Achievements
The project successfully delivered an insightful investigation of the socio-cognitive and socio-political processes through which agrifood grassroots initiatives unmake environmentally disruptive institutions and practices that are deeply ingrained in capitalist societies. It did so by first developing a novel, integrative theoretical perspective (Feola, 2019; Feola et al., 2021; Feola, under review), which informed empirical research across case studies of agrifood grassroots initiatives in Italy, Germany and Portugal. In turn, the empirical work also contributed to further theoretical development, among which a framework for the political economic analysis of deliberate destabilization in sustainability transitions (van Oers et al., 2021), a theoretical framework on democratic praxis (Smessaert and Feola, 2023), the development of concepts of power and empowerment for the analysis of grassroots initiatives (Raj et al., 2022; 2024), the concept of unlearning for sustainability transitions (van Oers et al., 2023), and a groundbreaking research agenda on degrowth in agrifood systems (Spanier and Feola, 2022; Guerrero Lara et al., 2023; Spanier-Guerrero Lara and Feola, 2024).
Resonance and outreach
The theoretical and empirical contribution made by the project has been very well-received by the academic community, as testified by the high and growing number of citations, the invited talks, and the invitations to participate in scientific workshops and research collaborations.
The project has produced 2 PhD theses, while a third one is being defended before the end of 2024. The project also produced several publications in highly-ranked international peer-reviewed journals, countless presentations at conferences and other scientific events, invited talks and lectures, many of which for a lay audience, and substantial engagement with knowledge utilization through a broad and diverse range of activities targeting both the interested general public, and members of agrifood grassroots initiatives more specifically (e.g. at food sustainability festivals, public symposia, through blog posts and podcasts etc.).
