ABSTRACT

This article investigates the urban political ecologies of the apple in London city region. As one of the largest cities in Europe, London is a pertinent site to explore the challenges and possibilities of future food systems. The apple is used as a lens to explore the diverging urban political ecologies of corporate-led and community-led food systems. A mixed method qualitative research approach combines a series of semi-structured interviews with stakeholders involved in producing, distributing and trading apples with practice-based ethnographic fieldwork, responding to calls within urban political ecology for more situated and grounded approaches that build new understandings of socio-environmental practices. Research shows diverging practices and biophysical properties of the apple amongst producers supplying multiple retailers and those operating via a community-led trading mechanism, which includes a farmers’ market and fruit and veg box scheme. Fieldwork suggests apple production for multiple retailers is retail-led, placing increasing pressures upon producers. Biophysical properties of the corporate-led apple are becoming increasingly standardised; narrow in terms of varietal range, and; privatised, via the rise of club brand apples. In contrast, fieldwork suggests community-led trade is based upon producer-led, agroecological approaches to production, distribution and trade. Biophysical properties of the community-led apple are context-dependent and diverse in terms of varietal range, quality and size. Community-led trading is identified as a mechanism for scaling agroecology through cultivating community social and ecological relations and producer-led approaches. To become more than marginal, agroecology and community-led trade require enabling policy, planning and legislative frameworks.

摘要

本文研究了伦敦市区苹果的城市政治生态。作为欧洲最大的城市之一，伦敦是一个探索未来食品系统的挑战和可能性的相关地点。苹果被用作探索企业主导和社区主导的食品系统的城市政治生态的镜头。混合方法定性研究方法结合了一系列涉及从事生产，分销和交易苹果的利益相关者的半结构化访谈，以及基于实践的人种志田野调查，响应了城市政治生态学中对更加定位和扎根的方法的呼吁，从而建立了对社会的新认识-环境实践。研究表明，在为多个零售商提供产品的生产者和通过社区主导的贸易机制（包括农民市场和水果和蔬菜盒计划）进行运营的生产者之间，苹果的做法和生物物理特性存在差异。实地调查表明，多家零售商的苹果生产是以零售为主导的，这给生产者带来了越来越大的压力。公司领导的苹果的生物物理特性正变得越来越标准化。在品种范围上较窄；以及 通过俱乐部品牌苹果的崛起实现私有化。相反，实地调查表明，社区主导的贸易是基于生产者主导的农业生态方法进行的生产，分配和贸易。社区主导的苹果的生物物理特性取决于具体情况，并且在品种范围，质量和大小方面也各不相同。社区主导的贸易被认为是通过培养社区社会和生态关系以及生产者主导的方法扩大农业生态的机制。为了超越边际，农业生态学和社区主导的贸易需要有利的政策，规划和立法框架。