Beyond the Modernisation Paradigm: Elements of a Food Sovereignty Discourse in Farmer Protest Movements and Alternative Food Networks in Poland

Abstract

The aim of this article is to explore the possible emergence of a food sovereignty movement in Poland through the analysis of two farmers protest movements organised in 2012–2019 (Protest Rolników and Agrounia) as well as Polish alternative food networks. The analysed protest movements reacted to the socio-economic crisis in the countryside which entails a continuous decline of smallholder farming, a process that has started during the 1989 Polish transformation and has intensified following the introduction of the Common Agricultural Policy in the country. It is argued that – due to the prevalence of the modernisation paradigm in the Polish public sphere – the alliance of farmer movements with urban consumer groups would foster legitimacy of the food sovereignty discourse and bring about creation of a strong social movement that could influence public opinion and state policy. However, while the analysed groups of farmers and urban consumers share some goals, their discourses on food and agricultural issues differ, immersed in different worldviews and visions of the countryside. A successful translation of the food sovereignty discourse into the Polish context requires a careful navigation between religious and conservative values, important for family farmers, and the more universal ‘cosmopolitan’ ideas promoted by urban consumers.