What do our research friends say about the coexistence and confrontation of agricultural and food models? Introduction to the special issue

Abstract

AbstractThe coexistence and confrontation of agricultural and food models are an issue that is evincing much interest from the media and the political and professional fields. It is also an active area of research, a fact which led to a call for articles and the publication of a special issue. This article introduces and analyzes the 9 articles selected and published in 2020, and characterizes the diversity of the associated research (issues, fields, disciplines). After shedding light on the polysemy involved, as well as the fundamentals of the concept of agricultural and food model mobilized by the authors, we examine how they consider situations of coexistence. We identify three epistemological postures that reflect the contrasting positions of the authors vis-à-vis knowledge, actors, and action: functionalist coexistence, coexistence based on power relations, and coexistence in a transition perspective. These studies encourage the development of new research perspectives, in particular in order to make progress in the theorization of the coexistence and confrontation of agricultural and food models.