se ices, e c.) (Milano
Ris o azione, 2021). I o e s mo e han 8,500 di e en ia ed e hnic and eli-
gious menus (e.g., ege a ian, egan, po k- ee, e c.) and o e 2,100 heal h-
speci ic die s o ca e o he mul iple cul u al p ac ices and speci ic nu i ional
die s o i s consume s (e.g., o diabe es, celiac, o o he alle gies).
O e he las ew yea s, MiRi has ac i ely p omo ed se e al ac i i ies and
inno a i e p ojec s o enhance he sus ainabili y o he whole ood chain o he
school can eens, om p oduc p ocu emen and logis ics o was e managemen
and ood educa ion o child en and pa en s. Fo ins ance, MiRi has eplaced
plas ic ablewa e wi h a biodeg adable and compos able al e na i e, has acili-
a ed he p ocu emen o local and o ganic p oduc s in i s public ende s, and
has in oduced Fai T ade p oduc s. This commi men o sus ainabili y is
d i en by he ood policy s a egy adop ed by he Milan Municipali y and is
suppo ed by he MiRi senio managemen ’s s ong commi men o sus aina-
bili y as well as he obliga ion o align wi h cu en egula ions go e ning
public adminis a ion a ci y, na ional, and Eu opean le els, which se s ic
manda o y equi emen s ega ding ood sa e y, g een p ocu emen , and ca bon
emissions educ ion. MiRi’s public p ocu emen policy and meal dis ibu ion
sys em o school can eens can s ongly impac he sus ainabili y o he local
u ban ood sys em, mainly by egula ing he p ocu emen and logis ics p o-
cesses in ol ing supplie s h ough long- e m con ac s and ende s. In addi ion
o his, MiRi ende s o en de ine bes p ac ices ha a e hen adop ed by o he
I alian municipali ies. Fu he mo e, MiRi’s ca e ing se ice and sus ainabili y
awa eness ini ia i es each a as popula ion o schoolchild en and hei ami-
lies in Milan.
In line wi h i s s a egic ood policy goals, he Milan Municipali y has
in es ed in de ining and implemen ing a Ru al De elopmen Plan aimed a
The po en ial o Sho Food Supply Chains 105
econnec ing he ci y o Milan wi h he me opoli an p oduc i e ag icul u al
a eas, hus acili a ing access o sus ainably p oduced ood h ough public
ende s.
As pa o his, in 2016 he Milan Municipali y launched a 12-mon h pilo
ini ia i e in collabo a ion wi h he Milan Ag icul u al Dis ic (DAM) and
MiRi o es ablish new a angemen s be ween public adminis a ions and local
ag icul u al en e p ises o he de elopmen o expe imen al p ocedu es.
Thanks o his ins i u ional inno a ion, MiRi was able o secu e a whole yea ’s
supply o ice om he DAM ag icul u al en e p ises (180 ons/yea , o a alue
o €300,000/yea ), hus in oducing his locally sou ced p oduc in school can-
een menus. Building on he esul s o his expe imen , o e he las ew yea s
MiRi has been wo king o scale ou he s a egy adop ed wi h ice o o he 19
ood supply chains—including esh pas a, po a oes, zucchini, len ils, and
chickpeas—ex ending he ne wo k o supplie s and pa ne s akeholde s as
pa o he “Ma e a Alimen a U bes” p ojec . This has in ol ed se e al join
ac ions on he local e i o y, including he ede elopmen o ag icul u al land,
he mode niza ion o ag icul u al in as uc u e and machine y, he c ea ion o
an u ban ood ma ke wi h “ze o-kilome e” p oduc s, and an in ense educa ion
and communica ion campaign a ge ing he school communi y and ci il socie y.
Gi en his o e all con ex , he inno a ion o in e es he e is he in oduc ion
o SFSC p oduc s in he menus o he school can eens se ed by MiRi in
Milan. Acco ding o he de ini ion o “Sho Food Supply Chains” ound in
he li e a u e, dis ances be ween u al and u ban a eas, as well as dis ances
be ween p oduce s (ag icul u al en e p ises) and consume s (schoolchild en),
can be educed by mobilizing di e en p oximi y le e s such as: 1) he sou cing
o ood ha is p oduced locally, in o he wo ds ood ha is close o he poin s
o consump ion (i.e., geog aphic p oximi y); 2) he disin e media ion o he
alue chain h ough new o ganiza ional/coope a ion amewo ks, such as he
con ac ual ag eemen s be ween MiRi and DAM ag icul u al companies
(i.e., ela ional p oximi y); and 3) he sha ing o in o ma ion on p oduc s’
o igin and he associa ed supply chains, and he de elopmen o educa ional
campaigns a ge ing he school sys em, ins i u ions, and supply chain ac o s
(i.e., in o ma ion p oximi y).
The e is howe e s ill no a widely sha ed de ini ion o “local p oduc s”
wi hin egula ion on public p ocu emen . As a esul , he bounda ies o geo-
g aphical p oximi y canno be clea ly iden i ied. The “ze o-kilome e” concep
is commonly associa ed wi h ood ha is p oduced wi hin 70 kilome es o he
poin o consump ion, bu he de ini ion o “local p oduc ion” could be
ex ended o co e he whole Milan me opoli an a ea o he Lomba dy Region.
Mo eo e , sho ening he supply chain migh equi e some e o om di e -
en s akeholde s and gene a e a ange o sus ainabili y impac s. Locally
p oduced o ze o-kilome e p oduc s a e no necessa ily sus ainable; hei sus-
ainabili y depends o ins ance on how hey a e p oduced, anspo ed, and
dis ibu ed. Acco ding o he U bal amewo k, sus ainabili y has mul iple
dimensions, pe aining o he en i onmen , ood sa e y, ood secu i y, he
112 Giulia Ba ezzaghi and Fede ico Cania o
4) he selec ion o p oduc s om su plus ood sou ces and/o p oduc s nea ing
hei expi y da e
5) he in oduc ion o Pa icipa o y Gua an ee Sys ems, conside ed as al e na-
i e p oduc ce i ica ion schemes, which in ol e he di ec pa icipa ion o
p oduce s and consume s in he de ini ion o p oduc speci ici ies as well as
he de elopmen and implemen a ion o ce i ica ion p ocedu es. In o he
wo ds, hese a e locally o ien ed p oduc quali y p o ec ion sys ems,
whe eby p oduce s a e ce i ied wi h he ac i e pa icipa ion o s akeholde s
and on he basis o us and ecip ocal con ol, in e dependence, and
knowledge sha ing along he ood supply chain
6) he selec ion o ood packaging solu ions ha ensu e ood quali y and sa e y
while also p o ec ing he en i onmen h ough he use o ecyclable ma e ials
The in oduc ion o new c i e ia o supplie selec ion ha a ou locally p o-
duced, seasonal, and sus ainably p oduced ing edien s implies geog aphical
closeness be ween p oduc ion and consump ion, as well as new ypes o e i-
cal ag eemen s ein o cing ela ional p oximi y ups eam. Mo eo e , he sha -
ing and ce i ica ion o in o ma ion along he alue chain h ough new pa ic-
ipa o y gua an ees sys ems con ibu e o educing dis ances ups eam and
downs eam (in o ma ion p oximi y).
These changes lead o se e al impac s on he di e en dimensions o
sus ainabili y:
1) p omo ing small-scale p oduce s and he local economy
2) educing he amoun s o su plus ood and ood was e a p oduc ion si es
3) gua an eeing sa e and decen wo king condi ions o p oduce s and os e -
ing sus ainable economic g ow h
4) minimizing he supply chain’s en i onmen al oo p in o p o ec biodi e -
si y and educe ca bon emissions
5) inc easing consume s’ and supply chain ac o s’ awa eness su ounding ood
quali y and he alue de i ed om ood p oduc s’ o igin and he ac i i ies
o hei ups eam supply chain
6) p omo ing a mo e anspa en and pa icipa o y supply chain
In his espec , new egula ions and inc eased anspa ency in he ce i ica ion
and e i ica ion o in o ma ion ega ding p oduc s and p ocesses ( ela ional
p oximi y)—also enabled by digi al echnology—can be d i e s o sus ainabil-
i y impac s. On he o he hand, he limi ed pe cep ion o he added alue o
p oduc s om SFSCs, he lack o incen i es o he a ious s akeholde s, and
he lack o a collabo a i e app oach among supply chain ac o s can be ba ie s
(and can a ec bo h ela ional and in o ma ion p oximi y).
Rega ding he de ini ion o p oduc pu chasing olumes, he main changes
a ising om he ac i i y consis o :
1) he e ision o pu chase quan i ies and deli e y imes acco ding o p oduc
a ailabili y and seasonali y

The po en ial o Sho Food Supply Chains 113
2) he de elopmen o ne wo ks o local p oduce s, such as agg ega ion pla -
o ms and coope a i es
3) he e ision o he olumes speci ied in p ocu emen ende s and sou cing
con ac s o a ou smalle -scale p oduc ion and p oduc ion on demand
4) he expansion o he supplie base by inc easing ende s’ isibili y and
accessibili y h ough ad hoc communica ion campaigns
The e ision o he p oduc olume and deli e y ime c i e ia in p ocu emen
ende s and sou cing con ac s o a ou small-scale supplie s, along wi h he
de elopmen o new o ms o p oduce agg ega ion, con ibu e o s eng hen-
ing he ela ional p oximi y o supply chain ac o s. G ea e in o ma ion sha -
ing on public ende s o b oaden he supplie base p o ides a way o os e
in o ma ion p oximi y.
The expec ed sus ainabili y impac s a e:
1) he inclusion o a g ea e numbe o supplie s wi h mo e di e se p o iles,
and he economic su i al o small-scale supplie s
2) he p omo ion o local p oduc s and he local e i o y
3) gua an eed a ailabili y and egula i y o he p oduc supply and ood quali y
4) g ea e anspa ency and pa icipa ion along he supply chain
We iden i ied di e en d i e s and ba ie s su ounding hese impac s.
Inc eased a en ion paid by consume s o local and sus ainable p oduc s and
he inclusion o small-scale p oduce s can be a d i e o impac and os e
in o ma ion p oximi y by enabling consume s o access ele an in o ma ion
on he p oduc and i s ups eam supply chain. Con e sely, he need o supply
signi ican olumes o p oduc s o ensu e ood a ailabili y and he egula i y
o he ood se ice, along wi h he inclusion o p e-de ined size and quali y
s anda ds wi hin public ende s, cons i u es ba ie s. The la e pe ain o he
selec ion c i e ia and he ypes o e ical ag eemen s eached wi h supplie s,
and he e o e o he ela ional dimension o p oximi y.
Wi h ega d o he hi d ac i i y selec ed, namely he in oduc ion o p od-
uc s om SFSCs in school can een menus, he main changes a ising om he
ac i i y a e:
1) he in oduc ion o new p oduc s o allow o a mo e a ied die , which can
in u n imp o e consump ion habi s
2) he p omo ion o educa ional ac i i ies and awa eness ini ia i es o chil-
d en and eache s, ocused on sus ainable and heal hy die s (including
“sho supply chain” p oduc s)
3) he epu posing o edible and sa e su plus ood in school meals
These ac i i ies may mobilize all h ee dimensions o p oximi y. The in oduc-
ion o sus ainably p oduced ing edien s implies geog aphical closeness as well
as new con ac ual ag eemen s and ela ional dynamics wi h supplie s.
114 Giulia Ba ezzaghi and Fede ico Cania o
Educa ion campaigns a ge ing schoolchild en and eache s help o educe dis-
ances downs eam by sha ing aluable in o ma ion and aising awa eness.
These changes lead o he ollowing sus ainabili y impac s:
1) social consciousness and awa eness, con ibu ing o las ing changes in con-
sume habi s
2) he p omo ion o heal hie die s o child en
3) he p omo ion o he local economy and local iden i y
4) educed ood was e and a smalle en i onmen al oo p in
In his espec , p ope and ailo ed communica ion along wi h educa ion ini i-
a i es o consume s can be a d i e o impac , which inc eases in o ma ion
p oximi y. On he o he hand, cul u al esis ance o change in habi s can con-
s i u e a ba ie (again linked o in o ma ion access and sha ing).
6.6 Discussion o he esul s
The UFIL e ealed ha supplie s’ geog aphical p oximi y o consume s is no
he only le e a ailable o educe dis ance along he alue chain: all h ee
dimensions o p oximi y can be mobilized. The geog aphical dimension should
be in eg a ed h ough new o ms o p oduce agg ega ion and supply chain
coope a ion schemes ( ela ional p oximi y) and by p omo ing in o ma ion
sha ing and anspa ency along he supply chain, om p oduce s o consum-
e s (in o ma ion p oximi y). The impac s ha can be gene a ed a e mul iple
and in e connec ed. Di e en enable s and ba ie s may a ise, mos ly associ-
a ed wi h social awa eness, he egula o y en i onmen , supply chain ela ion-
ships, and consump ion habi s.
In o de o co obo a e hese esul s, we he e also analyse he logis ics se -
ice o meal deli e ies om MiRi’s ki chen cen es o he school can eens,
ollowing he U bal app oach and based on he SFSC concep . This ac i i y
was selec ed as a benchma k o wo easons. Fi s , as wi h p oduc p ocu e-
men , he logis ics se ice con ac is g an ed by MiRi o hi d-pa y logis ics
se ice p o ide s h ough a public ende p ocess. Second, in line wi h i s sus-
ainabili y commi men s, MiRi ecen ly s a ed o ocus on imp o ing i s logis-
ics se ice and ne wo k, making i mo e sus ainable and esilien o u ban
shocks by inno a ing wi h he manda o y and incen i e c i e ia included in
he ende .
The ne wo k o s akeholde s in ol ed in his logis ics se ice includes
MiRi’s own s a , schoolchild en and hei amilies, eache s, he school ki chen
s a , he Milan Municipali y adminis a ion, logis ics se ice p o ide s and
expe s, and echnology p o ide s (o ehicles and measu emen /moni o -
ing ools).
Based on a p elimina y analysis o he con ex as well as in e iews wi h
MiRi ep esen a i es and ele an s akeholde s, including logis ics p o ide s
and an ex e nal expe , he esea ch eam ound ha inno a ions a ound he
The po en ial o Sho Food Supply Chains 115
logis ics ende p ocess can ha e an e ec on se e al o he sus ainabili y
dimensions and sub-dimensions iden i ied in he U bal amewo k:
• En i onmen : non- enewable sou ces and pollu ion. The logis ics ende can
in eg a e ca bon emission educ ion c i e ia and econside he means o
anspo a ion used in a ou o mo e sus ainable solu ions (e.g., me h-
ane-CNG, hyb id CNG-diesel, elec ic ehicles), and MiRi’s anspo a ion
plan can be e iewed.
• Food secu i y: a ailabili y and egula i y. The logis ics ende should in o-
duce equi emen s o ensu e a con inuous and egula meal dis ibu ion se -
ice o all school can eens in he ne wo k on a daily basis. One key s a egic
le e is he du a ion o con ac s.
• Economy: esilience and decen employmen . Resilience is he e unde s ood as
logis ics p o ide s’ abili y o p omp ly espond o unexpec ed e en s, such
as oad conges ion due o a ca acciden o di icul mobili y ollowing
looding o snow all, o gua an ee he egula deli e y o meals o schools.
In his ega d, in addi ion o back-up ehicles in he lee o eme gencies, an
incen i e c i e ion could be added o he ende o encou age he in oduc-
ion o an ope a i e uni o he coo dina ion and managemen o unex-
pec ed e en s and eme gencies.
F om an economic pe spec i e, i is impo an o conside he ade-o
be ween he desi e o in es in mo e en i onmen ally sus ainable logis ics se -
ices and in as uc u e, on he one hand, and he need o an economically
e icien logis ics sys em wi h igid budge cons ain s on he o he .
Mo eo e , uck d i e s mus be gua an eed ai wo king condi ions. This
could be add essed in he con ac s wi h logis ics p o ide s, aking in o accoun
di e en aspec s o social sus ainabili y such as app op ia e emune a ion,
aining p og ammes on p ope pos u e when d i ing and handling goods,
o ms o in eg a i e insu ance, e c.
• Go e nance: anspa ency and accoun abili y. The logis ics ende could
in oduce measu emen and moni o ing sys ems o ensu e he anspa ency
and aceabili y o he logis ics se ice and ack ene gy consump ion and
ca bon emissions.
• Social-cul u al: inequali y. The logis ics ende could include measu es o
p omo e di e si y and educe inequali y in he wo k en i onmen .
The analysis o he possible sus ainabili y c i e ia o be included in he logis ics
ende e eals ha he ki chen cen es’ geog aphical p oximi y o he poin o
consump ion (school can eens) is no su icien o ensu e he sus ainabili y o
he logis ics se ice and ha o he a iables should be aken in o accoun a he
same ime. Fo example, he educed geog aphical dis ance in ol ed in he
meal deli e y om MiRi ki chen cen es o school can eens says li le abou
he ype o labou con ac s adop ed by he logis ics p o ide s o he amoun
116 Giulia Ba ezzaghi and Fede ico Cania o
o ca bon emissions gene a ed by he ehicles used o he logis ics se ice.
Thena u e and ex en o he o ganiza ional a angemen s be ween MiRi and
he logis ics supplie s, and be ween he la e and hei employees, as well as he
a ailabili y, accessibili y, and isibili y o in o ma ion along he alue chain up
o he inal consume s, can play a c ucial ole in educing dis ances and making
he logis ics chain mo e sus ainable and esilien .
6.7 Conclusions
The UFIL o MiRi p o es ha he geog aphic closeness o p oduce s (bo h
MiRi’s ood supplie s and he ki chen cen es) wi h he poin o consump ion
(school can eens) does no au oma ically ensu e he sus ainabili y o locally
sou ced p oduc s and sho -dis ance logis ic sys ems. The adop ion o o he sus-
ainabili y-o ien ed c i e ia ela ing o he selec ion o p oduc s and supplie s
(e.g., a ou ing he supply o seasonal and esh p oduc s, he epu posing o
sa e and edible su plus ood ha does no mee comme cial s anda ds, ai wo k-
ing condi ions, and social in eg a ion), as he well as new o ms o coope a ion
be ween supply chain ac o s, a e key o shi ing owa ds mo e esponsible p o-
duc ion and consump ion pa e ns. Mo eo e , a p ope communica ion and
educa ion s a egy is needed o os e anspa ency in he supply chain, inc ease
awa eness, and change consump ion habi s. Thus, ela ional and in o ma ion
p oximi y can suppo geog aphical p oximi y o achie e a mo e sus ainable
ood sys em.
The sus ainabili y impac s gene a ed by hese changes a e mul iple and
in e wined: abo e all, hey in ol e suppo o small p oduce s and local p o-
duc ion economies, he p ese a ion o cul u al and ood he i age, he educ-
ion o ood was e, he p o ec ion o biodi e si y in na u al ecosys ems, and
he os e ing o inno a i e pa icipa o y p oduc ion models. New ce i ica ion
schemes and in o ma ion sys ems can be a d i e o impac , while egula o y
and adminis a i e de iciencies, a lack o incen i es o s akeholde s, limi ed
awa eness o he supply chain, s ic comme cial s anda ds on p oduc quali y,
and cul u al esis ance can be ba ie s o he inno a ion p ocess.
In conclusion, he UFIL o MiRi con ibu es o he scien i ic deba e on
SFSCs and hei po en ial o building mo e sus ainable and inclusi e ood
sys ems on an u ban le el. I p o ides in e es ing indings o ood supply chain
ac o s looking o build a SFSC and local policymake s wishing o incen i ize
SFSC schemes, by shedding ligh on he dimensions and le e s o p oximi y
in ol ed and p o iding insigh s o suppo he de elopmen o a new pa ici-
pa o y model o ood p ocu emen ende s and con ac s wi h a ocus on
sus ainabili y.
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DOI: 10.4324/9781003285441-7
7.1 In oduc ion
Food sys ems in Vie nam a e apidly ans o ming, in a con ex o u baniza-
ion, economic g ow h, and ade libe aliza ion. Mo e speci ically, wi h ising
mis us ega ding ood sa e y (We heim-Heck e al., 2015), he demand o
quali y ood p oduc s is g owing. Nume ous cases o bac e ial and chemical
con amina ion and in oxica ion a e epo ed yea ly, along wi h ins ances o
high use o chemical inpu s and a g owing numbe o ood sa e y iola ions
(He nandez & Lundy, 2020). Scandals su ounding he misuse o e ilize s,
pes icides, and ood addi i es o en make headlines in local newspape s and
sp ead anxiousness among consume s (Figuié e al., 2019). Addi ionally, in en-
si e and unsus ainable ag icul u al p ac ices ha e been blamed since he ea ly
2000s o pollu ing and deg ading ag icul u al soils, he eby a ec ing biodi e -
si y, ai quali y, and wa e quali y (DiG ego io e al., 2003).
Sus ainable ood sys ems as an al e na i e p oduc ion and consump ion
app oach ha e no ye gained p ominence in he public deba e abou ood in
Vie nam (de Koning e al., 2015). To add ess consume conce ns and heal h
p oblems, he public au ho i ies ha e s i ed o mode nize he ood sec o .
They se up a Na ional Food Con ol Sys em, wi h he adop ion o he Vie nam
Food Sa e y Law in 2010 and he in oduc ion o olun a y p i a e ood sa e y
s anda ds (Pham & Dinh, 2020). Meanwhile, consume s ha e adop ed di e -
en p ac ices and s a egies o buying and handling ood in o de o na iga e
he unce ain ies a ound ood sa e y (We heim-Heck e al., 2014). A ecen
s udy has shown ha mos Hanoi ci izens look o sa e ood p oduc s and
demand be e ood anspa ency and aceabili y (Fe and e al., 2018). Ye
many a me s ollowing sa e y s anda ds ace di icul ies in inding ou le s
whe e hei p oduc s can be iden i ied as sa e and sold a p emium p ices.
Mo eo e , he p oli e a ion o ood sa e y labels and he epo ed lack o con-
ol by public au ho i ies o hi d pa ies ha e gene a ed a gene al mis us
among consume s.
Agains his backd op, many ac o s see e-comme ce as an oppo uni y o
connec consume s and p oduce s o he ade o quali y ood p oduc s. The
municipali y o Hanoi ecen ly launched a public pla o m o ma ke ce i ied
7 S udying he impac o
e-comme ce on he sus ainabili y
o ood sys ems in Vie nam
Michaël B ucke , Oli ie Lepille , Denis Sau ie ,
Nguyen Thi Tan Loc and Nguyen Thi Sau
This chap e has been made a ailable unde a CC-BY-NC-ND license.
S udying he impac o e-comme ce 119
low-chemical-inpu ood p oduc s in he ci y, while many u ban and pe i- u ban
consume s use social media o buy ood p oduc s online. The online pu chase
o ood p oduc s is a ecen p ac ice ha has so a ecei ed li le in-dep h
a en ion om schola s. Mos publica ions on he subjec ocus on consume
pe cep ions and beha iou s (Mo ganosky & Cude, 2000; Que edo-Sil a e al.,
2016; Zhao e al., 2017) o implica ions o managemen (Mu phy, 2002). How-
e e , some schola s wo king on ag i ood sys ems ha e s a ed o examine he
oppo uni ies and limi s o le e aging e-comme ce pla o ms, social media,
and o he digi al echnologies as ins umen s o imp o e he sus ainabili y o
ood supply ne wo ks. Some esea che s ha e assessed he abili y o online
ood e ailing o imp o e economic e iciency by inc easing he con enience o
o de and deli e y p ocesses (Wang & Coe, 2021), lowe ing p ices, and di e si-
ying he ange o goods on o e (Bel on-Che allie e al., 2014). O he s ha e
in es iga ed he po en ial o e-comme ce o acili a e ma ke access o small-
holde s (Zeng e al., 2017), econnec ood p oduce s and consume s in Al e -
na i e Food Ne wo ks (Bos & Owen, 2016; Holloway, 2002; Ilbe y & Maye,
2006; Ren ing e al., 2003; S ephens & Ba bie , 2021), con ey in o ma ion
abou he quali y o ood p oduc s (Ma indale, 2020), acili a e us -building
mechanisms (F i z, 2007), o democ a ize he go e nance o ood sys ems
(Chi oleau e al., 2018). The impac o e-comme ce on he sus ainabili y o
ood sys ems has no ye been s udied comp ehensi ely in Vie nam. Se e al
a icles ha e highligh ed he impo ance o con enience in he decision o buy
online (see o ins ance Kim Dang e al., 2018; Pham e al., 2018). S udying
ood shopping p ac ices in Hanoi, We heim and Spaa ga en obse e “a end
o buying online om a me s wi hou di ec pe sonal con ac ” (2016, p. 664)
bu do no p o ide a de ailed analysis o he d i e s and consequences o his
new p ac ice.
To b idge his gap, he U bal esea ch eam in Hanoi used he U bal me h-
odology—which in ol es conduc ing in e iews and ca ying ou wo kshops
and inno a ion mapping wi h s akeholde s— o help cha ac e ize and assess
he impac o e-comme ce inno a ion on ood sys em sus ainabili y in he
egion. The U bal p ojec app oaches sus ainabili y as a mul i-dimensional
concep wi h en i onmen al, social and cul u al, economic, heal h and nu i-
ion, and go e nance dimensions (see Chap e 1 o his book). Using he U bal
me hod, we aimed o answe he ollowing ques ions: Can e-comme ce encou -
age he sale o quali y ood p oduc s? To wha ex en can i con ibu e o he
sus ainabili y o u ban ood sys ems? And how should ma ke ela ionships be
o ganized and egula ed in o de o achie e such goals? The Hanoi eam
ocused on he online sale o “quali y ood” and s udied wo di e en ypes o
e-comme ce channels:
1) an in o mal and ho izon al channel: he use o social media (such as Face-
book o he mo e local applica ion Zalo) o buy and sell ood p oduc s
2) an ins i u ional channel: a municipali y-d i en pla o m called Cho Nha
Minh, in ended o he sale o ce i ied p oduc s
120 Michaël B ucke e al.
In he i s sec ion o his chap e , we in oduce he e-comme ce con ex in
Vie nam and he wo inno a ions we in es iga ed ollowing he U bal app oach.
In he second sec ion, we p esen he esul s o he discussions on he po en ial
impac s ha hese inno a ions may ha e on di e en dimensions o sus aina-
bili y. In he las sec ion, we discuss hese esul s and poin ou he limi s o he
U bal p ocess and he adap a ions equi ed in he local con ex .
7.2 P esen a ion o he wo cases and he use o he U bal app oach
7.2.1 U ban ood sys ems in Hanoi and he de elopmen o e-comme ce
The u baniza ion a e in Vie nam has been inc easing by nea ly 1% yea ly,
om 30% in 2010 o 37% in 2020 (O’Neill, 2022). In Hanoi, he capi al ci y
(wi h an u ban popula ion o 3.6 million), d as ic changes ha e a ec ed ood
sou cing and consump ion p ac ices. Mos o he ood consumed in Hanoi was
long sou ced om he e ile u ban hin e land. Since he ea ly 1990s, demo-
g aphic g ow h, u ban sp awl, compe i ion o e land use, ade libe aliza ion,
p i a e sec o in es men , and public policies o e ail mode niza ion ha e
esul ed in longe ood supply chains, g owing olumes o impo s, he de el-
opmen o ood p ocessing indus ies, and g ea e economic concen a ion in
he ood sec o (Rane i e al., 2019). New u ban ways o li e and highe e e-
nues ha e os e ed a nu i ion ansi ion, wi h die s shi ing owa ds mo e ish,
mea , dai y p oduc s, ui , a s, and p ocessed p oduc s while consume s a e
inc easingly demanding highe -quali y p oduc s (Ha is e al., 2020). Recen
yea s ha e been cha ac e ized by he de elopmen o supe ma ke chains and
con enience s o es, which sell p ocessed ood bu some imes also esh p oduc s
( ege ables, ui , and li es ock p oduc s) ce i ied as “sa e” by S a e agencies.
Howe e , he e is esis ance o ood sys em mode niza ion in he “ adi ional”
ood sec o , which is cha ac e ized by in o mal we and open ma ke s. As o
2018, be ween 85% and 90% o esh a m p oduc s we e s ill sold in we
ma ke s and open ma ke s and by s ee endo s (Loc & Mous ie , 2016; The
Uni e si y o Adelaide, 2018).
A he same ime, online sales a e booming ac oss all indus ies. The gene al
e-comme ce sec o has been expanding apidly in Vie nam, eaching a alue o
USD 9.5 billion in 2019, ep esen ing 5% o he o al e ail ma ke (Thanh,
2020). The physical dis ancing policies imposed by local au ho i ies in 2020 o
comba he COVID-19 pandemic epo edly boos ed his g ow h. By 2018,
98% o people using he In e ne had made pu chases online (Saigonee , 2018).
Re enue om online “B2C” (business- o-consume ) sales in Vie nam anked
six h wo ldwide (Deloi e, 2019). In 2019, he main ac o s on he ma ke we e
Shopee. n, VinID.ne ( he e-comme ce si e o VinG oup), Sendo. n, Lazada.
n, Tiki. n, and Lo e. n. Among o he p oduc s, ood p oduc s a e o en sold
online, and ollowing he es ic ions in oduced du ing he COVID-19 pan-
demic, a me s u ned o e-comme ce pla o ms o sell hei p oduce (VNS,
2021). While e y ew esh ood p oduc s a e ound on he a o emen ioned
S udying he impac o e-comme ce 121
B2C online pla o ms, “C2C” (consume - o-consume ) e-comme ce o ood
p oduc s is becoming inc easingly popula in Vie nam. A su ey ca ied ou in
2016 showed ha in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh Ci y, 47% o people buy p oduc s
on social media (Vie namNe , 2017). In Vie nam, an es ima ed 43.5 million
people use Facebook on a egula basis (Degenha d, 2023). The mos popula
applica ion o online sales is Zalo, an ins an messaging and calling applica-
ion ha can be used bo h on sma phones and on compu e s.
7.2.2 The me hodology used o apply he U bal app oach
The wo case s udies we e explo ed sepa a ely. Fo he i s case s udy, in 2019
he esea ch eam ca ied ou semi-di ec ed in e iews wi h 13 buye s and 6
selle s ope a ing on social media. A pa icipa o y wo kshop was o ganized in
Decembe 2019 o discuss po en ial impac pa hways o hese ac i i ies, b ing-
ing oge he 24 s akeholde s ( ege able, ui , and mea selle s, ish and honey
selle s, esea che s, jou nalis s, and go e nmen al o icials). The discussions
ocused on h ee main se s o ac i i ies, iden i ied as impo an h ough in e -
iews and a e iew o he li e a u e, and on hese ac i i ies’ expe ienced o
possible e ec s:
1) ma ke ansac ions (online o de s, online paymen s, deli e y)
2) us building and in o ma ion sha ing (sha ing opinions, e alua ions and
commen s, pos ing in o ma ion and in e ac ing wi h cus ome s, managing
epu a ion and loyal y)
3) connec ing p oduce s and consume s (iden i ying selle s o speci ic p od-
uc s, eaching ou o consume s)
A second wo kshop was held in No embe 2020 o discuss he esul s. Ten
pa icipan s a ended, including p oduce s, in e media ies, consume s, and
public au ho i ies, some o whom had al eady a ended he i s wo kshop.
Addi ional in e iews we e ca ied ou in ea ly 2021 wi h 8 buye s and 7 selle s
o u he explo e he ques ion o us in he con ex o online e ail. In o al,
indi idual in e iews we e ca ied ou wi h 21 buye s and 13 selle s. Among
hese 13 selle s, i e we e p o essional ope a o s wi h h ee who an b ick-and-
mo a ood shops and wo who an ag icul u al coope a i es. The o he s
engaged in online e ail as a complemen a y ac i i y.
The second case s udy, ocused on he Cho Nha Minh (CNM) pla o m, was
ca ied ou in i ine e, o e he cou se o he p ojec ’s design phase, pilo phase,
and ini ial implemen a ion phase. In 2019 and 2020 he esea ch eam con-
duc ed h ee semi-di ec i e in e iews wi h he municipal au ho i ies ( he
Depa men o Ag icul u e and Ru al De elopmen (DARD) and he Hanoi
Ce i ica ion Cen e), one wi h he Hanoi Women’s De elopmen Suppo
Cen e (an o ganiza ion pa ne ed wi h he p ojec ), and eigh wi h companies
and ag icul u al coope a i es iden i ied by DARD as supplying p oduc s on
he pla o m. I also ca ied ou obse a ions and in o mal in e iews a an
128 Michaël B ucke e al.
7.3.2 Impac s on sus ainabili y: E-comme ce as a con enien way o
pu chase quali y ood
The impac s o hese inno a ions on he a ious dimensions o sus ainabili y
we e discussed wi h hei di e en s akeholde s du ing p elimina y indi idual
in e iews as well as he pa icipa o y wo kshops.
Few s akeholde s in ol ed in he wo case s udies men ioned a speci ic
dimension o sus ainabili y, le alone sus ainabili y in gene al, as a ac o
in o ming hei p ac ices. Rega ding he CNM pla o m mo e speci ically, he
municipal au ho i ies’ ision is clea : hei ocus is on ood sa e y and secu ing
us and p o i abili y in he alue chain. While i is no explici ly a icula ed
in hese e ms, he CNM pla o m he e o e con ibu es o sus ainabili y in he
egion by p o iding consume s wi h access o sa e and us wo hy ood
sou ces. Fo hei pa , he CNM use s (selle s and buye s) see he pla o m
no as an oppo uni y o con ibu e o a speci ic dimension o sus ainabili y
bu as one o a numbe o de ices o access he ma ke and o connec wi h
one ano he .
7.3.2.1 Economic impac s and con enience
Ou esea ch con i ms he indings o ea lie wo ks on online pu chases in
Vie nam (Kim Dang e al., 2018; Pham e al., 2018): con enience and sa ing
ime we e he mos equen ly men ioned easons o s akeholde s engaging in
online e ailing and shopping. Buying online was usually depic ed as “highly
con enien ” and many buye s wi h busy schedules a gued ha hey did no
ha e ime o go o he “physical” ma ke e e y day. Some also conside ed
online buying as a end o which hey wan ed o be a pa . The e is clea ly an
en e ainmen aspec o online shopping; some consume s saw his ac i i y as
“exci ing” and “ un”. One consume depic ed he ideos pos ed online as being
“like ca oons”. Special o e s and p omo ions also seemed o b ing in e es
and exci emen o many buye s. The bene i s we e o en p esen ed in economic
e ms: consume s looked o lowe p ices, due o he p esumably highe and
ai e compe i ion online. The buye s also men ioned he di e si y o a ailable
o e ings as an a ac i e ea u e o e-comme ce, wi h mo e possibili y o com-
pa e p oduc s and p ices. Some buye s and egula o s saw he high deg ee o
compe i ion be ween ac o s selling online and he possibili y o buye s o ask
hem ques ions di ec ly as an incen i e o supplie s o deli e be e p oduc s
and se ices.
As o he selle s (p oduce s and in e media ies), hey also conside ed
online ading as an e icien way o access he ma ke . They p aised e-com-
me ce o enabling di ec communica ion and acili a ing access o buye s who
lack he ime and abili y o come o hei shops. They hoped o secu e highe
e enues h ough mo e e icien p ocesses and lowe anspo a ion and in e -
media y cos s.

S udying he impac o e-comme ce 129
7.3.2.2 Quali y ood and heal h
A ace alue, e-comme ce ul ils he neoclassical unc ion assigned o ma ke s:
maximizing u ili y and sa is ac ion o all agen s. Ye he main s akeholde s
o en also saw i as a p e e ed way o sell and buy “quali y” p oduc s. When
asked how hey de ined “quali y p oduc s”, he consume s usually poin ed o
“ as y”, “sa e”, and “clean” p oduc s o , in o he wo ds, p oduc s ee o ha m-
ul esidues. Fo ins ance, eshness o sea ood ( ish, squid, shell ish, e c.) was
equa ed wi h sa e y. People selling sea ish and sea ood on social media usually
ha e di ec connec ions wi h ishe men: esh ish is bough s aigh om he
boa and shipped o Hanoi, co e ed in ice cubes in S y o oam boxes. When i
eaches he consume s, i is usually eshe han he sea ish sold h ough adi-
ional ood supply channels, whe e ish mo es om hand o hand, b ough om
he Hai Phong o Ha Thinh ha bou o local wholesale ma ke s whe e i is kep
and handled in condi ions ha a e pe cei ed as “unsa e” and “unhygienic”.
While he online buye s acknowledged ha he e we e o he ways o buy
sa e ood p oduc s, almos all o hem expec ed p oduc s bough online o be
sa e. In o he wo ds, al hough he ques o ood sa e y was no he p ima y
d i e o online pu chases, sa e y was usually in eg a ed in he mo e gene al
concep o quali y. As we shall see la e , many o he buye s conside ed ha he
di ec ela ionship achie ed h ough online pu chases enables us in ood
quali y. The oppo uni y o ask ques ions and o ge ailo ed (and some imes
isual) answe s and in o ma ion also epo edly enhances he quali y o he
ood sold online.
The buye s o en used online applica ions and pla o ms o access ood spe-
cial y p oduc s ha a e no easily accessible in physical shops and adi ional
ma ke s. P oduc s such as wild spices (mac khen), egional special y p oduc s
(banh da om Nghe An), enowned p oduc s (eel om Nghe An p o ince,
sea ood om Phu Quoc and Nan Dinh), and ui associa ed wi h speci ic p o-
duc ion places (Dien pomelo, Vinh o ange, e c.) a e o en bough and sold
online. While hese p oduc s can be associa ed wi h a “ oodie” cul u e ha
ep oduces social inequali ies h ough dis inc ion (Johns on & Baumann,
2014), hey can also con ey a speci ic a achmen o culina y di e si y, iden i y
and c a smanship. As o he ood selle s, be hey p oduce s o e aile s, hey
saw e-comme ce and he di ec connec ion wi h buye s i implies as a way o
emphasize he speci ic quali ies o hei ood p oduc s.
As de Koning e al. (2015) a gue, “heal h in combina ion wi h ood is he
mos impo an eason o people o pu sue a sus ainable li es yle” (p. 608) in
Vie nam. While he ques o quali y can be unde s ood as a u ili a ian way o
enjoy a p oduc wi h be e o ganolep ic and biochemical p ope ies and a
lowe (o no) nega i e impac on heal h, his conce n inciden ally con ibu es
o he de elopmen o sho e ood supply chains, educing he numbe o
in e media ies, and be e connec ing p oduce s and consume s. Sus ainabili y
is no an in insic quali y o hese ood p oduc s and ood supply chains, bu
130 Michaël B ucke e al.
a he an inciden al, o ui ous quali y ha eme ges as a by-p oduc . Ne e he-
less, i is wo h aking in o conside a ion. This he e o e aises he ques ion o
whe he sus ainabili y should always be a delibe a e, e lexi e d i e o change,
o whe he i could be achie ed by o he , mo e indi idualis ic, u ili a ian, o
ins umen al means h ough speci ic ma ke a angemen s.
7.3.2.3 En i onmen and local de elopmen
Some o he consume s had a mo e “holis ic” concep ion o wha cons i u es
a “good” ood p oduc . A e i ed school eache men ioned ha she o de ed
o ganic po k online as she was conce ned abou he a ming p ac ices as well
as he animal slaugh e condi ions. Ano he buye exp essed an in e es in
“sa e ege ables” om Moc Chau and Dala (ci ies in moun ainous egions),
as she el ha he g owing en i onmen was cleane in hose egions and he
g owe s’ wo king condi ions we e be e . Wi h he CNM pla o m, he p oduc-
ion and sale o sa e ood can be mo e closely associa ed wi h en i onmen ally
sound p ac ices. Al hough DARD did no men ion his poin when he esea ch
eam in e iewed hem, some o he p oduce s did allude o i . No only do
lowe le els o e ilize and pes icide use esul in sa e ood o consume s,
bu hey also educe soil, wa e , and ai con amina ion, he eby con ibu ing o
a heal hie en i onmen o he local esiden s and p ese ing biodi e si y.
Few consume s o buye s spon aneously poin ed o he educ ion o oad
a ic acili a ed by a mo e e icien anspo a ion sys em and consume s
making ewe ips o he ma ke s as a posi i e impac o online sales. How-
e e , when speci ically asked abou i , many o hem ag eed ha his was a
po en ial posi i e impac .
As esh ood p oduc s (such as ege ables o mea ) pe ish quickly, hey can
be only deli e ed wi hin a small adius. Food p oduc e-comme ce he e o e
does no induce a placeless ood ne wo k, as some ha e a gued. On he con-
a y, i ends o os e he de elopmen o sho ood supply chains and locally
sou ced ood p oduc ion. This is especially he case when p oduce s sell online
wi hou in e media ies. Mo eo e , as a esea che in i ed o one o he wo k-
shops sugges ed, e-comme ce can indi ec ly suppo ag oecological p ac ices:
by acili a ing access o a wide ange o esh p oduc s, i encou ages di e si y
in local p oduc ion.
I i is able o o e come he echnical and adminis a i e di icul ies men-
ioned abo e, he CNM p og amme could imp o e e i o ial cohesi eness and
sus ainable egional de elopmen . Du ing he pla o m’s i s ew mon hs in
ope a ion, he municipali y mainly en olled p oduce s based in Hanoi o in
nea by p o inces. By acili a ing a di ec o close connec ion wi h consume s,
he pla o m has he po en ial o p o ide easy and di ec access o he u ban
ma ke o many local p oduce s who canno a o d a b ick-and-mo a shop
in he ci y. In his inno a ion, he public au ho i ies a e no an in e media y pe
se, bu a he p o ide a socio echnical a angemen o acili a e ma ke con-
nec ions. The pla o m may os e he p oduc ion o sa e ood and help e ain
S udying he impac o e-comme ce 131
economic alue wi hin he u ban pe iphe y. I scaled ou , i could po en ially
b ing abou a mo e di e si ied economy and landscape, a dynamic g een bel
a ound he ci y, a cleane en i onmen , be e p o i s o p oduce s, and job
c ea ion in he ag icul u al sec o .
7.3.2.4 Go e nance, us , and accoun abili y
The in e ac ions be ween consume s and selle s a e o en depic ed as mo e
sa is ying online han in physical shops. Many consume s p aise hese “new
a ian s o ‘ ace- o- ace’ con ac ” (Ren ing e al., 2003, p. 400) h ough
e-comme ce. Online ading can i ually cancel ou physical dis ance and os-
e a “ ela ion o ega d” (Sage, 2003) be ween p oduce s and cus ome s.
Online ma ke ela ionships a e some imes con as ed wi h he ade ela ion-
ships a adi ional we ma ke s and supe ma ke s: wi h e-comme ce, consum-
e s can easily gi e hei eedback (which is no he case a supe ma ke s), and
his eedback is aken in o accoun by selle s (which a ely happens a adi-
ional ma ke s). The go e nance o he ood supply chain can he e o e be
conside ed as mo e pa icipa i e o “democ a ic” (al hough he e m was no
used by ou esponden s). E-comme ce can po en ially ein o ce he ole o
s akeholde s a bo h ends o he ood ne wo k. Th ough hei di ec in e ac-
ions wi h p oduce s, consume s play an ac i e ole in de e mining he kinds o
p oduc s sold and, one can specula e, he ways hese oods u s a e p oduced.
E-comme ce, especially when i a ou s di ec ela ions be ween p oduce s and
buye s, ein o ces consume s’ con ol o e he ood chain. A he same ime, i
can also acili a e access o he ma ke o p oduce s, who hus egain au on-
omy o e he e ailing o hei p oduc s.
Rega ding he CNM p og amme, some in e iewees and wo kshop pa ici-
pan s a gued ha he public go e nance o he pla o m could suppo he
go e nmen ’s ole in p omo ing collec i e ac ion and ensu ing he public good.
Addi ionally, he collabo a ion ini ia ed by DARD wi h he Hanoi Women’s
De elopmen Suppo Cen e and he easy access g an ed o women- un busi-
nesses could p omo e gende equali y and he empowe men o women.
While e-comme ce is a p e e ed channel o he sale and pu chase o quali y
p oduc s, one o he main challenges wi h online shopping is ensu ing and
enhancing us in he ood sys em. F i z (2007) a gues ha “communica ion o
us be ween ansac ion pa ne s is no su icien ly ealized in exis ing e-com-
me ce o e s o ood ne wo ks” (p. 13). This was con i med by he in e iews
and wo kshops held in bo h case s udies. Mos o he buye s and selle s hough
ha , gene ally speaking, ood sold online was less us wo hy han ood sold in
physical shops. This lack o us is linked o wo main cha ac e is ics o e-com-
me ce. The i s ma e ial cha ac e is ic is he dis ance in ime and space be ween
o de ing, shipping, and ecei ing he goods, which may esul in poo app ecia-
ion o he p oduc s (misma ch be ween expec a ions and eali y) and a de e io-
a ion o quali y du ing deli e y. Manybuye s conside ed ha he inabili y o
physically check a p oduc (by ouching i , smelling i , e c.) be o e buying i is a
132 Michaël B ucke e al.
majo d awback o online sales. The second cha ac e is ic is mo e speci ic o he
Vie namese con ex . Many s akeholde s a gued ha , con a y o physical e ail,
online e ail is no con olled by he go e nmen and he e o e opens up a signi -
ican a enue o aud and he sale o low-quali y goods. The ease o en y on o
he ma ke ha online sales pe mi could hus ein o ce his un ai compe i ion
and he isk o aud.
Buye s do howe e usually us hei selle s. Pa adoxically, whe eas he
p oduc s sold online a e gene ally conside ed as less us wo hy han p oduc s
sold a physical ma ke s, he speci ic selle s selec ed by each buye a e indi id-
ually conside ed as mo e us wo hy han egula selle s. The consume s in e -
iewed exp essed bo h a gene al mis us o online sales and an indi idual
a achmen o he online selle s hey had chosen, making he es ablishmen o
us a pe sonal ma e . This is enabled by di e en choice, calcula ion, and
alua ion s a egies. Fo ins ance, he online sale o honey, a p oduc ha
exempli ies he isk o aud h ough ampe ing wi h suga , p o es ha us
le els in e-comme ce can be e y high.
The CNM p og amme chose o ocus on ce i ica ion: he s anda ds
en o ced and he municipal con ol o e hem a e supposed o p e en expo-
su e o chemical and bac e ial con amina ion. Ye pe sonal ela ionships
appea o be one o he mos impo an us mechanisms, especially when
using social media. Wha is no ewo hy in his case is ha us is no buil
h ough he p ac ice o buying online bu p ecedes i . Online sales do no gen-
e a e us . On he con a y, us makes online sales possible. Mos buye s
ha e p io di ec o indi ec ela ionships wi h he selle s— hey me he selle s
a ood ade ai s, hey isi ed hei physical shops, hey main ain amily,
iendship, o p o essional ies wi h hem, hey we e in oduced h ough mu ual
iends, e c. In we ma ke s, us is usually embedded in ela ions o geo-
g aphic p oximi y and empo al cons ancy: he selle down he s ee is us ed
because he/she belongs o he communi y o has p o en o be eliable o e
ime. Digi al e ail mo e o less builds on he same pa e ns o us . While he
economic ansac ion akes place in a i ual sphe e, he ma ke ela ionship
s ill depends on p oximi y, cons ancy, and embeddedness.
We heim-Heck and Spaa ga en (2016) a gue ha in Hanoi “social ela ion-
ships mo ed om ace- o- ace con ac o online communi ies” (p. 662). Ye ou
esea ch e eals ha online communi ies o en ex end he ime- and spa ial
scales o a p e-exis ing ace- o- ace ela ionship. S ill, online ading does
econ igu e his ela ionship. Since consume s see a bene i in selle s ha ing he
oppo uni y o pos in o ma ion, pic u es, o e en ideos online, online pu -
chasing can hus con ibu e o educing he physical and economic dis ance
be ween p oduce s and consume s and o os e ing u ban- u al linkages, as
has al eady been highligh ed in he li e a u e on al e na i e ood ne wo ks
(Blay-Palme e al., 2018). Di ec con ac be ween supplie s and buye s, as
wellas he sha ing o in o ma ion online (pic u es, desc ip ion o a ming
p ac ices, e c.), could also enhance consume s’ knowledge o he ood hey ea
and os e us in he ood sys em.
S udying he impac o e-comme ce 133
The p oduc s sold online o en di e om p oduc s bough h ough main-
s eam e ail channels. Likewise, he ood supply sys em o e-comme ce also
di e s om physical e ail. The online ood e ail inno a ions conside ed in he
case s udies o in e es he e con ibu e o he c ea ion o al e na i e ood sys-
ems, bo h h ough he ypes o p oduc s sold (high-quali y and sus ainable
ood i ems) and h ough he ne wo ks es ablished (di ec ela ionships
g ounded in pe sonal us ) (see Wa s e al., 2005). Ou esea ch con i ms ha ,
unde ce ain condi ions, he online ading o quali y ood os e s he
“socio-ma e ial econnec ion p ocesses” (Bos & Owen, 2016, p. 1) ha occu in
al e na i e ood ne wo ks (Ilbe y & Maye, 2006; S ephens & Ba bie , 2021).
7.3.2.5 Po en ial nega i e impac s
Beyond us no being a gi en in online ood e ail, he selle s and buye s
in ol ed in he case s udies did poin ou o he sho comings. Some s akehold-
e s a gued ha online e ail in oduces a kind o un ai compe i ion o he
ma ginalized ade s who do no ha e he means o access and use digi al ech-
nology. Mo eo e , some s akeholde s saw he abili y o o de om home and
o ecei e deli e ies as d i ing an inc easingly seden a y li es yle, po en ially
ha ming heal h. Finally, al hough no pa icipan men ioned his poin , we can
also a gue ha online pu chases may ha e nega i e en i onmen al ou comes: i
may inc ease oad a ic in case o lowe pooling o ood anspo lows and
induce mo e elec onic was e and ene gy consump ion associa ed wi h he use
o elec onic de ices (Figu es 7.3–7.5).
7.4 Discussion: The need o adap o local con ex s
and unde s andings
7.4.1 Ba ie s and enable s
Du ing he wo kshops, he pa icipan s iden i ied se e al ba ie s o e-com-
me ce ha ing a posi i e impac on he di e en dimensions o sus ainabili y.
Many a gued ha ood—and especially quali y ood—is no he mos con en-
ien p oduc o online ade, as senso y app ecia ion is o en necessa y be o e
making a pu chase. While social media can “explain he ma e ial quali ies o
ood” (Ma indale, 2020), hey canno physically con ey hem. The lack o
us in he p oduc s sold online was also unanimously men ioned as an obs a-
cle. This was o en associa ed wi h he di icul y o public au ho i ies o con-
ol online sales, mainly owing o a lack o esou ces. The CNM pla o m was
concei ed as a way o coun e his alleged lack o us in he ansac ions ha
ake place on social media. Howe e , as men ioned ea lie , he di icul ies i has
encoun e ed highligh he sho age o inancial and human esou ces wi h
which he public au ho i ies mus con end. Many s akeholde s also conside ed
ha smallholde s and small supplie s lack he knowledge, ime, and inancial

134 Michaël B ucke e al.
Figu e 7.3 Po en ial posi i e and nega i e impac s o o de ing on social media (Case S udy 1), mapped be o e he wo kshop.
S udying he impac o e-comme ce 135
Figu e 7.4 Po en ial posi i e impac s o he municipali y-d i en pla o m (Case S udy 2), mapped be o e he wo kshop.
136 Michaël B ucke e al.
esou ces o engage in e-comme ce. Many poin ed o he digi al di ide be ween
hose who mas e he echnology and hose do no o canno access i .
Some supplie s exp essed hei dissa is ac ion wi h online ading. They
a gued ha i aises logis ical and o ganiza ional di icul ies, including a eli-
ance on deli e y companies o ship small quan i ies due o he high cos s asso-
cia ed wi h handling deli e ies and ha upda ing he in o ma ion online is
ime-consuming. They also iden i ied secu ing buye s’ loyal y as a challenge
since he as majo i y o consume s p e e going o he adi ional ma ke .
Adap ing o buye s’ equi emen s o lexibili y in e ms o deli e y imes o
paymen me hods was likewise a big conce n.
Acco dingly, many s akeholde s called o mo e public in e en ions no
only o in oduce con ol measu es o axes bu also o in ol e he p i a e
sec o in se ing up app op ia e echnological solu ions. Capaci y-building
Figu e 7.5 Posi i e and nega i e impac s o o de ing online on social media (Case
S udy 1), mapped du ing he pa icipa o y wo kshop.
S udying he impac o e-comme ce 137
p og ammes we e sugges ed o enable small ac o s o engage in e-comme ce.
Many pa icipan s also s essed he ac ha e-comme ce is no a pu ely i ual
ela ionship—i equi es e icien and eliable in as uc u e o ensu e he
p ope shipping o he goods o de ed.
7.4.2 The ques ion o us and he pa icipan s’ ins umen al unde s anding
o sus ainabili y
Al hough he wo kshops ocused on sus ainabili y in gene al, he esea ch
eam no iced ha he e was no sha ed unde s anding o sus ainabili y among
he pa icipan s. The concep was explained a he beginning o he wo kshops,
bu he s akeholde s did no use i when exp essing hei iews on he inno a-
ions discussed. The acili a o s had o b eak down sus ainabili y in o i s di -
e en dimensions (heal h, social, economic, ecological, e c.) as de ined by
U bal, in o de o s imula e discussions abou non-economic dimensions.
Despi e egula eminde s, en i onmen al and equi y issues we e a ely
add essed, and he s akeholde s mainly ocused on “ins umen al” o
economic- d i en dimensions such as con enience, cus ome sa is ac ion and
ma ke oppo uni ies o p oduce s. In e es ingly, he concep o “sus ainabil-
i y” i sel is ha dly ansla able in o Vie namese. “Sus ainable” is ansla ed as
ben ung, which deno es some hing ha “las s a long ime”, wi hou any eco-
logical conno a ion pe se. Mos o he pa icipan s he e o e me ely exp essed
hei iews on how hese inno a ions could “las a long ime”. I is clea ha
he “holis ic” and “mul i-dimensional na u e o he concep o sus ainabili y”
(Béné e al., 2019, p. 127) is no aken as a gi en in non-Wes e n and non-aca-
demic con ex s. Thus, discussions abou he necessa y ade-o s be ween spe-
ci ic dimensions o sus ainabili y did no eme ge in an explici way.
As men ioned abo e, many s akeholde s e e ed o us as a majo issue o
he e-comme ce o quali y ood, ei he blaming online e ail o ailing o gene a e
us o calling o mechanisms o gua an ee us . In he discussions, he pa ici-
pan s explo ed he po en ial o di e en ac i i ies in ol ed in e-comme ce
(pos ing in o ma ion online, public con ol o e online sales, e c.) o ensu e mo e
us in he quali y o he p oduc s sold. Th ough he in e iews and he wo k-
shops, we iden i ied ou main mechanisms o build and sus ain us in online sales:
Ins i u ional us :
1) Expe ise: us is enabled h ough con ols and he g an ing o ce i ica-
ions, labels and b ands by hi d-pa y co po a ions o S a e bodies.
2) Repu a ion: us is enabled by he ecogni ion and p aise o he selle ’s ea-
u es by a la ge communi y.
In e pe sonal us :
3) Rela ionship: us is ensu ed by he buye knowing he selle p io o he
ma ke ansac ion o , in an in e media ed and less di ec way, by someone
whom he buye us s exp essing hei con idence in a selle hey know.