Buying regional food is the trend. For some years now, the increasingly popular term "regionality" has stood for a counter-model to globalization - and thus to the spatial and social alienation of people. But what is behind the idea of the region, where does the term come from and what does it mean today?
Definition - the region as a delimited space
The term "regionality" has its origins in the region itself. This refers to an area or territory that forms a unit - usually geographically, but also ecologically, culturally, politically or in terms of administration. The region can cover a few square meters or be very large and extend across national borders, such as a global climate region. In addition to designating a spatial area, "region" is also used in everyday language as a synonym for "home" or "landscape".
In a nutshell: Four terms relating to the region
- Region: refers to a contiguous area. This usually forms a geographical, political, economic or administrative unit.
- Regionality: is not uniformly defined. The term usually refers to the origin of food from a specific region.
- Regionalization: refers to the subdivision of an area into regions, but also the allocation of systems, processes or products to a region.
- Regionalism: stands for the representation of the interests of a region within a country or state as well as the process of regional formation and development.
From dominion to regional economic structures
The term "region" can first be traced back to the 15th century - it comes from the Latin "regio" ("dominion"). Since the 18th century, people's relationship to space has changed and industrialization has led to increasing alienation. The result was a return to the homeland and one's own region. In the aftermath of the First World War, there was a renaissance of regional cultures and political regionalisms. After the Second World War, efforts were made to improve regional economic structures.
From the 1970s: the region becomes interesting
In the 1970s, many Western European countries took steps towards decentralization[IR1] , regionalization and federalization, in many cases enshrined in constitutional law. Particularly in rural regions, models for independent regional development developed - also in a move away from state-controlled development.
From the European regions to the Europe of the regions
In order to promote these economically and in terms of infrastructure, the EU supported the establishment of so-called "European regions" - i.e. cooperation between regions close to the border. The Assembly of European Regions, founded in 1985 within the framework of the Council of Europe, has more than 300 members and represents the regions as a whole. The Maastricht Treaty of 1992 created a consultative regional committee. The political concept of a "Europe of the regions", which goes beyond this - advocated by author Robert Menasse, among others - aims to further promote the regions in the EU member states and support their regional independence.
What do Austrians mean by regional?
The term itself divides opinion: more than two thirds (72%) of Austrians understand regionality to mean products from their immediate surroundings, more than half (59%) from the federal state in which they live. Only 38 percent also consider products from another region in Austria to be regional. These were the findings of the RollAMA motif analysis conducted by AMA-Marketing in 2016. Consumers attach particular importance to the traceability of their food - especially when it comes to meat and eggs, but also dairy products, sausage, ham and fish.
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