The Role of Consumer-Citizens and Connectedness to Nature in the Sustainable Transition to Agroecological Food Systems: The Mediation of Innovative Business Models and a Multi-Level Perspective

Sepide Mehrabi, Juan Carlos Perez-Mesa and Cynthia Giagnocavo
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Sepide Mehrabi: Department of Economics and Business, University of Almería, La Cañada, 04120 Almería, Spain
Juan Carlos Perez-Mesa: Cátedra COEXPHAL-UAL Horticulture, Cooperative Studies and Sustainable Development, Department of Economics and Business, Universidad de Almería, La Cañada de San Urbano, 04120 Almería, Spain
Cynthia Giagnocavo: Cátedra COEXPHAL-UAL Horticulture, Cooperative Studies and Sustainable Development, Department of Economics and Business, Universidad de Almería, La Cañada de San Urbano, 04120 Almería, Spain
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Juan Carlos Pérez Mesa

Agriculture, 2022, vol. 12, issue 2, 1-21

Abstract: Conventional agricultural systems have contributed to social, economic and environmental problems and are the main threat to global sustainability. In response, theoretical frameworks to describe the transition to sustainable food systems have been proposed, emphasizing the necessity to shift from farm-level solutions to a focus on interactions within the entire value chain, from production to consumption. Despite the emphasis on the importance and potential of consumers to contribute to sustainable agri-food transitions, approaches to their role have remained within the traditional, linear supply chain framework. Marketing approaches view consumers as passive actors, limited to voting with their wallets, which has deepened the disconnection between consumers, producers and nature, resulting in a triple fracture. We analyze the role of the consumer in agri-food systems, contrasting marketing approaches with other consumers/citizens concepts and locate them within sustainability transition frameworks and a multi-level perspective. We discuss the re-establishment of the connection between farmers and consumers and human–nature connectedness and explore this connection mediated through innovative business models, which act as niche innovations with the capacity to influence regimes and landscapes within the multi-level perspective. The role of consumers/citizens in the co-creation of innovative business models is also addressed.

Keywords: agroecology; sustainable agricultural transition; consumers/citizens; sustainable consumption; innovative business models; alternative agri-food networks (AAFNs); human–nature connectedness (HNC); multi-level perspective (MLP); community-supported agriculture (CSA); cooperatives (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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