Food movements, agrifood systems, and social change at the level of the national state: The Brazilian Marcha das Margaridas

Abstract

Situated within the sociological debate on social change, the present article examines the potential for food movements to transform agrifood systems. Existing analyses within the field of food studies predominantly examine agrifood systems at either the global or local level. By contrast, our analysis begins with the national sphere, and seeks to demonstrate how national transformations relate to those on the global and local scales. We, thus, challenge the approach of dichotomous scales by providing categories and perspectives that highlight the relational and interdependent character of food movements. To do so, we examine the Marcha das Margaridas – a movement based in Brasil – and its achievements in transforming the national agrifood system. Established in 2000, the Marcha das Margaridas is a feminist mobilization that plays a central part in the fight against inequalities in agrifood systems and foments discussion of food politics on a multiplicity of scales. We demonstrate this by mapping the march’s public policy achievements, and by analyzing three of these in detail.