Building a Narrative: The Role of Dualisms When Interpreting Food Systems

Against the background of increasingly complex and diverse agri-food systems, calls are made in rural sociology to no longer describe and distinguish food systems based on dualistic oppositions. The aim of this paper is to understand to what extent food system actors use different dualisms to build their ontological narratives. Based on a qualitative analysis, we analyse the narratives of key actors in the Flemish food system on food system challenges, and their relation with specific dualistic concepts and associated meanings, experiences and practices. Two distinct narratives emerge that are embedded in opposing dualisms, what leads us to believe that dualistic oppositions are still a part of the agrifood reality and are something to take into account when different actors have to collaborate.