Perceptions of justice in food system transitions

A transition is ongoing towards more sustainable and just food systems in response to environmental and social injustices. However, food system actors, including researchers, risk reproducing existing injustices and/or creating new ones as part of the transition process. To support a just food system transition, we need to understand whether and how food system actors contribute to making the food system and the transition more just, but what is just depends on who is asked. Perceptions of justice are not universal but contextual and situated in relationships that are relative to time and place. 
This thesis aimed to understand how justice is perceived in the context of ongoing food system transitions and more specifically within the regional case study of the North of the Netherlands. 
We developed a conceptual framework that structures conversations about, and the analysis of, perceptions of justice in the context of food system transitions. We then reviewed the literature to understand how researchers write about justice implications of food-related initiatives. In the regional case study, we ran a workshop series and held in-depth interviews with actors from across the food system and with people who may have had experiences of marginalisation. 
We identified a number of food system situations that participants judged from a justice perspective. These included (a lack of) changes in production practices, food aid, the capacity to participate in the transition, and supply chain power dynamics. We found that participants’ role(s) in the food system and their experiences with injustices influenced their perceptions of justice. We also found that systemic (income) inequalities currently undermine a just (Dutch) food system transition. To ensure a just food system transition, we conclude that justice has to become part of the political and societal debates about the ongoing food system transition and potential food system futures.