A Tale of Three Tomatoes: The New Food Economy in Toronto, Canada
从集群和创新系统视角反驳食品产业是夕阳产业的观点，以多伦多中小企业为例，揭示特色食品加工企业如何响应消费需求并推动区域增长，同时探讨如何为其创造更好的创新环境。
Abstract: Drawing upon research from a cluster and innovation systems perspective, we counter the argument that the food industry is a mature and dying industry and point to evidence of a vibrant, dynamic food sector that has made a substantial contribution to regional growth. Since the mid‐1990s, the most dynamic component of the Toronto urban food economy has been the small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises, comprised mainly of specialty, local, ethnic, and organic food‐processing firms that are thriving in response to consumers' demands for high‐quality, local, fresh ethnic and fusion cuisine. However, these newer firms face challenges, and our results raise the question about how a more stimulating innovative milieu can be created for them. In answer to this question, we suggest multiscaled approaches to cluster formation and policy and discuss the implications of our research for theories of innovation systems, firms, city creativity, and governance. We situate this “new food economy” within the core literature of economic geography, seeking to relocate the “agrifood” literature away from a traditional rural setting to a dynamic city‐region context, underscoring the essential role of the consumption side of agrifood chains. Moreover, we use the food sector as a lens through which to argue that mature sectors and “ordinary” activities in a city are every bit as important to the long‐term health, viability, and sustainability of a city‐region economy.