An Oral History of British Food Activism

This thesis is based on seventeen oral history life story interviews with key members of a variety of food activist movements in Britain. A collaborative project with the British Library, the recorded interviews subsequently comprised a public archive on food activism in the oral history collections. The food activist movements cover a wide range of issues, from fair trade, animal welfare and anti-GM, to organic agriculture, community urban farms, nutrition, public health and waste. Through the oral history method, a number of themes relating to food activism are explored. These include, the relationship between food, politics and identity; the dynamics of motivation and emotions, such as optimism and positivity, in activism; the role of image, both personal and organisational, in furthering the cause; and the tensions between alternative and mainstream approaches to food systems change. The thesis contributes to literatures in food geographies, food activism and policy, social movements and oral history life story.