IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/agrhuv/v27y2010i1p71-83.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The commoditization of products and taste: Slow Food and the conservation of agrobiodiversity

Author

Listed:
  • Ariane Lotti

Abstract

Slow Food is an Italy-based international organization that aims to save the varieties, breeds, and foods threatened by the standardization and homogenization of agriculture resulting from the widespread use of conventional practices. Through an analysis of one of Slow Food’s projects, a Basque Presidium, this paper examines the effects of Slow Food’s efforts on the products, producers, and agrobiodiversity it is trying to save. Drawing upon Igor Kopytoff’s descriptions of commoditization as process, this paper argues that the products and the values they embody, which Slow Food has identified for their singularity, are commoditized through a variety of mechanisms. This paper then argues that commoditization makes the endeavors of Slow Food resemble the conventional agricultural system it is trying to oppose, as well as undermining the very agrobiodiversity the organization seeks to protect. These effects create a disconnect between the organization’s goals and its actions on-the-ground, indicating that Slow Food is not as alternative as it claims to be. This paper ends by examining Slow Food’s role within the overall agricultural system, and suggests that the organization’s producers are important guardians of the global agrobiodiversity which conventional production erodes. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2010

Suggested Citation

  • Ariane Lotti, 2010. "The commoditization of products and taste: Slow Food and the conservation of agrobiodiversity," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 27(1), pages 71-83, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:27:y:2010:i:1:p:71-83
    DOI: 10.1007/s10460-009-9213-x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s10460-009-9213-x
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10460-009-9213-x?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. David Lind & Elizabeth Barham, 2004. "The social life of the tortilla: Food, cultural politics, and contested commodification," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 21(1), pages 47-60, March.
    2. Bruce Pietrykowski, 2004. "You Are What You Eat: The Social Economy of the Slow Food Movement," Review of Social Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 62(3), pages 307-321.
    3. Roberta Sonnino & Terry Marsden, 2006. "Beyond the divide: rethinking relationships between alternative and conventional food networks in Europe," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 6(2), pages 181-199, April.
    4. Karen Klonsky, 2000. "Forces impacting the production of organic foods," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 17(3), pages 233-243, September.
    5. Patricia Allen & Martin Kovach, 2000. "The capitalist composition of organic: The potential of markets in fulfilling the promise of organic agriculture," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 17(3), pages 221-232, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Mariagiulia Mariani & Claire Cerdan & Iuri Peri, 2022. "Cultural biodiversity unpacked, separating discourse from practice," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(2), pages 773-789, June.
    2. Justin Myers, 2013. "The logic of the gift: the possibilities and limitations of Carlo Petrini’s slow food alternative," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 30(3), pages 405-415, September.
    3. Katriina Soini & Eija Pouta & Terhi Latvala & Taina Lilja, 2019. "Agrobiodiversity Products in Alternative Food System: Case of Finnish Native Cattle Breeds," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-15, June.
    4. Myung Ja Kim & Choong-Ki Lee & Jinok Susanna Kim & James F. Petrick, 2019. "Wellness Pursuit and Slow Life Seeking Behaviors: Moderating Role of Festival Attachment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-21, April.
    5. Mariagiulia Mariani & François Casabianca & Claire Cerdan & Iuri Peri, 2021. "Protecting Food Cultural Biodiversity: From Theory to Practice. Challenging the Geographical Indications and the Slow Food Models," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-22, May.
    6. Kae Sekine, 2021. "The Potential and Contradictions of Geographical Indication and Patrimonization for the Sustainability of Indigenous Communities: A Case of Cordillera Heirloom Rice in the Philippines," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-22, April.
    7. Lydia Zepeda & Anna Reznickova, 2017. "Innovative millennial snails: the story of Slow Food University of Wisconsin," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 34(1), pages 167-178, March.
    8. Zachary A. Goldberg, 2022. "Development through commodification: exploring apple commodity production as pesticide promotion in the High Atlas," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(2), pages 663-682, June.
    9. Giovanni Peira & Riccardo Beltramo & Maria Beatrice Pairotti & Alessandro Bonadonna, 2018. "Foodservice in a UNESCO Site: The Restaurateurs’ Perception on Communication and Promotion Tools," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-17, August.
    10. Anna Krzywoszynska, 2015. "Wine is not Coca-Cola: marketization and taste in alternative food networks," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 32(3), pages 491-503, September.

    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. Sini Forssell & Leena Lankoski, 2015. "The sustainability promise of alternative food networks: an examination through “alternative” characteristics," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 32(1), pages 63-75, March.
    2. Anna Krzywoszynska, 2015. "Wine is not Coca-Cola: marketization and taste in alternative food networks," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 32(3), pages 491-503, September.
    3. Raynolds, Laura T., 2004. "The Globalization of Organic Agro-Food Networks," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 32(5), pages 725-743, May.
    4. Phil Mount, 2012. "Growing local food: scale and local food systems governance," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 29(1), pages 107-121, March.
    5. Sanae Tashiro, 2009. "Differences in Food Preparation by Race and Ethnicity: Evidence from the American Time Use Survey," The Review of Black Political Economy, Springer;National Economic Association, vol. 36(3), pages 161-180, December.
    6. Seufert, Verena & Ramankutty, Navin & Mayerhofer, Tabea, 2017. "What is this thing called organic? – How organic farming is codified in regulations," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 10-20.
    7. Muñoz, Pablo & Cohen, Boyd, 2017. "Towards a social-ecological understanding of sustainable venturing," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 7(C), pages 1-8.
    8. Marino, Davide & Mastronardi, Luigi & Franco, Silvio & De Gregorio, Daniela & Cicatiello, Clara & Pancino, Barbara, 2013. "Farmers’ Markets, Producer and Consumer Behaviour: Analysis of Interactions with the Metrics of Sustainability," 2013 International European Forum, February 18-22, 2013, Innsbruck-Igls, Austria 164751, International European Forum on System Dynamics and Innovation in Food Networks.
    9. Corsi, Alessandro & Novelli, Silvia & Pettenati, Giacomo, 2014. "Alternative Food Networks in Piedmont: determinants of on-farm and off-farm direct sales by farmers," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis. Working Papers 201439, University of Turin.
    10. Giaime Berti, 2020. "Sustainable Agri-Food Economies: Re-Territorialising Farming Practices, Markets, Supply Chains, and Policies," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-9, March.
    11. Coline Perrin & Adrien Baysse-Lainé, 2020. "Governing the coexistence of agricultural models: French cities allocating farmlands to support agroecology and short food chains on urban fringes," Review of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Studies, Springer, vol. 101(2), pages 261-286, December.
    12. Sibylle Bui & Ionara Costa & Olivier De Schutter & Tom Dedeurwaerdere & Marek Hudon & Marlene Feyereisen, 2019. "Systemic ethics and inclusive governance: two key prerequisites for sustainability transitions of agri-food systems," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 36(2), pages 277-288, June.
    13. Philippe Fleury & Larry Lev & Hélène Brives & Carole Chazoule & Mathieu Désolé, 2016. "Developing Mid-Tier Supply Chains (France) and Values-Based Food Supply Chains (USA): A Comparison of Motivations, Achievements, Barriers and Limitations," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 6(3), pages 1-13, August.
    14. Anna-Mara Schön & Marita Böhringer, 2023. "Land Consumption for Current Diets Compared with That for the Planetary Health Diet—How Many People Can Our Land Feed?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-35, May.
    15. Daniel Jaffee, 2010. "Fair Trade Standards, Corporate Participation, and Social Movement Responses in the United States," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 92(2), pages 267-285, April.
    16. Veldstra, Michael D. & Alexander, Corinne E. & Marshall, Maria I., 2014. "To certify or not to certify? Separating the organic production and certification decisions," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(P2), pages 429-436.
    17. David Lind & Elizabeth Barham, 2004. "The social life of the tortilla: Food, cultural politics, and contested commodification," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 21(1), pages 47-60, March.
    18. Alessandra Arcuri, 2015. "The Transformation of organic regulation: The ambiguous effects of publicization," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 9(2), pages 144-159, June.
    19. Michael Carolan, 2006. "Social change and the adoption and adaptation of knowledge claims: Whose truth do you trust in regard to sustainable agriculture?," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 23(3), pages 325-339, October.
    20. Giuseppe Marotta & Concetta Nazzaro & Mariarosaria Simeone, 2013. "Capitale umano e capitale sociale nell?agricoltura multifunzionale: un?analisi delle esperienze di filiera corta nella Campania interna," Economia agro-alimentare, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 15(3), pages 149-173.

    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:27:y:2010:i:1:p:71-83. 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.