Local food is a current topic within the Czech food market. The Thesis is focused on the food quality mark "Regionalni potravina" as an instrument for local production promotion. Aim of the thesis is to verify whether labeling local food with the quality mark "Regionalni potravina" contributes to the local food production. An analysis has been performed, that focuses on The Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic's project "Regionalni potravina" in The Usti Region. The analysis contributes to the current local food issue from the perspective of consumers and producers. A questionnaire survey among The Usti Region's consumers and local food producers, that were awarded the quality mark, has been performed. Half of the respondents claim to consume local food, they appreciate its quality and clear origin. The food quality mark "Regionalni potravina" has appealed to the consumers, thus they are motivated to buy local products. That leads to promotion of local food production. The survey was able to prove that the food quality mark "Regionalni potravina" truly leads to promotion of local food production. Considering these conclusions and consumers' attitude towards local food, it would be worth considering to promote a wider range of local food producers who meet the quality and local origin requirements.

I det här examensarbetet undersöks policy och nätverksstruktur för REKO-konceptet – ett sätt för små livsmedelsproducenter att genom Facebook samordna försäljning direkt till slutkonsumenter. Uppsatsen diskuterar REKO som ett samtidsfenomen påverkat av stora trender som den digitala omvandlingen av samhället och en allt längre livsmedelskedja. Den beskriver och diskuterar hur policy skapas och sprids i ett platt nätverk utan formell beslutsfattning. Analysen av policyn visar vidare att ”enkelhet” är en fokalpunkt i nätverket, vilket är laddat med olika värde beroende på ställning i nätverket. Arbetets netnografiska underlösning beskriver och analyserar nätverksstrukturen ur olika aktörsperspektiv – vilket visar att då REKO syftar till att uppnå olika mål för dess aktörer kan det gestaltas annorlunda beroende på aktörsperspektiv. Arbetet sätter även fenomenet REKO i en allmän teknokulturell kontext där internet och dess sociala medier får en allt större betydelse för människan. / This bachelor level thesis examines policy and network structure for the Swedish food distribution network called REKO. A network which matches local producers with consumers through Facebook. The thesis discusses REKO as a cotemporally example of technoculture under influence of trends such as the digital transformation of social life and longer distances between producer and end consumer. The thesis also describes and discuss how policy is made and recreated in a flat network without legal bodies. The policy analysis shows how “simplicity” is a focal point loaded with different meanings and goals. In the nethnographic part of the study describes the shifting shape of the network. Lastly the thesis puts REKO in a general technocultural context where internet and social media still gets a bigger role for humanity.

This diploma thesis is worked out as a proposal for a business plan for establishing a small company in the area of agriculture primary production. The worked out business plan is based on analysis of the environment for the new company and from primary research. Theoretical part of the thesis deals with basic concepts which are related to business activities in the current condition. The proposition part consists of a proposal itself for the new business plan and the perspectives of implementing the plan and also risk that come with it.

(in English): The diploma thesis deals with the issue of local foods and analyses factors influencing the purchasing behavior of Czech consumers. The theoretical part focuses on the problems related to the definition of local food, relying on the three domains of proximity taxonomy as proposed by Eriksen (2013). It further examines the reasons of increased interest in local production, which include anti-globalization trends, environmental issues and other value changes in society. Significant foreign and Czech research of local production and Czech consumer behavior is presented. At the end of the theoretical part, selected theories suitable for explaining the purchasing behavior of local foods as well giving insight into the theoretical foundation and research of this thesis are described. This is primarily the Alphabet Theory (Zepeda & Deal, 2009), which is based on earlier theories of Value-Belief-Norm Theory (Stern et al., 1999) and Attitude-Behavior-Context Theory (Guagnano et al., 1995). The empirical part builds on the theoretical basis and provides an analysis of the Czech consumer based on qualitative semi-structured interviews as well as a quantitative survey representative of Czech population aged 18 to 65 years in terms of selected sociodemographic characteristics. They give insight...

This thesis explored design’s role in transitioning the Swedish food system to one that is more resilient to the shocks caused by climate change and in the context of the project duration, COVID-19. The project’s central question was: What does food citizenship look like in a resilient food system, and what design process is necessary to facilitate such a solution? The project collaborated with a local food ecosystem startup, Harvest, which has the mission to improve the local food supply chain so everyone can eat deliciously and sustainability. Together with Harvest, the project developed a vision of what the local food ecosystem will look like in a viable world. It proposes that collective action around food is a possible vehicle for systems transition. The resulting design is the proposition of a network that connects urban communities to local food producers while facilitating the support required to expand the production capability and stability of the local food ecosystem. The network is grounded in the design principles synthesized from the research conducted with the creative communities in Sweden that are working towards a resilient food system. The ideas of mutual aid and the permaculture ethics of people care and fair share have been guiding forces as supporting those living in transition is an essential element of food systems transition. From this proposition the project sets to explore what disruptive innovations need to occur in order to reach this vision. By framing the project in this way I aim to not only illuminate what the preferable future looks like and how it will function, but also illustrate how it is possible to reach this future.

Food system is complex and encompasses stakeholders from local, regional, and global level. The activities and outcomes of the food system are associated with environmental, economic, and social impacts. Due to the growing population, and urbanization, along with the fact that global food system contributes up to 30% of anthropogenic GHG emission, one of the main contributors to climate change, a sustainable food system that could meet the food demand in the urban areas is in need. Therefore, high-tech urban agriculture (HTUA) that uses advanced technologies and enables food production in a controlled environment is seen as a promising solution, which remains niche in Sweden. This study adopted the sustainable food system approach and used the theory of multi-level perspective (MLP) on sustainability transitions to explore this technology-driven transition and identify the challenges and opportunities in developing HTUA in Sweden. Through the analysis of five Swedish policy documents and interviews with four HTUA initiatives in Stockholm, three main aspects are identified: 1) external context; 2) policy environment; and 3) communication and influence, which are independent but also interconnected. According to the findings, the global environment and Swedish context, such as climatic condition and Swedish consumption, provide HTUA an opportunity to develop. The findings also suggest that though the characteristics of HTUA initiatives and the priorities within the Swedish policy environment have overlapping traits, the policies are not effectively translated into practice and thus making it challengeable to develop HTUA in the long run. Implementing more strict restrictions and regulations on the external price, providing an easier access to urban space, simplifying the procedure for the financial support, raising public awareness towards HTUA, and bridging the knowledge gap among all stakeholders through collaborations and partnerships are suggested to reduce the risk of initiating HTUA. However, further research is still required to understand the potential of HTUA in the transformation towards a sustainable food system.

De storskaliga globala livsmedelssystemen står inför ett antal utmaningar inom hållbar utveckling. Livsmedelssystemens nuvarande utformning resulterar i hållbarhetsproblem som förlust av biologisk mångfald och utarmning av jordar, långa livsmedelskedjor och stora avstånd mellan konsument och producent. Klimatförändringarnas effekter och den ökande urbaniseringen bidrar ytterligare till problematiken. Behovet av en omställning till hållbara livsmedelssystem är därför stort och kräver innovativa lösningar såväl som en omfördelning av naturresurser. Ett exempel på en systeminnovation är stadsodling, som uppvisat potential till högre resurseffektivitet såväl som till ökad social hållbarhet i urbana och stadsnära områden. Trots det ökande intresset för stadsodling tycks det finnas en brist på empiriska studier som undersöker stadsodlingens nuvarande status, sammansättning och olika faktorer för utveckling. Syftet med detta examensarbete är således att identifiera faktorer och förutsättningar som påverkar utvecklingen av stadsodling som en del av omställningen mot en hållbarare livsmedelsproduktion, i den specifika kontexten i Stockholm. Studien tillämpade en flexibel, kvalitativ forskningsdesign och inbegriper en systematisk kartläggning och en kvalitativ fallstudie av kommersiell stadsodling i Stockholm. Det empiriska datamaterialet baseras på en litteraturstudie, semistrukturerade kvalitativa intervjuer och insamling av sekundärdata. En innehållsanalys av det empiriska datamaterialet utfördes med vägledning av ett teoretiskt ramverk baserat på omställningsteori ur ett flernivåperspektiv. Studiens resultat visar att kommersiell stadsodling är ett mångfacetterat såväl som växande fenomen, men att många verksamheter befinner sig i en tidig fas. Den form av kommersiell stadsodling som växt fram mest i Stockholm är klimatkontrollerade inomhusodlingar. Nio av 14 identifierade verksamheter är inomhusodlingar, två är etablerade växthus och tre är utomhusodlingar. Kartläggningen indikerar att kommersiell stadsodling i dagsläget bidrar med omkring 0.5-4% av direktkonsumtionen av örter och sallat i Storstockholm. Det finns dock potential för produktion av större volymer och en större mångfald av grödor i de olika stadsodlingssystemen. Studien identifierade ett flertal faktorer och förutsättningar som påverkar möjligheterna till en utveckling av lokal livsmedelsproduktion genom stadsodling. Byråkratiska, regulatoriska, ekonomiska och kulturella faktorer visade sig utgöra hinder för utvecklingen av stadsodling. Detta indikerar att det krävs politiskt stöd i form av främjande ramverk och policy för markanvändning, som möjliggör och underlättar upplåtelse av mark för kommersiell odling. Andra möjliggörande åtgärder kan vara policyverktyg för att i framtiden kunna underlätta offentlig upphandling av lokal mat. Vidare efterfrågas ett större engagemang och ansvar från näringslivet, i form av ökande investeringar i lokal och hållbar mat samt externa samarbeten mellan aktörer. De indikationer som framkom om att konsumenter i högre utsträckning går runt de dominerande alternativen i livsmedelssystemen och efterfrågar kortare värdekedjor identifierades också som en möjliggörande faktor för den fortsatta utvecklingen av stadsodling. / The globalised food systems are facing extensive challenges concerning sustainable development and are furthermore characterized by long supply chains with numerous food miles, industrial production and large-scale retailers. Dominant agricultural practices result in deforestation, loss of biodiversity and depletion of soil and natural resources. In addition, external factors such as climate change and urbanisation trends increases the complexity of these sustainability issues. Thus, transitions from the dominant food systems to more sustainable alternatives has been suggested in scientific literature. Transitions towards sustainability requires social and technical innovations as well as fundamental changes in the governance of food and agriculture. In light of this, a range of different urban farming practices have increasingly been considered to tackle some of these issues. Despite the growing interest in urban agriculture, there is a lack of extensive empirical studies exploring the current state of various urban farming practices and their role in the existing food systems. This study aims to explore the role of enabling factors that influence the development of commercial urban farming as part of a food sustainability transition, in the Stockholm area. The methodological approach of the project includes a qualitative case study and a mapping of productive urban food systems in Stockholm. The research design is flexible and the empirical data material builds on literature review, semi-structured interviews and secondary data collection. Content analysis is conducted and guided by the conceptual framework consisting of transition theory and the multi-level perspective framework.   The results show that commercial urban farming is a diverse phenomenon gaining momentum in Stockholm. Commercial urban farming in Stockholm mainly consists of controlled environment farming; nine out of 14 establishments are indoor farms, two are well established greenhouses and three are outdoor cultivations. However, commercial urban farming seems to be more characterized by the local aspect and closeness to a dense population, rather than a certain applied technology. The mapping indicates that commercial urban farming in Stockholm is currently meeting 0.5-4 % of the direct consumption of herbs and lettuce in Stockholm, but that the potential production capacity is higher. Furthermore, the study found several enabling factors and barriers that affect the development of local food production through urban farming in Stockholm. Through the lens of the multi-level perspective, the main barriers identified are regulations and politics, economic funding and organizational and cultural structures in the food regime. This indicates that further development of urban farming in Stockholm requires support through frameworks and policy, for example regulations regarding land use, to enable disposal of land and estate for urban agriculture use. Measures to facilitate public procurement of locally produced food could also enable the development of urban farming initiatives. Moreover, interaction and co-operation between various stakeholders is crucial for niche development. Large businesses in the food sector could enable the development of urban farming through investments and partnerships. Finally, consumers could enable the development of urban farming by increasingly choosing the alternative pathways offered by some of the urban farming initiatives.

The distance between farms and cities and the limited access that some residents have to fresh foods can be detrimental to a city's capacity to feed people over time. This study addressed the under-studied topic of urban farming as a secondary food source, specifically by exploring the opportunities and limitations of urban farming in a large Northeastern city. Brundtland's food policy was the pivotal theory supporting food production to end global starvation, and was the link between environmental conservation and human survival. The research question for this study examined the potential food policy opportunities and limitations that assist urban farms as a supplemental food source. Twenty stakeholders from the public (6), nonprofit (7), private (3), and academic (4) sectors formed the purposeful snowball sample in this case study. Data were collected through open-ended interviews, which were then subjected to an iterative and inductive coding strategy. The significant finding of this study is that while food policy supported urban farms as a secondary food source in a way consistent with Brundtland's theory, local food alone was inadequate to feed its urban population. Other key findings revealed that food policies that influenced land use, food production, and procurement presented unique challenges in each sector. Existing food production policies such as zoning regulations, permitting processes, and public funding benefited one sector over another. The study contributes to social change by exploring food policies that encourage partnerships between sector stakeholders; urban, rural, and suburban farmers; and city residents that foster alternative and sustainable food production in the urban setting.

The modern global agrifood system has had significant negative impacts on consumers and producers. This has precipitated the rise of local food systems that are purported to improve the health and livelihoods of consumers and producers. High expectations have led to significant public and private resources dedicated to the development of local food systems. Despite this, there has been little systematic research exploring the social and institutional conditions that facilitate or frustrate local food system development. Using a comparative case study approach, this study explored the ways local structural conditions, collective action, food system policies, and the political context affect the development of local food systems. Findings suggested truly robust local food system development requires either collective action or public policies and are more likely to exist and be successful depending on the political climate and the balance of power between land use interests in the community.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate, based on a comparative study in Sweden, how vertical hydroponic farms can be implemented in urban environments and to identify the challenges with the implementation. The study examines various companies that work with hydroponic farms in Sweden and how the government can help the companies with the implementation of the innovation. Urban hydroponic farms can be a significant solution for solving the growing global population demand for locally grown fresh food, which includes good quality and nutrients. Previous studies, from a sustainability perspective, show that Sweden would benefit in several different ways if more hydroponic farms were implemented in the urban cities. The theory that the report is based on is the implementation theory. With this in mind, the empirics were analyzed from three different found themes; economy, political priorities & local involvement. Empirical data was collected from previous studies as well as from a qualitative methodological approach. This empirical study was based on multiple interviews with companies in the hydroponic farms industry located in Sweden and observations, to be able to analyze the findings based on our chosen theme. In this study we found that the result indicates that there are both advantages and obstacles to the implementation of hydroponic farms in urban areas. On the other hand, the benefits are predominantly from a sustainable development perspective with new innovative solutions, such as solar systems and upgraded district heating and district cooling systems.