Food Practices in Transition : Changing Food Consumption, Retail and Production in the Age of Reflexive Modernity

This edited volume presents and reflects upon empirical evidence of ‘sustainability’-induced and -related transition in food practices. The material collected in the various chapters contributes to our understanding of the ways in which ideas and preferences, sociotechnological developments and changes in the governance of food interact and become visible in practices of consumption, retail and production.

Gert Spaargaren occupies a special chair on Policy for Sustainable Lifestyles and Patterns of Consumption at the Environmental Policy Group of Wageningen University. His main fields of expertise include sustainable consumption and lifestyles, social theory and the environment, domestic consumption of energy, water and wasteservices, sociology of environmental flows, and general sociological theory. He has initiated, participated and managed a large number of national and international research projects on sustainable consumption.

Anne Loeber is a post-doctoral researcher and lecturer at the Department of Political Science, University of Amsterdam. Her research centres on the dynamics in agricultural and food safety policies in Europe, sustainable development, participatory policy analysis and learning strategies. She is a member of the Technology Assessment Steering Group that advises the Minister of Agriculture.

Peter Oosterveer is senior lecturer at the Environmental Policy Group, Department of Social Sciences. His main fields of expertise are globalisation and sustainability of food production and consumption; labeling and certification of food and general social theory. He is currently involved in several international research projects on globalization, agriculture and food.