The role of consumer–citizens and connectedness to nature in the sustainable transition to agroecological food systems: The mediation of innovative business models and a multilevel perspective

Consumers have important roles to play in sustainability transition, and there has been an increased emphasis on consumer marketing initiatives in order to stimulate “pro-environmental” consumer behavior.

This study categorizes innovative business models that mediate between consumers and growers and that enable consumers to reconnect with agriculture and the natural environment, enhancing sustainability transitions.

The authors conceptualize sustainability transitions as an interconnection among three levels of relative stability: niches or innovative business models at the “micro” level, regimes or agrifood systems at the “meso” level and landscapes or human interactions with nature at the “macro” level.

Business model categorization is based on the degree of consumer engagement. Business models that create value for individual consumers – including box schemes, farmers’ markets, on-farm selling and pick-your-own opportunities – are considered to provide fewer degrees of engagement than models that enable the collective role of consumers and citizens. Collaborative business models include the following:

Collective food buying groups, such as solidarity purchasing groups that provide opportunities for consumers/citizens to support smart local food producers.

Participatory guarantee systems in which a group of consumers acts as a represented consumer organization to indicate criteria for certifying producers and peer-reviewing the production process. 

Participatory harvesting business models that enable consumers/citizens to be closer with farmers and nature as co-producers in initiatives, such as crowdfarming and self-harvested gardens.

Consumer cooperatives and community-supported agriculture, such as associations for the support of peasant agriculture. These business models are initiated, designed and maintained by self-organized citizen groups.

The authors suggest that these increasingly visible and innovative business models may provide a breeding ground for local community innovations to mature and reach a wider community, challenging the dominance of industrial agrifood regimes.