Agroecological cooperativism sustainability: challenges of cooperative supermarkets and other growth models in Catalonia

Abstract

Since the nineties, agroecology has spread throughout Spain through different agents involved in the development of territorialized food systems. In Catalonia, food-coops linked to small farming projects have played an essential role both in the support and viability of farming and in the dissemination of agroecological values. Since 2015, there has been a certain stagnation in the development of food-coops in relation to the number of groups and their size. Simultaneously, new models of larger-scale provisioning agroecological systems linked to the development of the Social and Solidarity Economy, such as cooperative supermarkets, are emerging. These new organizational forms try to overcome some of the challenges posed by the more widespread, smaller-scale model; specifically in relation to the socioeconomic homogeneity among members and the lack of integration of care in the organization of the cooperative. This article analyzes data from nine larger-scale agroecological provisioning projects collected through ethnographic fieldwork carried out between 2020 and 2022 in Catalonia. The research aims to analyze the sustainability of these new models in relation to the aforementioned challenges, as well as the strategies and mechanisms to address them. The results point to a reflection on the concept of moral economy in these collectives that seek to (re)embed food provisioning systems in values such as reciprocity, trust, environmental and social sustainability and justice. To what extent can we refer to these food systems as transformative?.