Understanding Post-Exceptionalism in Agri-Food Policy-Making: Sustainable Transformation and Policy Reform

Agricultural policies are often the target of criticism for doing too little to help the farm and food sector move towards sustainable production, processing and consumption, and to meet Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Recent years have seen new political demands to respond to multiple crises and risks facing the agri-food sector. These include climate change (SDG 13), bio-diversity loss (SDG 15), water pollution (SDG 6) and antimicrobial resistance (SDG 3). Policy measures adopted to address these issues often fall short of delivering the expected impacts. Agri-food policies show significant continuity in their underlying paradigm. The exceptionalist legacy has stuck, in the form of post-exceptionalism. The concept of post-exceptionalism denotes a partial transformation in which an exceptionalist policy sector has not been completely ‘normalized’, and in which old and new ideas, institutions, interests and policy instruments coexist. The theoretical challenge remains to identify and conceptualize the dynamics of such partial transformation processes. A defining feature of policy measures aimed at addressing unsustainable food production, processing or consumption is cross-sectoral policy and governance arrangements. This involves interlinkages at national and local levels with other policy domains such as environment and climate change, energy, water, public health, animal welfare, bio-technology, development, trade, security, international politics, and migration. Food systems also face transboundary threats, ranging from climate change, transboundary diseases and increased migration to disrupted supply chains as a result of Russia’s war against the Ukraine. Agri-food technology change promises benefits for addressing such threats but simultaneously fuels new governance challenges and, ultimately, the rise of new and potentially contested modes of governance. There is a need for theoretical and empirical research on the dynamics of post-exceptionalist policy making, such as policy change, new cross-sectoral governance arrangements, and policy integration. 1. Reform agri-food policies: dynamics and policy change Chairs: Gerry Alons (Radboud University) and Carsten Daugbjerg (University of Copenhagen) Agricultural and food policies have been subject to reform over the last three decades. Changed priorities within civil society, increased mobilization of, and access for, a wider range of interests with respect to food governance, along with multiple sustainability crises in agricultures, have been suggested as the drivers of reform. Moreover, current reform dynamics have to deal with increasing nationalist sentiments and geo-political considerations, such as international crises which make food yet again a strategic product. Under this sub-topic, this Panel welcomes Papers addressing reform dynamics in past and ongoing reform efforts: How can we explain elements of continuity and change? How do experiences with previous policies feed back into current reform dynamics? 2. The resilience discourse in agricultural and food policy – a policy window for novel agri-food systems? Chairs: Peter H. Feindt (Humboldt-University) and Sandra Schwindenhammer (Justus Liebig University Giessen) Accumulating crises have pushed concerns about the resilience of agri-food systems to the centre of agri-food policy. While increasing salience of the resilience concept has been used to justify traditional income support policies, it might also open policy windows for innovative approaches to the production, distribution and consumption of food, e.g., urban, vertical, circular and coupled agri-food systems. This Panel explores new conceptual and empirical questions arising from novel agri-food systems about agri-food policy scope, goals and instruments: How do agri-food policies engage with novel agri-food systems in the policy, polity and politics dimension? Where is policy adaptation or transformation required? Which mechanisms explain how novel agri-food systems affect other policy domains? Which policy approaches and instruments are best aligned with novel agri-food systems? 3. Food production in times of climate change Chairs: Anne-Marie Parth (University of Heidelberg) and Colette Vogeler (University of Speyer) There is consensus that agricultural production – especially livestock farming – has a significant impact on the climate. Established patterns of food production need to be transformed to adapt to and mitigate the impact of climate change. Sustainable transformation strategies must also take into account animal welfare considerations, which highlights the complexity of the endeavour. This Panel addresses these debates at the intersection of climate, environmental, animal welfare and agricultural policymaking: How do policymakers in different countries integrate climate concerns in agricultural policymaking and which policy instruments are applied? (How) do these policies integrate animal welfare and biodiversity issues? How can such policymaking be grouped along theoretical considerations and empirical patterns? Which actors advocate or oppose food innovations and how can we explain their strategies and success? 4. Pathways to sustainable consumer food policy Chairs: Charlene Marie Marek (University of Heidelberg) and Daniel Polman (Wageningen University) Current food policy research focuses predominantly on governance of the agriculture sector and farmers, while the role of consumers remains underexplored. Sustainable consumption relies in particular on access to sustainable food, and is dependent on consumers’ daily practices and political/policy contexts, which can also influence consumption patterns. Consumer food policy is especially intriguing given its connection to various policy fields including public health, state welfare, city planning and education, thereby requiring an integrated policy approach. How can diverse policy fields support the development of sustainable consumer food policy? How do consumer demands affect food policy development? This Panel explores the role of consumers as both a target group and as agents of change for more sustainable and socially-just food systems. 5. Local policy pathways to sustainable food systems Chairs: Giulia Bazzan (University of Tilburg) and Johanna Kuenzler (University of Speyer) The food system needs transformation in order to reduce waste and conserve biodiversity while adapting to and mitigating impacts of climate change. Urban spaces and local communities are crucial arenas where such transition is being shaped, involving actors who have not traditionally engaged in developing food policies. Urban food governance structures have more room for innovative policies. How and when do food-related issues emerge on the local policy agenda? What elements of the food system are being addressed? Which actors drive these changes? And which factors explain local successes, and how can others learn from this? This Panel welcomes Papers focusing on local and urban pathways to more sustainable food systems, through a plurality of methods and approaches.