Using the example of city networks such as Fair Trade Towns International (FTT) and the Organic Cities Network, Prof. Partzsch's presentation will address whose values and which values are mapped in a global transformation "from below." City networks portray their members as "ethical places" that exercise power with, rather than over, others: While the FTT campaign aims to address the problems of international trade but without abandoning it, organic cities advocate for a new "localism" based on sourcing food from farmers in the same region. In both cases, city networks use their purchasing power to increase the share of certified products. In this way, city networks reproduce the privileged position of consumers who benefit from the global capitalist order. However, our analysis has shown that the networks also encourage citizens to think about the challenges of the agri-food economy and enable the development of alternatives for more sustainable systems.

The conference will take place from November 28-29 as part of the interdisciplinary research project "Öko-Valutation" at the University of Hohenheim Stuttgart and is funded by the Ministry of Science and Research of the State of Baden-Württemberg. Registration is unfortunately no longer possible. The program can be found online.