Programme full

Thursday 16 April 2014 13:30 - 15:00
PAPER SESSION 5
social theory. There have also been other important theoretical contributions to the study of such events from a variety
of disciplines, including urban geography, political science and policy studies, in addition to sociology. However, in our
view, the mega-events literature tends to be insufficiently theorized, especially in respect to the role played by megaevents
in broader processes of accumulation and legitimation in capitalist modernity. In this presentation, we make a
case for a renewed critical political economy of mega-events in an age of global networks of accumulation, blurred
lines in global social media, new ways of valorizing immaterial labour and new forms of international struggle.
LIFESTYLE AND CONSUMPTION
Environment and Society
W622, HAMISH WOOD BUILDING
'Sitting on Agricultural Development': Growing Food Insecurity on the Turks and Caicos Islands
Paddock, J., Smith, A.
(University of Manchester)
Turks and Caicos, a small island archipelago in the British West Indies, has historically imported significant volumes of
food to compliment marine based food stocks. Concurrently, records of endogenous agriculture have been poor; with
landscape characteristics, weather systems and price shocks usually frustrating investment. Declining fish stocks
coupled with a refocus of the economy towards servicing the tourism industry compounds local people's loss of
access to fish as a healthy source of protein. TCI is thus increasingly dependent on food imports, while historical and
contemporary records and sources point to the impossibility of endogenous food production. Indeed, knowledge of
physical geography is overlaid with the cultural perception that agriculture is too closely remembered and associated
with its colonial past. However, oral history interviews with senior citizens reveal that not only was food production
possible in the recent past, but was fundamental to island life. The paper explores contrasting discourses regarding
how food security needs can be met in the future. We then explore the impact of popular discursive formations on the
subject of food production upon fundamental issues of identity, legitimacy and authority. In this way, we are reminded
of what is possible, and increasingly necessary for the secure supply of not only safe and nutritious food, but culturally
appropriate foods that uphold valued diets and ways of life as part of wider sustainable place-making in the face of
global environmental challenges posed by climate change and biodiversity loss.
Macro Mechanisms and Social Policies for Sustainable Consumption: A Comparative Perspective, China and
the UK
Zhu, D.
(Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)
The challenges of 'sustainability' faced by China and the UK differ in nature and extent. As a newly emerging
discourse, 'sustainable consumption' requires comprehensive understanding by both developing and developed
countries in order to enhance international dialogue and cooperation with respect to 'sustainable' and 'green'
consumption. This research aims to review comparative approaches to consumption, with a focus on macro-level
institutional factors which shape and influence the sustainability of consumer behavior and orientations, including
globalization, social systems, regimes of consumption and production, and social policies. Comparing the processes
and mechanisms capable of fostering a transition to sustainable consumption will provide a basis for subsequent
targeted research on sustainable development. The method is a meta-analysis of the research literature on
sustainable consumption and policy analysis, with a preliminary analysis of survey data on the Chinese middle class
collected in 2014 in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. A systematic survey of the literature relevant to sustainable
consumption in China and the UK will be conducted, with special reference to popular consumption patterns,
innovation, public policies and food. Relationships between key stakeholders – consumers, manufacturers and
business, government and NGOs – will be examined. The focus will be on a comparison of the means proposed for
changing consumer behavior and advancing innovative production, given the different experiences of developing and
developed countries.
Sustainable Lifestyles in Everyday Consumption Behaviour: Drivers and Barriers of Sustainable Food
Purchase in an Urban System
Demaldè, C.
(University Milano-Bicocca)
BSA Annual Conference 2015 176
Glasgow Caledonian University