ABSTRACT
The sustainability of the modern system of food provision is widely questioned. Food scares, environmental pollution, degradation of biodiversity, animal welfare and food safety concerns and food-related health problems are some of the issues that are considered to be illustrative of the unsustainable character of the modern agri-food system (Yakovleva & Flynn 2004). The need to reform the prevailing system of provision of food is now widely acknowledged, also in science and policy, and is seen as a challenge for concerted action of stakeholders, including the consumers (Morgan et al. 2006; Lang et al. 2010; Marsden, this volume). However, perspectives with regard to more sustainable forms of food provision diverge. These perspectives differ in their sense of urgency, the perception of key issues to tackle and the stakes at hand. Eventually they anticipate different sets of options on how to reform the agri-food system and who to enroll. Basically these perspectives reflect different sets of shared values and norms and different sets of ‘rules in use’ or institutions across all stakeholders, research and policy included (Ostrom 1992).
