ABSTRACT
Food supply systems in industrialised countries have become increasingly complex, with ingredients travelling long distances and often passing through numerous processes between harvesting and consumption. It has been speculated that this growing complexity, and the distancing of the public from the processes by which food is produced, have led to new anxieties about food. However, little empirical research has examined how people understand and relate to contemporary food systems. As part a project funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and Food Standards Agency, Understanding the Challenges of the Food System 2014–16, we explored the nature of public engagement with the UK food system. A diverse mix of participants from six different regions in the UK were invited to deliberative workshops to explore the themes of food supply chains (FSCs), trust, responsibility and values. This participatory approach offered a discursive and dynamic context in which participants could consider complex issues on a topic that was not a ‘front of mind’ issue for most. We found that people generally and most of the time see the food system and FSCs as abstract and opaque concepts. Awareness of particular steps, including those to ensure safety and quality, was limited. Choosing and buying food is an everyday habitual practice, and any overt concerns with safety or other FSC issues compete with more immediate concerns, such as price and convenience. A small number of people deliberately sought out information and made conscious choices regarding the supply chain, particularly when they selected to eat or not eat certain foods because of political, ethical and/or religious values or health conditions. The majority, though, were largely disengaged and disinterested about where their food came from, and some were actively ‘not bothered’. Not-knowing emerged as a form of strategic ignorance, which enabled people to deal with competing demands and risks associated with the FSC. Not-knowing was also an enabler of trust in the governance of that supply chain. Such faith is potentially undermined by obligations ‘to know’.
