Civic Food Networks, Justice and Hope: Utopian ‘Food Futures’ As a Method for Food Systems Change

This paper reflects on the use of co-creation methodologies that connect citizen political action with food justice scholarship, through an investigation of Fair Food Futures: an Australian study that used qualitative ‘future scenarios’ to bring the change narratives of civic food networks into closer dialogue with domestic food system reform in Australia and the global UN Sustainable Development Goals. Theoretically and methodologically, the study combines food utopias with futures thinking to construct a series of four distinct narratives for food systems change, co-created by food justice actors, initiatives and coalitions. Here I describe how the scenarios were constructed, and then consider their potential as spaces for civic resistance and regeneration within the wider context of food system reform in Australia. What do these ‘utopian stories’ tell us about possible transformations towards food justice in policy and activism? How can these narratives be used to create new forms of dialogue? In answering the first question, I specifically explore findings associated with ‘food as a common good’ that reflect civic actors’ hopes for transforming future food systems. Opening up new spaces for dialogue via engagement with utopian scenarios has proven more challenging, however. While the project has used innovative and inclusive modes of communication (illustration, animation, podcast) to contribute to public discourse and policy debates about food justice in Australia, I argue that utopian storytelling is most useful when it is accompanied by targeted messages about systemic change. This paper also serves as an introduction to a new edited volume produced from RC40 sessions on innovative methodologies and citizen politics at the previous ISA Congress in Melbourne in 2023, which asks: How might researchers from diverse social science backgrounds play a more active role in supporting the goals of citizen-led food initiatives, through the kinds of research methodologies they employ?