Practicing mundane consumer resistance in the REKO local food system

Abstract

Purpose: This study aims to answer two research questions, namely, what kinds of mundane resistance practices emerge in the local food system and which spatial, material and social elements catalyse the resistance practices. Design/methodology/approach: The study adopts a post-humanist practice approach and focusses on exploring the agentic capacity of socio-material elements to generate resistance practices. The data were generated through a multi-method approach of interviews, field observations and Facebook discussions collected between 2014 and 2017. Findings: The empirical context is the rejäl konsumtion local food network in Finland. The analysis presents two types of resisting practices – resisting facelessness and resisting carelessness – which are connected to spatial, material and social elements. Research limitations/implications: The study focusses on one local food system, highlighting the socio-material structuring of resistance in this specific cultural setting. Practical implications: The practical implications highlight that recognising the socio-material elements provides tools for better engagement of consumer actors with local food systems. Originality/value: The study adds to the extant research by interweaving the consumer resistance literature and local food systems discussions with the neo-material approach. The findings present a more nuanced understanding of the ways in which consumer resistance is actualised in a non-recreational, mundane context of consumption. Consequently, the study offers new insights into the agentic socio-material actors structuring the local food system.