Citizen Participation Practices in the Governance of Local Food Systems: A Literature Review

Lys Affre, Laurence Guillaumie (), Sophie Dupéré, Geneviève Mercille and Marilou Fortin-Guay
Additional contact information
Lys Affre: Programmes de Santé Publique et Communautaire, Faculté des Sciences Infirmières, Université Laval, Centre de Recherche INAF-NUTRISS, Québec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada
Laurence Guillaumie: Programmes de Santé Publique et Communautaire, Faculté des Sciences Infirmières, Université Laval, Centre de Recherche INAF-NUTRISS, Québec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada
Sophie Dupéré: Programmes de Santé Publique et Communautaire, Faculté des Sciences Infirmières, Université Laval, Centre de Recherche INAF-NUTRISS, Québec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada
Geneviève Mercille: Département de Nutrition, Faculté de Médecine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC H3T 1A8, Canada
Marilou Fortin-Guay: Programmes de Santé Publique et Communautaire, Faculté des Sciences Infirmières, Université Laval, Centre de Recherche INAF-NUTRISS, Québec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 14, 1-14

Abstract: Traditionally, food system governance has been executed at provincial, national, or supranational levels, but recently, there has been an increasing trend of local areas coordinating initiatives to influence their own food systems. They are distinguished by their focus on the principles of food democracy, especially in terms of citizen participation. Although initiatives to boost citizen collaboration in local food systems are on the rise, achieving active citizen involvement can prove challenging. This study aims to understand citizen engagement and participation in local food systems at the regional, municipal, or neighborhood levels. A narrative literature review was performed, covering academic and gray literature and using descriptive statistics and semi-inductive thematic analysis. The analysis identified five categories of local food system citizen participation programs, i.e., governance committees that include citizens, citizen working groups, participatory research, participatory workshops, and citizen forums and assemblies. The review highlighted factors that influence the operation and perceived success of citizen participation initiatives. Findings underscore the importance of creating citizen participation mechanisms that are inclusive, transparent, and adaptable. Proper organization and facilitation by a dedicated local organization ensure the success of citizen engagement initiatives. The identified categories and factors can guide policymakers in designing effective local food system initiatives that enhance meaningful citizen involvement.

Keywords: citizen participation; local food system; food policies; food citizenship; food democracy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/14/5990/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/14/5990/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:14:p:5990-:d:1434416

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().