IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/agrhuv/v42y2025i1d10.1007_s10460-024-10609-9.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

“New food cultures” and the absent food citizen: immigrants in urban food policy discourse

Author

Listed:
  • Isabela Bonnevera

    (Institute for Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB)
    Barcelona Laboratory for Urban Environmental Justice and Sustainability (BCNUEJ))

Abstract

Multicultural cities in the Global North are rapidly developing and releasing urban food policies that outline municipal visions of sustainable food systems. In turn, these policies shape conceptions of food citizenship in the city. While these policies largely absorb activities previously associated with “alternative” food systems, little is known about how they respond to critical food and race scholars who have noted that these food practices and spaces have historically marginalized immigrants. A critical discourse analysis of 22 urban food policies from Global North cities reveals that most policies do not meaningfully consider immigrant foodscapes, foodways, and food-related labour. Many promote hegemonic and/or ethno-nationalistic understandings of “healthy” and “sustainable” food without recognizing immigrants’ food-related knowledge and skills. Policies largely fail to connect the topic of immigrant labour with goals like shortening supply chains, subject immigrant neighbourhoods to stigmatizing health discourses, and lack acknowledgement of the barriers immigrants may face to participating in sustainable food systems. Relatedly, policy discourses articulate forms of food citizenship that emphasize individual obligations over rights related to food. This jeopardizes the potential for immigrants to be seen as belonging to dominant political urban food communities and benefitting from the symbolic and material rewards associated with them.

Suggested Citation

  • Isabela Bonnevera, 2025. "“New food cultures” and the absent food citizen: immigrants in urban food policy discourse," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 42(1), pages 333-349, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:42:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s10460-024-10609-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s10460-024-10609-9
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10460-024-10609-9
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10460-024-10609-9?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Shivant Jhagroe, 2019. "Food Citizenship and Governmentality: Neo-Communitarian Food Governance in The Hague," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 7(4), pages 190-201.
    2. Alena Birnbaum & Petra Lütke, 2023. "Food and Governmentality in the Green City: The Case of German Food Policy Councils," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 8(1), pages 388-398.
    3. Alena Birnbaum & Petra Lütke, 2023. "Food and Governmentality in the Green City: The Case of German Food Policy Councils," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 8(1), pages 388-398.
    4. Valeria Sodano & Maria Teresa Gorgitano, 2022. "Framing Political Issues in Food System Transformative Changes," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-19, October.
    5. Shivant Jhagroe, 2019. "Food Citizenship and Governmentality: Neo-Communitarian Food Governance in The Hague," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 7(4), pages 190-201.
    6. Elizabeth Fitting & Catherine Bryan & Karen Foster & Jason W. M. Ellsworth, 2023. "Re-centering labour in local food: local washing and the growing reliance on permanently temporary migrant farmworkers in Nova Scotia," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 40(3), pages 973-988, September.
    7. Maryam Amiri, 2020. "David Pellow. What is critical environmental justice?," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 10(2), pages 210-211, June.
    8. Anke Brons & Peter Oosterveer & Sigrid Wertheim-Heck, 2020. "Feeding the melting pot: inclusive strategies for the multi-ethnic city," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 37(4), pages 1027-1040, December.
    9. Moragues-Faus, Ana & Battersby, Jane, 2021. "Urban food policies for a sustainable and just future: Concepts and tools for a renewed agenda," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    10. Kevin Morgan & Roberta Sonnino, 2010. "The urban foodscape: world cities and the new food equation," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 3(2), pages 209-224.
    11. Sara A. L. Smaal & Joost Dessein & Barend J. Wind & Elke Rogge, 2021. "Social justice-oriented narratives in European urban food strategies: Bringing forward redistribution, recognition and representation," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 38(3), pages 709-727, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Roberta Cucca & Thomas Thaler, 2023. "Social Justice in the Green City," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 8(1), pages 279-282.
    2. Summerhayes, Lijun & Baker, Douglas, 2024. "Trans-Governance and Food Systems (Tr-GaF) for food policy integration: A case study of the Australian food policy landscape," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    3. Alison Blay-Palmer & Roberta Sonnino & Julien Custot, 2016. "A food politics of the possible? Growing sustainable food systems through networks of knowledge," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 33(1), pages 27-43, March.
    4. Sara A. L. Smaal & Joost Dessein & Barend J. Wind & Elke Rogge, 2021. "Social justice-oriented narratives in European urban food strategies: Bringing forward redistribution, recognition and representation," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 38(3), pages 709-727, September.
    5. Parsons, Kelly & Lang, Tim & Barling, David, 2021. "London’s food policy: Leveraging the policy sub-system, programme and plan," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    6. Mehrdad Mirabi & Kazem Javan & Mariam Darestani & Mohsen Karrabi, 2025. "Integrating Circular Economy and Life Cycle Assessment in Virtual Water Management: A Case Study of Food Consumption Across Economic Classes in Iran," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(6), pages 1-16, March.
    7. Letizia Bindi & Angelo Belliggiano, 2023. "A Highly Condensed Social Fact: Food Citizenship, Individual Responsibility, and Social Commitment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-22, April.
    8. Jana Baldy, 2019. "Framing a Sustainable Local Food System—How Smaller Cities in Southern Germany Are Facing a New Policy Issue," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-25, March.
    9. Rosário Oliveira & Gabriel Spínola Garcia Távora, 2025. "Mapping the Potential to Establish Multifunctional Agrofood Parks to Foster the Food Transition at a Regional Level," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-20, April.
    10. Kevin Morgan, 2015. "Nourishing the city: The rise of the urban food question in the Global North," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 52(8), pages 1379-1394, June.
    11. Lori Stahlbrand, 2016. "The Food For Life Catering Mark: Implementing the Sustainability Transition in University Food Procurement," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 6(3), pages 1-19, September.
    12. Alban Hasson, 2019. "Building London’s Food Democracy: Assessing the Contributions of Urban Agriculture to Local Food Decision-Making," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 7(4), pages 154-164.
    13. Sara Basso & Paola Di Biagi & Valentina Crupi, 2022. "Downscaling Food System for the ‘Public City’ Regeneration—An Experience of Social Agriculture in Trieste," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-20, February.
    14. Marielle Dubbeling & Guido Santini & Henk Renting & Makiko Taguchi & Louison Lançon & Juan Zuluaga & Luca De Paoli & Alexandra Rodriguez & Verónica Andino, 2017. "Assessing and Planning Sustainable City Region Food Systems: Insights from Two Latin American Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-15, August.
    15. Jane Battersby & Mercy Brown-Luthango & Issahaka Fuseini & Herry Gulabani & Gareth Haysom & Ben Jackson & Vrashali Khandelwal & Hayley MacGregor & Sudeshna Mitra & Nicholas Nisbett & Iromi Perera & Do, 2024. "Bringing together urban systems and food systems theory and research is overdue: understanding the relationships between food and nutrition infrastructures along a continuum of contested and hybrid ac," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 41(2), pages 437-448, June.
    16. Yuna Chiffoleau & Anne-Cécile Brit & Milo Monnier & Grégori Akermann & Maxime Lenormand & Florent Saucède, 2020. "Coexistence of supply chains in a city’s food supply: a factor for resilience?," Review of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Studies, Springer, vol. 101(2), pages 391-414, December.
    17. Jérémie Forney, 2016. "Blind spots in agri-environmental governance: some reflections and suggestions from Switzerland," Review of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Studies, Springer, vol. 97(1), pages 1-13, June.
    18. Francesca Galli & Sabrina Arcuri & Giovanni Belletti & Andrea Marescotti & Michele Moretti & Massimo Rovai, 2024. "Integrating Local Food Policies and Spatial Planning to Enhance Food Systems and Rural–Urban Links: A Living Lab Experiment," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-23, November.
    19. Chiffoleau, Yuna & Brit, Anne-Cécile & Monnier, Milo & Akermann, Grégori & Lenormand, Maxime & Saucède, Florent, 2020. "Coexistence of supply chains in a city’s food supply: a factor for resilience?," Review of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Studies, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), vol. 101(2-3), September.
    20. Andreia Saavedra Cardoso & Tiago Domingos & Manuela Raposo De Magalhães & José De Melo-Abreu & Jorge Palma, 2017. "Mapping the Lisbon Potential Foodshed in Ribatejo e Oeste: A Suitability and Yield Model for Assessing the Potential for Localized Food Production," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-31, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:42:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s10460-024-10609-9. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.