Knowledge Agora



Scientific Article details

Title Do we need a 'circular society'? Competing narratives of the circular economy in the French food sector
ID_Doc 28764
Authors Leipold, S; Weldner, K; Hohl, M
Title Do we need a 'circular society'? Competing narratives of the circular economy in the French food sector
Year 2021
Published
DOI 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2021.107086
Abstract How a circular economy (CE) can promote social equity remains largely unknown. We analyze how CE narratives affect interpretations of problems and actions on waste in the French food sector, particularly around the Loi Garot. We identify CE narratives that challenge the sector's previous discourse of a social and solidarity economy (SSE) by advancing market-focused solutions and actors. We show how these narratives create solutions that do not automatically serve social goals and demand food waste instead of mitigating it. Our results suggest that the new CE narratives may either open sector debates to more viable solutions for limited access to food or exacerbate the social and environmental problems of food waste. If we want CE policies and initiatives to address pressing issues of distributive justice and equality of opportunity that often underpin wastefulness, CE narratives need to foreground these issues. A possible way to do so could be to develope narratives for a 'circular society' instead of a 'circular economy'. We suggest future research to explore options for such new narratives, emphasizing problems of social equity and offering visions for a 'circular society'.
Author Keywords Sustainability; Social and solidarity economy; Circularity; Waste; Discourse; France
Index Keywords Index Keywords
Document Type Other
Open Access Open Access
Source Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED); Social Science Citation Index (SSCI)
EID WOS:000662664900019
WoS Category Ecology; Economics; Environmental Sciences; Environmental Studies
Research Area Environmental Sciences & Ecology; Business & Economics
PDF https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2021.107086
Similar atricles
Scroll