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This book examines the history and socio-technical transformations of agri-food regimes systems in contemporary Greece.
It presents a historical sociology of the Greek agri-food sector to decipher dependencies, sociotechnical dynamics, and paths that illuminate current challenges. It argues that no national sustainability policy can meet EU and UN targets without examining the historical construction of the agrifood system and its lock-ins. By analyzing key products-wheat, tomato, olive oil, pork, chicken, and fish-it captures production regime specificities while explaining the sector's transition toward sustainability. The book describes structural transformations and the adaptation of European policies in Greece, emphasizing hurdles and resistance to alignment with EU objectives. Its longitudinal approach provides a deep understanding of sociomaterial and sociotechnical systems. At the same time it contributes a new innovative understanding of the sociotechnical imaginary of productivism in the agrifood sector. Situating Greek cases within broader European transitions, it highlights the contingencies and dynamics shaping the country's path toward sustainable agrifood governance.
This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of food and agriculture, sustainability, science and technology studies and European politics and policy.
List of contents
1. Introduction: Framing Agrifood Transitions in Greece 2. From Food Crisis to Sustainability: Technoscientific Transitions in Wheat Production, 1925-2025 3. The Tale of a "National Product": Visions, Policies and Novel Materialities in Olive and Olive Oil Production, 1920s-2025 4. Between Self-Sufficiency and Sustainability: The Transition of Edible and Industrial Scale Tomato Production, 1920s-2025 5. From Productive to Sustainable Chicken: Material Entanglements and Technoscience Politics in Poultry Production, 19502025 6. From the Red Meat Industry to Green Promises: The Industrialization of Pork and the Sustainability Paradox, 1950-2025 7. Industrializing the Coastlines: Regime Making and the Politics of Sustainable Intensification of Marine Fish Farming 8. Harvesting Futures: Navigating Stakeholder Visions, Reflections, and Policy Perspectives 9. From Past to Future: Conclusion and Insights on Agrifood Sustainable Pathways
About the author
Stathis Arapostathis is Professor of History of Science and Technology, Director of the Laboratory of Science, Technology and Innovation in Society in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece.
Sotiris Alexakis is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece.
Vasiliki Karantzavelou is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece.
Yannis Fotopoulos is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece.
