Project description
Cooperatives and the solidarity economy debate
The rising global demand for food requires new industrial food system solutions. The question now is whether the solidarity economy is an idealistic theoretical scheme or a viable proposal. There is evidence that multi-stakeholder cooperatives (MSCs) in Europe operate successfully on a small scale. However, research on whether they represent a precursor of a larger transformation is missing. The EU-funded LivingTogether project will contribute to the debate about the role of the solidarity economy in food system transformations. It will support the exchange of information between East and West, scholars and cooperative movements. To achieve this, it will focus on the Korean Hansalim cooperative established by producers and consumers and that is today the largest organic food MSC worldwide.
Objective
Is the solidarity economy an impractical idealistic dream or can cooperatives really make a significant contribution to realising sustainable agri-food systems? With the global food system in crisis, there is an urgent need to study alternatives to the modern industrial food system and to share practical and policy lessons for sustainability transformations.
There is an accumulation of evidence across Europe that certain kinds of cooperatives which bring farmers and consumers together – multi-stakeholder cooperatives (MSC) – can function successfully to promote sustainable agri-food systems at a small scale. Yet there is little research on the extent to which they represent a pathway to wider transformation.
Through this fellowship, my goal is to enlarge the global conversation about the role of the solidarity economy in food system transformations by supporting shared learning between East and West and academia and cooperative movements. To achieve this, I have planned an extensive period of participatory fieldwork to conduct an in-depth case study of a little-known Korean cooperative, Hansalim, which has grown to become the largest organic food MSC in the world. It embodies a possible model of a large-scale alternative to the modern industrial food system with wider implications for broader societal transformation. This project will culminate in the publication of a series of academic papers and a book about Hansalim for popular readership to reach the widest possible English-speaking audience.
Keywords
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinator
BN1 9RH Brighton
United Kingdom