Problematizing the Emergence of Household Food Security in England
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Published
Dec 4, 2013
Jane L. Midgley
Abstract
Household food security is a term associated with social welfare and the distribution of resources within society. It is also an organizing metaphor that is highly political and context dependent in its construction and deployment. How the concept emerges into new situations is often overlooked. This article problematizes the recent emergence of household food security in England, a feature closely linked to the food policy developments of the UK Government (2007–2010). I explore household food security in England through a discourse analysis of published policy texts and semi-structured interviews with third-sector practitioners. These reveal the tensions surrounding the introduction of household food security into this domestic policy setting. I show how policymakers used the concept strategically, and how the discursive and institutional legacies of food poverty and the welfare state constrained the wider adoption of household food security in this contemporary setting.
How to Cite
Midgley, J. L. (2013) “Problematizing the Emergence of Household Food Security in England”, The International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food. Paris, France, 20(3), pp. 293–311. doi: 10.48416/ijsaf.v20i3.164.
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References
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Curtis, K.A. (1997) Urban poverty and the social consequences of privatized food assistance, Journal of Urban Affairs, 19(2), pp. 207–226.
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DH (DepaPArtment of Health) (2004) Choosing Health: Making Healthy Choices Easier. London: Department of Health.
DH (DepaPArtment of Health) (2005) Choosing a Better Diet: A Food and Health Action Plan. London: Department of Health.
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Dowler, E. and Caraher, M. (2003) Local food projects: the new philanthropy?, Political Quarterly, 74(1), pp. 57–65.
Dowler, E. and O’Connor, D. (2012) Rights-based approaches to addressing food poverty and food insecurity in Ireland and UK, Social Science and Medicine, 74(1), pp. 44–51.
Elden, S. (2007) Governmentality, calculation, territory, Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 25(3), pp. 562–580.
FAO (Food and Agriculture OrganizatATion) (2009) Declaration of the World Summit on Food Security, WSFS 2009/2, Rome: FAO.
Foucault, M. (1984) Polemics, politics and problematizations: an interview with Michel Foucault, in: P. Rabinow (ed.) The Foucault Reader: An Introduction to Foucault’s Thought. London: Penguin, pp. 381–390.
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Gordon, N. and Berkovitch, N. (2007) Human rights discourse in domestic settings: how does it emerge?, Political Studies, 55(1), pp. 243–266.
Hajer, M.A. (1995) The Politics of Environmental Discourse: Ecological Modernization and the Policy Process. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Hajer, M.A. (2005) Coalitions, practices, and meaning in environmental politics: from acid rain to BSE, in: D. Howarth and J. Torfing (eds) Discourse Theory in European Politics: Identity, Policy and Governance. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 297–315.
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Kingdon, J.W. (1995) Agendas, Alternatives, and Public Policies. Harlow: Longman.
Lang, T. (1997) Dividing up the cake: food as social exclusion, in: A. Walker and C. Walker (eds) Britain Divided: The Growth of Social Exclusion in the 1980s and 1990s. London: Child Poverty Action Group, pp. 213–228.
Lawrence, G. and McMichael, P. (2012) The question of food security, International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food, 19(2), pp. 135–142.
LeatAT, D. (1998) Food choice and the British system of formal and informal welfare provision: questions for research, in: A. Murcott (ed.) The Nation’s Diet: The Social Science of Food. Harlow: Addison Wesley Longman, pp. 289–301.
Lee, R.P. (forthcoming) The politics of international agri-food policy: discourses of trade-oriented food security and food sovereignty, Environmental Politics, 22(2), pp. 216–234.
LevitaTAs, R. (1998) The Inclusive Society? Social Exclusion and New Labour. Basingstoke: Macmillan.
McMichael, P. (2009) A food regime analysis of the world food crisis, Agriculture and Human Values, 26(4), pp. 281–295.
Midgley, J. (2010) Exploring food policy developments within the United Kingdom, Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, 28(6), pp. 1028–1044.
Midgley, J. (2013) Food (in)security: in the Global ‘North’ and ‘South’, in: A. Murcott , W. Belasco and P. Jackson (eds) The Handbook of Food Research. Oxford: Berg Publishers, pp. 425–438.
Mooney, P.H. and Hunt, S.A. (2009) Food security: the elaboration of contested claims to a consensus frame, Rural Sociology, 74(4), pp. 469–497.
PatATel, R. (2009) Food sovereignty, Journal of Peasant Studies, 36(3), p. 663–673.
PatATel, R. and McMichael, P. (2009) A political economy of the food riot, Review, 12(1), pp.9–35.
Popp endieck, J. (1995) Hunger in America, in: D. Maurer and J. Soba l (eds) Eating Agendas: Food and Nutrition as Social Problems. New York: De Gruyter, pp. 11–34.
Rabinow, P. (1984) Introduction, in: P. Rab inow (ed.) The Foucault Reader: An Introduction to Foucault’s Thought. London: Penguin, pp. 3–29.
Rabinow, P. (2002) Midst anthropology’s problems, Current Anthropology, 17(2), pp. 135–149.
Radimer, K.L. (2002) Measurement of household food security in the USA and other industrialised countries, Public Health Nutrition, 5(6), pp. 859–864.
Rivera-Ferre, M.G. (2012) Framing of agri-food research affects the analysis of food security: the critical role of social sciences, International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food, 19(2), pp. 162–175.
Sen, A. (1981) Poverty and Famines: An Essay on Entitlement and Deprivation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Sen, A. (1995) Food, economics and entitlements, in: J. Dréze, A. Sen and A. Hussain (eds) The Political Economy of Hunger: Selected Essays. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 50–68.
SEU (Social Exclusion Unit) (1998) Bringing Britain Together: A National Strategy for Neighbourhood Renewal, Cm 4045. London: TSO.
TSU (The StratATegy Unit) (2008a) Food: An Analysis of the Issues. London: The Cabinet Office.
TSU (The StratATegy Unit) (2008b) Food Matters: Towards a Strategy for the 21st Century. London: The Cabinet Office.
Vernon, J. (2007) Hunger: A Modern History. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press.
Warshawsky, D.N. (2010) New power relations served here: the growth of food banking in Chicago, Geoforum, 41(5), pp. 763–775.
Wrigley, N. (2002) ‘Food deserts’ in British cities: policy context and research priorities, Urban Studies, 39(11), pp. 2029–2040.
Barling, D. and Lang, T. (2003) A reluctant food policy? the first five years of food policy under Labour, Political Quarterly, 74(1), pp. 8–18.
CFPA (Council of Food Policy Advisors) (2009) First Report from the Council of Food Policy Advisors. London: Defra.
CFPA (Council of Food Policy Advisors) (2010) Food: A Recipe for a Healthy, Sustainable and Successful Future, Second Report from the Council of Food Policy Advisors. London, Defra.
Collier, S.J., Lakoff , A. and Rab inow, P. (2004) Biosecurity: towards an anthropology of the contemporary, Anthropology Today, 20(5), pp. 3–7.
Curtis, K.A. (1997) Urban poverty and the social consequences of privatized food assistance, Journal of Urban Affairs, 19(2), pp. 207–226.
Davis, A., Hirsch, D. and Smith, N. (2010) A Minimum Income Standard for the UK in 2010. York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
Defra (DepaPArtment for Environment Food and Rural AFFAirs) (2008) Ensuring the UK’s Food Security in a Changing World. London: Defra.
Defra (DepaPArtment for Environment Food and Rural AFFAirs) (2009a) UK Food Security Assessment: Our Approach. London: Defra.
Defra (DepaPArtment for Environment Food and Rural AFFAirs) (2009b) UK Food Security Assessment: Detailed Analysis. London: Defra.
Defra (DepaPArtment for Environment Food and Rural AFFAirs) (2009c) Food Matters: One Year On. London: Defra.
Defra (DepaPArtment for Environment Food and Rural AFFAirs) (2010) Food 2030. London: The Stationary Office.
DH (DepaPArtment of Health) (1996) Low Income, Food, Nutrition and Health: Strategies for Improvement, A Report from the Low Income Project Team to the Nutrition Task Force. London: Department of Health.
DH (DepaPArtment of Health) (2004) Choosing Health: Making Healthy Choices Easier. London: Department of Health.
DH (DepaPArtment of Health) (2005) Choosing a Better Diet: A Food and Health Action Plan. London: Department of Health.
Dowler, E. (2002) Food and poverty in Britain: rights and responsibilities, Social Policy and Administration, 36(6), pp. 698–717.
Dowler, E. and Caraher, M. (2003) Local food projects: the new philanthropy?, Political Quarterly, 74(1), pp. 57–65.
Dowler, E. and O’Connor, D. (2012) Rights-based approaches to addressing food poverty and food insecurity in Ireland and UK, Social Science and Medicine, 74(1), pp. 44–51.
Elden, S. (2007) Governmentality, calculation, territory, Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 25(3), pp. 562–580.
FAO (Food and Agriculture OrganizatATion) (2009) Declaration of the World Summit on Food Security, WSFS 2009/2, Rome: FAO.
Foucault, M. (1984) Polemics, politics and problematizations: an interview with Michel Foucault, in: P. Rabinow (ed.) The Foucault Reader: An Introduction to Foucault’s Thought. London: Penguin, pp. 381–390.
Foucault, M. (2009) Security, Territory, Population. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Gordon, N. and Berkovitch, N. (2007) Human rights discourse in domestic settings: how does it emerge?, Political Studies, 55(1), pp. 243–266.
Hajer, M.A. (1995) The Politics of Environmental Discourse: Ecological Modernization and the Policy Process. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Hajer, M.A. (2005) Coalitions, practices, and meaning in environmental politics: from acid rain to BSE, in: D. Howarth and J. Torfing (eds) Discourse Theory in European Politics: Identity, Policy and Governance. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 297–315.
Hajer, M. and Laws, D. (2006) Ordering through discourse, in: M. Moran, M. Reid and R.E. Goodin (eds) The Oxford Handbook of Public Policy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 251–268.
Holmes, B. (2007) Food security, in: M. Nelson, B. Erens, B. BatATes, S. Church and T. Boshier (eds) Low Income Diet and Nutrition Survey, vol 3. London, The Stationary Office, pp. 201–220. Published online
Hussain, A. (1995) Introduction, in: J. Dréze, A. Sen and A. Hussain (eds) The Political Economy of Hunger: Selected Essays. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 1–11.
Jones, K. (2000) The Making of Social Policy in Britain: From the Poor Law to New Labour. London: Athlone Press.
Kingdon, J.W. (1995) Agendas, Alternatives, and Public Policies. Harlow: Longman.
Lang, T. (1997) Dividing up the cake: food as social exclusion, in: A. Walker and C. Walker (eds) Britain Divided: The Growth of Social Exclusion in the 1980s and 1990s. London: Child Poverty Action Group, pp. 213–228.
Lawrence, G. and McMichael, P. (2012) The question of food security, International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food, 19(2), pp. 135–142.
LeatAT, D. (1998) Food choice and the British system of formal and informal welfare provision: questions for research, in: A. Murcott (ed.) The Nation’s Diet: The Social Science of Food. Harlow: Addison Wesley Longman, pp. 289–301.
Lee, R.P. (forthcoming) The politics of international agri-food policy: discourses of trade-oriented food security and food sovereignty, Environmental Politics, 22(2), pp. 216–234.
LevitaTAs, R. (1998) The Inclusive Society? Social Exclusion and New Labour. Basingstoke: Macmillan.
McMichael, P. (2009) A food regime analysis of the world food crisis, Agriculture and Human Values, 26(4), pp. 281–295.
Midgley, J. (2010) Exploring food policy developments within the United Kingdom, Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, 28(6), pp. 1028–1044.
Midgley, J. (2013) Food (in)security: in the Global ‘North’ and ‘South’, in: A. Murcott , W. Belasco and P. Jackson (eds) The Handbook of Food Research. Oxford: Berg Publishers, pp. 425–438.
Mooney, P.H. and Hunt, S.A. (2009) Food security: the elaboration of contested claims to a consensus frame, Rural Sociology, 74(4), pp. 469–497.
PatATel, R. (2009) Food sovereignty, Journal of Peasant Studies, 36(3), p. 663–673.
PatATel, R. and McMichael, P. (2009) A political economy of the food riot, Review, 12(1), pp.9–35.
Popp endieck, J. (1995) Hunger in America, in: D. Maurer and J. Soba l (eds) Eating Agendas: Food and Nutrition as Social Problems. New York: De Gruyter, pp. 11–34.
Rabinow, P. (1984) Introduction, in: P. Rab inow (ed.) The Foucault Reader: An Introduction to Foucault’s Thought. London: Penguin, pp. 3–29.
Rabinow, P. (2002) Midst anthropology’s problems, Current Anthropology, 17(2), pp. 135–149.
Radimer, K.L. (2002) Measurement of household food security in the USA and other industrialised countries, Public Health Nutrition, 5(6), pp. 859–864.
Rivera-Ferre, M.G. (2012) Framing of agri-food research affects the analysis of food security: the critical role of social sciences, International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food, 19(2), pp. 162–175.
Sen, A. (1981) Poverty and Famines: An Essay on Entitlement and Deprivation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Sen, A. (1995) Food, economics and entitlements, in: J. Dréze, A. Sen and A. Hussain (eds) The Political Economy of Hunger: Selected Essays. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 50–68.
SEU (Social Exclusion Unit) (1998) Bringing Britain Together: A National Strategy for Neighbourhood Renewal, Cm 4045. London: TSO.
TSU (The StratATegy Unit) (2008a) Food: An Analysis of the Issues. London: The Cabinet Office.
TSU (The StratATegy Unit) (2008b) Food Matters: Towards a Strategy for the 21st Century. London: The Cabinet Office.
Vernon, J. (2007) Hunger: A Modern History. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press.
Warshawsky, D.N. (2010) New power relations served here: the growth of food banking in Chicago, Geoforum, 41(5), pp. 763–775.
Wrigley, N. (2002) ‘Food deserts’ in British cities: policy context and research priorities, Urban Studies, 39(11), pp. 2029–2040.
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