000007709 001__ 7709 000007709 005__ 20231215152030.0 000007709 0247_ $$2DOI$$a10.6083/1r66j177k 000007709 037__ $$aETD 000007709 245__ $$aUnderstanding democracy: concepts, practices, and the power of decision-making in the food system 000007709 260__ $$bMarylhurst University: Oregon Health and Science University 000007709 269__ $$a2018 000007709 336__ $$aThesis 000007709 502__ $$gFood Systems & Society 000007709 520__ $$aThis paper investigates decision-making power and democracy within the food system, emphasizing the benefits of participatory democratic action as a model for decision-making power of ordinary people. With less agency of an industrialized global food system, people are asking what we can do more for the health of our food and our planet, collectively, as a way to countervail the structures of power within the food system. Food movements call for democratic processes to be implemented in the creation of alternatives to the corporate food regime. However, what's clear is that what it means to do democracy varies, and there is no standard set of criteria for determining what participatory democracy should look like in practice. My main research question asks, how we can better address decision-making power in the food system? Using critical inquiry and a scoping review for my overall methodology, and employing discourse and thematic analysis as my methods, I also ask how the food movement conceptualizes democracy, and how the movement puts it into practice so that we can better understand how to better address decision-making in the food system. Most food movement actors agree that some form of inclusivity and participation of stakeholders, as well as support and participation from regional, national and global institutions, is necessary for the future health of our food system, people, and the planet. For decision-making power to be distributive, democratic principles must be a part of and guide organizational efforts for effective food system change. The Food Chain Workers Alliance and Food Policy Councils are two examples of democratic principles in action. 000007709 650__ $$aPolicy$$038967 000007709 650__ $$aDemocracy$$017464 000007709 650__ $$aPaternalism$$033298 000007709 650__ $$aFood$$019167 000007709 691__ $$aSchool of Medicine 000007709 692__ $$aGraduate Programs in Human Nutrition 000007709 7001_ $$aDarling, Monicka 000007709 8564_ $$9aa5d4c7e-cac1-49d4-b503-ab64cf697e03$$s703695$$uhttps://digitalcollections.ohsu.edu/record/7709/files/Darling.Monicka.2018.pdf 000007709 905__ $$a/rest/prod/1r/66/j1/77/1r66j177k 000007709 909CO $$ooai:digitalcollections.ohsu.edu:7709$$pstudent-work 000007709 980__ $$aFood Systems & Society