Alternative Food Networks and Green Infrastructures

Urbanisation, growing population pressure, and extreme weather conditions all contribute to food insecurity. In greenhouse farming, vegetables are harvested in a controlled environment, resulting in high-quality production with minimum resources. Such green infrastructures have also become promising in urban areas and non-arable lands. In this paper, I focus on community-based greenhouses in the Netherlands, which are primarily managed by volunteers and local residents, and on their varied conceptualisations of food production and innovation. I argue that these Alternative Food Networks are not homogeneous, and that their polymorphism reflects an intrinsic diversity in both organisational cultures and materiality. Despite this diversity, these green infrastructures converge in their emphasis on producing high-quality food and prioritising the management of nature and biodiversity, rather than any reliance on mechanical manipulation. My research involves conducting primary research studies, based on a mixed-method approach combining the use of surveys, semi-structured interviews, observational studies, and site visits around the Netherlands. I posit that community-based greenhouses constitute a hands-on agricultural practice that relies heavily on trust and on fluidity between consumers and producers. This fluidity is enacted through the interconnected roles and knowledge circulation within the greenhouse ecosystem. Understanding technology in use, experiential expertise – which often contains tacit components –, and a knowledge base that is critical to the effective operation of the greenhouse as a system, are integral to this innovative approach to agriculture. The paper examines the role of smart technologies and the emergence of visions in facilitating this ecosystem, while highlighting the vital interplay between growers and consumers in reimagining food production and sustainability.