Exploring Food Coalitions Beyond the Local Scale
Alumni Stories: Marta López Cifuentes shares how her Summer School experience sparked her interest in investigating alternative models of global food value chains, leading to the successful initiation of a project on trans-local food coalitions.
Where it all started
Back in 2019, I had the privilege of attending the WFSC Summer School as part of my doctoral research. As a participant, I was able to learn from diverse perspectives about the food system in a hands-on, collaborative and inclusive environment, making these two weeks both enjoyable and inspiring. The inspiration came from the many lecturers, organisations and peers who shared their experiences in contributing to food system sustainability. They motivated me to incorporate different perspectives into my research, engage more actively with practical initiatives and continue my academic journey in this field. At the time, I didn’t realise how deeply they would influence me, sparking a dormant seed that would only later begin to grow.
Exploring Democratic Sustainability Transformations
For my doctoral research, I focused on exploring the concept of democratic sustainability transformations, using the case of Vienna’s urban food system. This study was centred on the local scale, where regional food provisioning repeatedly emerged as a key contributor to making urban food systems both more democratic and sustainable. Yet, I continued to wonder: What about the products we cannot produce in Austria – those staples like coffee, chocolate and spices that are so deeply entrenched in our diets? Should we forgo these cherished goods or can we explore new approaches to transform their global value chains, making them not only sustainable but more democratic as well? It was at this point that the dormant seed of inspiration began to take root.
Several lessons and examples from the Summer School resurfaced, particularly the stories of companies like Choba Choba and SoulSpice. During our visit to the headquarters of Choba Choba, for instance, we were introduced to the collaboration between Peruvian cocoa farmers and Swiss chocolate lovers, which developed into the first Swiss farmer-owned cocoa company. SoulSpice also shared their story with us, highlighting their commitment to sharing profits with all partners in the spice value chain. I found their approaches truly transformative and was eager to learn more about such initiatives and how they manage to foster these relationships within global market structures. So, I began developing this idea further and sought out partners who shared my interest in exploring it.
Investigating Trans-Local Food Coalitions
Alongside colleagues from BOKU University in Austria (where I am based), the University of Basel in Switzerland and the Technical University of Berlin in Germany, we developed a research proposal titled “Food coalitions beyond the local scale: spaces for a democratic sustainability transformation.” In April 2024, we secured funding from the Austrian Science Fund, the Swiss National Science Foundation and the German Research Foundation and the project officially began in September of that year. Our ambition with this over EUR 1 million project is to generate theory-driven, evidence-based and actionable knowledge that can support sustainable transformations in global food chains.
In this project, we investigate alternative models of global commodity chains, focusing on what we call Trans-Local Food Coalitions – i.e., organisations of various forms (e.g., cooperatives, companies) that strengthen relationships between producers, consumers and other food actors across different geographical regions such as Choba Choba and SoulSpice. Through these examples, we aim to identify both the opportunities and limitations of alternative governance structures that could support democratic and sustainable transformations in global food chains. The Summer School not only provided inspiration but also led to valuable partnerships with these companies, now key collaborators in the project, alongside five others.
Continuing the Journey Towards Sustainable Food Systems
Looking back, I am incredibly grateful to the team who organised such a remarkable experience. It provided an environment where I not only had a great time and learned a great deal but was also profoundly inspired. The connections I made during the Summer School were instrumental in shaping the direction of my research.
Looking ahead, I am excited to continue building partnerships with academics, organisations and stakeholders in the field of sustainable food systems. Through this collaborative work, I hope to contribute to advancing our collective knowledge and make meaningful progress toward more democratic and sustainable food systems integrating global and local scales and perspectives.
Marta López Cifuentes holds a doctorate from BOKU University in Austria in sustainable food systems. In 2022, she was awarded an Erwin Schrödinger Fellowship by the Austrian Science Fund, which enabled her to work as a visiting researcher at the Centre for Environment and Sustainability at the University of Surrey (UK). Currently, she is based at the Institute for Sustainable Economic Development (BOKU University), where she serves as the principal investigator for the Austrian component of the external page "Trans-Local Food Coalitions" project. Her research addresses key issues in sustainability transformations, with a particular emphasis on democracy and justice within food systems. She has extensive experience in inter- and transdisciplinary research. In addition to her academic endeavours, she is an active member of the Viennese Food Policy Council, where she engages in shaping the local food system.