The contribution of local food systems to healthy diets and sustainable consumption: a case study from the City of Rome.

In the context of increasing obesity and rising rates of non communicable diseases (NCDs) worldwide, local food movements emerged to propose an alternative to the industrial food system that has been partly considered responsible for the changes in health patterns. In supporting local food systems, consumers have expressed three types of “cares”: a care for the environment, a care about transparency in the food system, and a care for health. By using the case study of a box delivery scheme in Rome, Italy – Le Zolle – this study analyses to what extent consumers are indeed able, through their participation in local food systems, to express their three types of cares and to become “active consumers­citizens”. The results of this preliminary assessment showed that participation in a local food system helps consumers eat in a more healthy way, and to change their food­related habits (e.g. food waste reduction) and non­food consumption habits (e.g. use of environment friendly detergents) in more sustainable directions. Making alternative food provisioning systems available allows consumers to have a “transformative” role in the overall food system. This work adds to those calls demanding policies that ensure the existence of a balanced retail system, especially in cities.