On promising niches and constraining sociotechnical regimes: the case of Dutch wheat and bread

Growing concerns about the consequences of large-scale production systems and, subsequently, the growing public demand for changing the dominant mode of agricultural production have become important issues on the European political agenda. In recent years the number of new or alternative food supply chains and networks that incorporate claims of sustainability and quality has grown impressively. However, compared to conventional food supply chains and networks these alternative chains and networks remain rather small. By using the example of Dutch wheat and bread, in this paper I demonstrate that the prevailing sociotechnical regime constrains the growth of new promising sustainable food supply chains and networks. Constraints are both of a technical and an institutional nature. Strategic niche management is proposed as a promising design tool to overcome some of the encountered constraints, with the aim of contributing to a transition towards a more sustainable sociotechnical regime.