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This dissertation investigates the food movement’s barriers and strategies for changing the Canadian food system. I research the disconnect between two bodies of literature, one that posits that the food movement must engage in political action in order to support food systems change, and the other that the food movement alone has had little impact on policy change. In light of this tension, I utilize sustainability transitions theory to examine barriers to food movement engagement in policy change, and apply a politics of the possible framework to investigate food movement strategies. In this way, I ultimately examine the ways in which the food movement can work within the current system and simultaneously support systemic change. The overall aim of this research was to examine food movement strategies in Canada to further understanding of the potential impact of this movement for food systems change. This mixed methods research combines theoretical reflection and different empirical approaches to assess barriers to food movement participation in Canadian policymaking. The results provide both broad overview and in-depth examination of food movement strategies in the Canadian, neoliberal, context. Taken as a whole, the dissertation contributes to scholarship on sustainability transitions, debates on visions of sustainable food systems, and further understanding of the politics of the possible in the Canadian food movement. The findings suggest that the current political context influences the strategies that the food movement uses to optimize opportunities and mitigate barriers in transitioning to a sustainable food system. Vanier CGS |
