AUTHOR=Poeggel Karoline 

TITLE=You Are Where You Eat: A Theoretical Perspective on Why Identity Matters in Local Food Groups

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems

VOLUME=Volume 6 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sustainable-food-systems/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2022.782556

DOI=10.3389/fsufs.2022.782556

ISSN=2571-581X

ABSTRACT=Local food production and consumption has been identified as a crucial element for a transition towards more sustainable societies. However, relevant questions to better understand the dynamics of local food initiatives remain unanswered, in particular regarding the people involved. Who are the members in local food initiatives, what motivates individuals to get active in such groups and what keeps people engaged over the long term. This theoretical study presents a conceptual framework drawing on social psychology and mobilization theory to describe the connection between identity processes at individual and collective levels in local food groups. The framework presented is a guide for researchers in analyzing individuals’ identities and their role in and across local food groups by recognizing identity processes of identification, verification and formation. By providing a more nuanced understanding of how individuals and individuals within groups interact in these grassroots initiatives as spaces of effective environmental action, this framework provides an in-depth perspective on the social dimension of local food systems. More specifically, by focusing on identity dynamics the framework makes a connection between the distinctive kinds of sociality and community that these types of spaces offer, their relevance for individuals’ involvement and the fulfilment of human needs.