BREAD AND BEER FOR A BETTER BIOSPHERE : THE TRANSFORMATIVE POTENTIAL OF THE ECO-GASTRONOMIC NICHE IN THE GREATER CAPE TOWN AREA

Abstract: Modern food systems are characterized by unsustainable models of mono-production and industrialization. These dominant practices lead to social and environmental negative externalities such as poor health outcomes, environmental degradation and biodiversity loss. A more holistic approach to food systems is required that acknowledges the social-ecological complexities of food systems and ultimately (re)connects humans to the biosphere.  Eco-gastronomy is put forward as a possible approach to achieving more sustainability in the food system. This study uses social-ecological systems thinking, resilience theory, social innovation literature and transition theory to understand the transformative potential of eco-gastronomic food processing initiatives for more sustainable food systems. It is set greater Cape Town area, where thirteen semi-structured interviews with eco-gastronomic niche food professionals were conducted and analyzed, applying a case study approach to describe the identity and transformative potential across the different cases through an innovations boundary framework, as well as multilevel interactions and scaling strategies.  This paper shows how niche eco-gastronomic initiatives in the Greater Cape Town area have successfully created new interactions between humans and the environment. They are highly interconnected among each other, as network building is a key business strategy given the low institutional support for these small-scale businesses. Exchange with the regime of large-scale producers remains limited. Instead, niche actors mainly focus on scaling out and scaling deep to achieve transformation, fostering the further development of the eco-gastronomic sector as well as engaging in a conversation that should alter producers’ and consumers’ production perceptions and beliefs.  Since the initiatives are still in a start-up phase, further research should better our understanding of the resilience of alternative food systems and niche-regime dynamics. They nevertheless provide seeds for social-ecological transformation in the Capetonian food system, showing that care for the social-ecological environment of food can result in more tasty and equitable meals.