Across the world, including in the Netherlands, a transition is unfolding towards sustainable and just food systems. Despite this directionality, the risk remains that the transition process reproduces existing injustices and/or creates new ones. In transitions, perceptions of justice play a critical role as perceived injustices can create disengagement or protest, whereas perceived justice can increase people's willingness to make changes or carry costs of the transition. However, what is perceived as (un)just is context specific and defined by people through their relations within the food system. The aim of this paper is to complement current research on justice perceptions in food system transitions with insights into their situated, relational nature. In a regional case study, we ask: how do actors from across the food system perceive justice in an ongoing food system transition in the North of the Netherlands? Based on data from interviews and a workshop we analysed the food system situations that people judged as (un)just and the relationships within these situations. We identify five overarching food system situations which people perceived as (un)just: changes in production practices, food prices, the capacity to participate, and societal appreciation and critique, and the unequal distribution of power that has not changed. We call for a reflexive food system transition and conclude that attending to the situated, relational nature of justice perceptions in ongoing food system transitions helps to create awareness of, and the opportunity to support or address, existing and new (in)justices.

Reference

Annemarieke de Bruin, Imke J.M. de Boer, Niels R. Faber, Katrien J.A.M. Termeer, Evelien M. de Olde, Perceived justice of the Dutch food system transition, Journal of Rural Studies, Volume 117, 2025,

Read more here. See also the TABLE explainer, The Power project: a report on TABLE's exploration of power in the food system