Stephan Lorenz presents a working paper on ‚Food Supply and the Pandemic between Political Economy and Political Ecology ‚

The project is part of the package proposal ‘Regulation, Legitimization and Political Ecology of Property Regimes in the Pandemic’ (together with M.Schütt, C.Henning). The common starting point is the assumption that political measures taken to control the Corona crisis have challenged societal property relations. This project explores the political ecology of food supply, i.e. socio-ecological problems during the pandemic. A guiding thesis assumes that economic success in the prevalent food system is achieved at the expense of social and ecological issues, which intensifies the problematic societal consequences of the pandemic. The main focus of the project lies on the crisis-induced re-negotiations and possible re-arrangements of the socio-ecological issues of food supply regarding their property relations. It will be reconstructed how the different types and scales of property (small and big private businesses, regulations and public enterprises, cooperatives and use of commons) and their relations (private resources and/or public access and/or common participation) take effect as selective forces in these negotiations. It is expected that the integrated case findings will allow assessments of probable long-term consequences and suggestions for pandemic-preventive, sustainable food systems.