Food justice, autonomy and livelihoods

Local urban food production and circulation via food hubs, community gardens, farmers markets and food waste redistribution services are traditionally framed as alternative activities that occur at the margins of ‘real’ food production and supply in the industrialised global north. Yet as communities consider urban food production as a way to address concerns over equitable access and control of food, health, urban environments, and future food supply systems - there has been a burgeoning of activities that constitute Food Justice work. How this food justice work fits into producer’s livelihoods remains underexplored. Assumptions of the hobby-like nature or ‘weekend activist’ work denominate, despite growing evidence that Food Justice production may form a central component of certain urban livelihoods. This paper forms part of an early conceptual scoping of (a) what are the specific characteristics of defining food justice work in Australia? And (b) how might the notion of the struggle for autonomy inform the ways that food justice alternatives are actively constructed and utilized as part of broader livelihoods?