Dear colleagues, Adding to the panel call-outs for the 2026 Earth System Governance Conference <https://www.earthsystemgovernance.org/2026-bath/> in Bath (8-10 September 2025), we are inviting abstracts for a panel on the political economy of food system governance. The panel abstract is below, please reach out to me by 9 January 2026 if you are interested in joining. The panel organisers will be confirming the papers on this date and submitting the full set of abstracts by 15 January.
The political economy of food system governance Stream: Architecture and agency Organisers: Anja Bless (University of Technology Sydney), Kathrin Lauber (University of Edinburgh), Janaína Pinto (Observatório Interdisciplinar das Mudanças Climáticas) Agri-food systems are one of the primary drivers behind the transgression of planetary boundaries. At the same time, food systems are already being impacted by climate change and governments across scales are increasingly concerned that their cities, nations, and regions are at risk of food insecurity. Power inequities exacerbate the challenges involved in shifting towards just and sustainable food system governance, with corporate concentration defining not only food value chains but also political influence within and beyond food system institutions. Despite long-standing scholarly and advocacy attention, the political-economic landscape of the food system continues to enable the accumulation of power in private hands while sustainability issues remain unresolved. This panel aims to explore both emerging and evolving political-economic dynamics in the food system, and the implications of shifting power and authority in food system governance. We welcome theoretical and empirical papers on this theme, including topics such as political power and obstruction in food system governance across scales, contestation in food value chains, the impacts of geopolitical shifts on food system outcomes, and efforts to counter or challenge power inequities in food system governance. Kind regards, Anja Bless (she/her) Lecturer International Studies and Global Societies | Faculty of Design and Society | University of Technology Sydney E: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> | LinkedIn<https://www.linkedin.com/in/anja-bless-739931130/> Building 10, Level 5, Room 483 [S Logo]<http://www.uts.edu.au/> [signature_1345468360] I acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which I live and work and pay my respects to elders past and present. Latest publications Bless, Anja, Federico Davila, and Roel Plant. 2025. "Commodification and Co-Benefits: Neoliberalism and the Growth of Regenerative Agriculture in Australia." Journal of Rural Studies 118:103692. doi:10.1016/j.jrurstud.2025.103692<https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2025.103692>. Bless, Anja. 2024. "The Co-Optation of Regenerative Agriculture: Revisiting the Corporate Environmental Food Regime." Globalizations (0):1-23. doi:10.1080/14747731.2024.2397260<https://doi.org/10.1080/14747731.2024.2397260>. Lee, Thomas, Daniel Ramp, and Anja Bless. 2025. "Unlocking Digital Twin Planning for Grazing Industries with Farmer Centred Design." Agriculture and Human Values. doi:10.1007/s10460-025-10752-x<https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-025-10752-x>. UTS CRICOS Provider Code: 00099F DISCLAIMER: This email message and any accompanying attachments may contain confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient, do not read, use, disseminate, distribute or copy this message or attachments. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete this message. Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender, except where the sender expressly, and with authority, states them to be the views of the University of Technology Sydney. Before opening any attachments, please check them for viruses and defects. Think. Green. Do. Please consider the environment before printing this email. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "gep-ed" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/gep-ed/MEAPR01MB5030783BFAA4E4093C40532AA9B4A%40MEAPR01MB5030.ausprd01.prod.outlook.com.
