Sustainable Food, Ethical Consumption and Digital Activism: Insights from Slow Food and “Low Carbon Food” Movements in Taiwan

Abstract

This paper examines two food initiatives in Taiwan that address broad social concerns that have informed changes in activists’ perceptions of food citizenship in relation to globalization. Drawing on participant observation and in-depth interviews with stakeholders in two food movements, this ethnographic study contextualizes the motivations and meaning of “local” from the perspectives of social activists and food businesses in Taiwan. It investigates the strategies by which stakeholders engage consumers with the concept of local food as well as the limitations of that engagement, situating the concept of “local food” within sustainable consumption and local traditions. The findings illuminate how activists leverage global discourses on food movements and adapt them to local settings, blending with the vernaculars of local beliefs and traditional values. The study also discusses the potential and limits of this strategy and the use of new media technology in local food activism.