Social media as a new playing field for the governance of agro-food sustainability

•Social media can reinforce hypes on agro-food sustainability issues.•Social media offer opportunities for the self-organization of food movements.•Social media generate data used for new forms of agro-food governance.•Social media form a new force and resource in the governance of agro-food. Social...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Current opinion in environmental sustainability 2016-02, Vol.18, p.99-106
Main Authors: Stevens, TM, Aarts, N, Termeer, CJAM, Dewulf, A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bestuurskunde
Leerstoelgroep Bestuurskunde
Public Administration and Policy
Strategic Communication
Strategische Communicatie
WASS
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Summary:•Social media can reinforce hypes on agro-food sustainability issues.•Social media offer opportunities for the self-organization of food movements.•Social media generate data used for new forms of agro-food governance.•Social media form a new force and resource in the governance of agro-food. Social media bring various stakeholders of the agro-food system together into a new playing field. This article reveals the dynamics of this playing field and the ways in which this can influence the governance of agro-food sustainability. We delineate three pathways that highlight the ways in which social media can have implications for the governance of agro-food sustainability; firstly, Hypes on agro-food sustainability issues, secondly, opportunities for the self-organization of food movements, and thirdly, data for new forms of agro-food governance. We conclude that while mass self-communication on social media forms an emergent force that disrupts agro-food governance, it also generates data that forms a resource for powerful players to regain control.
ISSN:1877-3435
1877-3443
DOI:10.1016/j.cosust.2015.11.010