Paper short abstract:

An ethnography on intergenerational relations in an indigenous community in a changing local food system. Moving beyond the food security outcomes, this paper expands the understanding of food systems by focusing on social welfare outcomes and their implications for sustainable food systems.

Paper long abstract:

The sustainable food systems agenda has increased interest in various dimensions of food systems. Moving beyond the normative goal of food security, this paper is an empirically grounded argument for using intergenerational relations in understanding the social welfare outcomes of a local food system. Drawing on ethnographic research with the indigenous farming community in western India and its changing livelihood opportunities, this paper examines the shifting power structures within the local food system. Evidence suggests an increasing revival of traditional food systems and intergenerational solidarity, albeit growing tensions around cultural expressions and autonomy. The transitioning food system exposes new forms of vulnerabilities and highlights the implications for the sustainable food systems agenda.