In this paper we explore the development and incidence of alternative food networks within a European-wide context. By developing a consistent definition of short food supply chains, we address both the morphology and the dynamics of these, and then examine empirical evidence concerning their incidence and rural development impact across seven EU member states. These developments need to be seen as one significant contribution to the current transitions in rural Europe concerning the crisis of conventional intensive and productivist agriculture and the public consumer pressure for a larger variety of distinctive`quality' food products.

T he creation, operation and evolution of food supply chains are one key dimension in the new patterns of rural development now emerging (see Marsden 1998). As a result this dimension -the food chain dimension -becomes a significant building block for a new theory of rural development. This paper explores some of the key aspects of the food supply chain approach, making a direct link between theory and practice. To more fully understand the role and potential of food supply chains in the process of rural development we contend that they need to be seen in tandem with greater, empirically rich, conceptualizations which move beyond description of product flows, examining how supply chains are built, shaped and reproduced over time and space. The focus here will be upon using theoretical and conceptual parameters to understand the diverse nature of 'alternative' or 'short' supply chains and, in turn, to comment upon what these bring to a more generalized theory of rural development. Reference is made to one case study, within a broader analysis of European cases. These help to build a more rigorous theoretical framework, which places food, supply chains as a significant element in broader rural development debates.Given that under existing market conditions there is likely to be a continued and steady withdrawal of capital from the farm and rural areas, two questions need to be addressed by rural development theory. Firstly, what are the mechanisms needed to capture new forms of value added? And secondly, how relevant is the development of short food supply chains in delivering these?The emergence of 'short food supply chains': re-valuing foodsThe development of 'alternative food chains,' or networks has attracted much attention in recent years, with a new food politics beginning to fill gaps left by conventional government regulation and with the growing public concern over the provenance and manipulation of foods. From a rural development point of view, this new resurgence of interest in 'more natural' or 'more local' (also viewed as more healthy, see Nygard and Storstad 1998) types of food comes at a critical time for the land-based production sector. It offers potential for shifting the production of food commodities out of their 'industrial mode' and to develop supply chains that

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In this paper we analyze a turn to "quality" in both food production and consumption. We argue that quality in the food sector, as it is being asserted at the present time, is closely linked to nature and the local embeddedness of supply chains. We thus outline the broad contours of this shift and discuss the most appropriate theoretical approaches. We consider political economy, actor-network theory, and conventions theory and argue that, whereas political economy has proved useful in the analysis of globalization, it may prove less so in the examination of quality. We concentrate, therefore, upon actor-network theory and conventions theory and show that the former allows nature to be brought to the center of analytical attention but provides few tools for the analysis of quality, especially in the context of the food sector. Conventions theory, on the other hand, links together a range of aspects found in food supply chains and allows us to consider the establishment of quality as a system of negotiation between specific qualities. We illustrate possible uses of the approach through a brief consideration of food supply chains in Wales.

In this paper we analyze a turn to “quality” in both food production and consumption. We argue that quality in the food sector, as it is being asserted at the present time, is closely linked to nature and the local embeddedness of supply chains. We thus outline the broad contours of this shift and discuss the most appropriate theoretical approaches. We consider political economy, actor‐network theory, and conventions theory and argue that, whereas political economy has proved useful in the analysis of globalization, it may prove less so in the examination of quality. We concentrate, therefore, upon actor‐network theory and conventions theory and show that the former allows nature to be brought to the center of analytical attention but provides few tools for the analysis of quality, especially in the context of the food sector. Conventions theory, on the other hand, links together a range of aspects found in food supply chains and allows us to consider the establishment of quality as a system of negotiation between specific qualities. We illustrate possible uses of the approach through a brief consideration of food supply chains in Wales.