New funding for research on food heritage and resilience in rural areas
A research group led by Annelie Sjölander-Lindqvist, University of Gothenburg, has received funding from SLU/Uppdrag Landsbygd to work on a larger project application for a research project with the theme “From Tradition to Tomorrow: Heritage-Driven Food Resilience and Security in Rural Areas (HERIDRIVE).
“By drawing on historical practices, traditional knowledge, and cultural landscapes, rural communities can diversify food production, re-establish local food networks, and enhance socio-ecological resilience” says Annelie Sjölander-Lindqvist, associate professor at the Department of Global Studies and deputy director of the Centre for Critical Heritage Studies (CCHS) at the University of Gothenburg.
Urgent need to strengthen resilience in rural areas
Escalating geopolitical tensions and increasing geoeconomic fragmentation underscore the urgent need to strengthen the resilience and self-sufficiency of rural food systems. A promising strategy lies in re-framing the role of history and heritage as valuable assets in this endeavor. These tensions—when coupled with biodiversity loss, climate change, and demographic shifts—expose critical vulnerabilities in food supply chains at global, national, and local levels.
Rural areas are particularly susceptible to these disruptions due to their reliance on fragile infrastructure, aging and declining populations, and direct exposure to environmental shocks.
“This initiative aims to explore how heritage-informed strategies can contribute to ensuring a sufficient and diverse supply of safe, healthy, affordable, and sustainable food in rural—often disadvantaged—areas, particularly in times of crisis” says Annelie Sjölander-Lindqvist.
The project will emphasize inclusive and co-creative methods that engage academic and societal stakeholders alike. This will be accomplished through a critical food heritage approach, which aims to uncover valuable insights from the past and apply lessons to inform and strengthen resilient food futures on local, national, and global scales.
“A workshop will be organized with key partners to collaboratively define the core themes, research questions, and justifications for the proposed initiative” says Annelie Sjölander-Lindqvist. I look forward to building on my own previous research on gastronomy as a resource for rural development for local food systems, which, in combination with CCHS's strengths, has the potential to lead to new exciting research.
- Annelie Sjölander-Lindqvist, PhD Human Ecology & Docent Social Anthropology at School of Global Studies and Deputy Director Centre for Critical Heritage Studies, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
- Daniel Laven, Ph.D. Dept. of Economics, Geography, Law and Tourism/European Tourism Research Institute (ETOUR), Mid Sweden University.
- Wilhelm Skoglund, Associate Professor Dept. of Economics, Geography, Law and Tourism/European Tourism Research Institute (ETOUR), Mid Sweden University.
- Claudio Marciano, Mediterranean University of Reggio Calabria, Italy.
- The project is connected to the Centre for Critical Heritage Studies (CCHS) and the research network #culinaryheritage (#matarv) at the University of Gothenburg.
