Added Value Food: Co-created myth, art and magic in small-scale food production

Abstract: Food has an incredible ability to convey meaning. In the new food economy, creating value added products with appropriately charged meanings is an increasingly complex and risky business. However, there are food manufacturers that seemingly have an uncomplicated and successful ability to value add their products: Small-scale farming Producers. Utilizing cultural analysis and ethnography as an approach, this thesis explores the value adding practices of these small-scale Producers, with a focus on how authenticity is infused in their food products. What is it that they can reveal about the creation of value added food? How do they define and what do they do to add authenticity? How is this meaning infused in their food products? This research reveals small-scale Producers engage in acts of co-created myth with consumers, create spaces that resemble art galleries to sell their products, and engage magic to infuse authenticity. These practices, while embedding desired class position, also reveals the thin line between magic and trickery, the limits of over-reliance on consumer feedback, and raises questions about the future viability of business practices in an evolving food landscape. This thesis calls for small-scale farming Producers to review and evolve their position within the wider food industry and in so doing, develop a collaborative voice as cultural mediators in the New Food Economy.