CIVIC CRITICISM TO THE CORPORATE FOOD REGIME: MARKETS OF AGRARIAN REFORM IN PORTO ALEGRE, RS

Abstract

The consequences of the expansion of the 'corporate food regime' (McMichael, 2016) have given rise to countermovements that combine a civic critique, based on the social demands for equity, justice, social participation and sustainability. These values have legitimized the action of different social movements that are guided by the flags of the agroecology and food sovereignty. This article analyzes the strategies of alternative market networking mobilized by the Landless Workers Movement (MST) in the city of Porto Alegre, Brazil. The research was conducted in 2016 and 2017, through interviews and direct observation. The results demonstrate, on the one hand, the expansion of numerous 'civic food networks' and, on the other, the endogenization of the ethic critique by the dominant actors, implying a complex dynamic of hybridization between conventional and alternative markets.