Magister Artium (Development Studies) - MA(DVS) / It is well established that the modern global food system is highly unsustainable, distorted by industrialisation
and corporate consolidation, with negative repercussions on the environment and biodiversity
as well as human health. Innovative approaches are necessary to push food systems to be
more sustainable, equitable, and healthy for all people regardless of income and wealth. In the Cape
Town area, the food system is failing to adequately nourish the poor, while climate change poses
increasing challenges to the region’s agricultural system. Conceptualising food systems as complex
adaptive social ecological systems and utilising the Multilevel Perspective (MLP) framework, this
thesis looks at the burgeoning economy in neglected and underutilised species (NUS) in the Cape
Town area as a potential innovation that could make the local food system more socially and ecologically
resilient.
Though at present NUS are only marginally included in the local food system and policy debates,
they are increasingly appearing in the food service industry, driven by international gastronomic
trends. They hold potential as climate resilient, nutritionally dense, and socially and culturally significant
foods in the region, but also carry ecological and social risks. This thesis critically examines
the fledgling NUS economy in the Cape Town area, using participant observation and semistructured
interviews to unpack its primary motivations and challenges, and ultimately contributes
towards a better understanding of the NUS economy as it develops locally.
This research shows that the main risks associated with NUS are negative ecological repercussions,
privatisation of the NUS economy, and the reproduction and further entrenchment of unequal power
dynamics in the region. In order to mitigate these risks and actualise the related benefits associated
with NUS, engagement with the ecological, social, and political context of NUS needs to be significantly
deepened. This is particularly true for those working in food service, who appear to be driving
the NUS economy, and will require education around sustainability and TEK as well as a foregrounding
of power-awareness.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uwc/oai:etd.uwc.ac.za:11394/7917 |
| Date | January 2020 |
| Creators | Willis, Jenny |
| Contributors | Losch, Bruno, Pereira, Laura |
| Publisher | University of Western Cape |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | University of the Western Cape |
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