Four sociotechnical imaginaries for future food systems

This paper sketches four archetypal characterizations of how food will be produced, processed, distributed and consumed over the coming half century - a time in which all manner of social association will be influenced by climate change, growing scarcity of resources relative to human population and climate change. Each archetype reflects what Sheila Jasanoff has called 'a sociotechnical imaginary' that generates scenarios or visions of the future that are richly dependent on a technical infrastructure and on a pattern of future technical innovation. In this paper, 4 such imaginaries are sketched briefly: technological modernization (a continuation of food system innovations that began in the 20th century); sustainable intensification (a model emphasizing more efficient use of ecosystem services; 'extensification' (a return to less intensive land use) and urban agriculture (a model that is driven by traditions of urban activism, planning and information technology).