Università e food system. Spazi e diritti tra pratiche, politiche e progetti

Among the various missions promoted by universities, the one ascribable to attaining objectives linked to food sustainability progressively asserts itself as one of the most promising for exploring new possible contaminations between university and city, questioning their boundaries. In investigating the relations between the food system and the territories, the university can, in fact, claim a role of agency in the reference contexts by contributing to the activation of practices, policies and projects aimed at promoting the sustainability of food cycles inside and outside universities. The initiatives promoted by universities in the field of food (which include solidarity canteens to the recovery of surpluses, from the consumption of local and organic products to the creation of vegetable gardens) can contribute to rewriting the relationships between spaces, actors and habits both in the university community and in the territories and thus generate a political and economic impact on the agrifood system, even on a large scale. Interweaving food studies with the reflection that today questions the role of the university in the city means moving between teaching, research and third mission, outlining areas of investigation and project that refer to well-known and more general urban issues related to rights, accessibility and the environment.