Displacement, failure and friction in the media ecologies of radical food activism.

Abstract

This chapter conceptualises the dynamics of digital food activism in an anti-capitalist context, and explores the specific frictions surrounding this form of protest. It focuses on autonomous movements: non-hierarchical, leaderless, groups of activists who seek to craft grassroots spaces and lifestyle practices that are alternatives to capitalism. The chapter deals with work that has called for a shift away from analysing specific media platforms, to instead analyse the communication ecologies that are associated with particular forms of activism or specific social movements. On one level what emerges when examining the changing uses of media in McInformation is a story of failure and displacement. Key to the conception of participation that underpins the method is the sharing of skills, the co-production of knowledge or the collaborative production of resources. Including 'other media' in discussions of activist media ecologies is especially valuable for food activism, due to the significance of the media for broader activist infrastructures.