The second middle: Conducers and the agrifood economy

Academic interest in food has increased over the last decade with heated debates over organic agriculture, local food, and the globalization of the food economy. While much of this research gravitates towards producers and consumers, there is also growing interest in the economic activities that are performed in-between these two ends. In this paper, we will argue that there is a need to develop stronger discussions engaged with the economic middle broadly and a theoretical framework with which to think through middle industries. We offer the word conducers to categorize economic actors engaged in these middle industries and develop a theory of conduction that can be used to critically approach their activities and organization. Building an approach around practice, performance and the politics of narration, we further conceptualize the role of conducers and conduction, and describe how they contribute to our understanding of rigidity and change in the food industry.