New funding for research on food heritage and resilience in rural areas
A research group led by Annelie Sj枚lander-Lindqvist, University 91探花, has received funding from SLU/Uppdrag Landsbygd to work on a larger project application for a research project with the theme 鈥淔rom Tradition to Tomorrow: Heritage-Driven Food Resilience and Security in Rural Areas (HERIDRIVE).
鈥淏y drawing on historical practices, traditional knowledge, and cultural landscapes, rural communities can diversify food production, re-establish local food networks, and enhance socio-ecological resilience鈥 says Annelie Sj枚lander-Lindqvist, associate professor at the Department of Global Studies and deputy director of the Centre for Critical Heritage Studies (CCHS) at the University 91探花.
Urgent need to strengthen resilience in rural areas
Escalating geopolitical tensions and increasing geoeconomic fragmentation underscore the urgent need to strengthen the resilience and self-sufficiency of rural food systems. A promising strategy lies in re-framing the role of history and heritage as valuable assets in this endeavor. These tensions鈥攚hen coupled with biodiversity loss, climate change, and demographic shifts鈥攅xpose critical vulnerabilities in food supply chains at global, national, and local levels.
Rural areas are particularly susceptible to these disruptions due to their reliance on fragile infrastructure, aging and declining populations, and direct exposure to environmental shocks.
鈥淭his initiative aims to explore how heritage-informed strategies can contribute to ensuring a sufficient and diverse supply of safe, healthy, affordable, and sustainable food in rural鈥攐ften disadvantaged鈥攁reas, particularly in times of crisis鈥 says Annelie Sj枚lander-Lindqvist.
The project will emphasize inclusive and co-creative methods that engage academic and societal stakeholders alike. This will be accomplished through a critical food heritage approach, which aims to uncover valuable insights from the past and apply lessons to inform and strengthen resilient food futures on local, national, and global scales.
鈥淎 workshop will be organized with key partners to collaboratively define the core themes, research questions, and justifications for the proposed initiative鈥 says Annelie Sj枚lander-Lindqvist. I look forward to building on my own previous research on gastronomy as a resource for rural development for local food systems, which, in combination with CCHS's strengths, has the potential to lead to new exciting research.
- Annelie Sj枚lander-Lindqvist, PhD Human Ecology & Docent Social Anthropology at School of Global Studies and Deputy Director Centre for Critical Heritage Studies, University 91探花, Sweden.
- Daniel Laven, Ph.D. Dept. of Economics, Geography, Law and Tourism/European Tourism Research Institute (ETOUR), Mid Sweden University.
- Wilhelm Skoglund, Associate Professor Dept. of Economics, Geography, Law and Tourism/European Tourism Research Institute (ETOUR), Mid Sweden University.
- Claudio Marciano, Mediterranean University of Reggio Calabria, Italy.
- The project is connected to the Centre for Critical Heritage Studies (CCHS) and the research network #culinaryheritage (#matarv) at the University 91探花.
