Abstract

Discourses and Practices of Campus Food Sustainability at Concordia University
Nil Alt Kecik
Most North American universities employ transnational food service corporations to cater to predominantly residence populations. Known as the Big Three within the industrial food system, these corporations— Chartwells, Sodexho and Aramark—are the largest global food retailers. After Chartwell’s 13-year contract term at Concordia University ended, the university administration granted an exclusivity contract to Aramark in 2015. The university’s choice of food service provider, and its food procurement practices are in tension with Concordia’s discursive commitment to a ‘sustainable’ campus food system. Building on the epistemological tension between profit and sustainability, this study reviews the global commodity chain (GCC) framework, and its relevance for studying food system transformation through institutional consumption. The need to conceptualize GCCs as interlinked and complex flows of not only materials, but also of power, knowledge and discourse is the central theme. Grounded in this theme, the study looks at how the transition into food sustainability is governed and operationalized at Concordia. It is concluded that building direct producer-consumer relationships is more complicated than reflected with a linear supply chain imagery. At Concordia, subscription to this imagery muddles accountability and curtails the possibilities for alternatives.