Socially embedding the food system: the role of alternative food initiatives to build sustainable food models

Sato, Futoshi; Calvet-Mir, Laura; Villamayor-Tomas, Sergio

doi:10.1080/13549839.2023.2279553

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 44 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This dilemma has been a subject of extensive debate on comparing conventionalized and alternative agricultural methods [14,26,27]. Besides that, the business pattern of alternative agriculture is generally designed around attempts to bring food-related actors who are, more or less, engaged in seeking an alternative to conventional agriculture [28]. But conventional alternative farmers are more inclined to collaborate with individuals primarily pursuing profits from agriculture with limited attention to environmental and social justice, or consumers who prioritize food safety [29].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conventionalization of Alternative Agriculture and the Intervention of External Investors: Case Sharing Community-Supported Agriculture Farm, China

2024

Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The trend of alternative farmers adopting conventional farming methods, known as conventionalization, has become increasingly prevalent. External investment can be a catalyst for the conventionalization of alternative agriculture. The study seeks to examine the dynamics through which external investment and investors facilitate the conventionalization of alternative agriculture. A study was conducted on a Sharing Community Supported-Agriculture (CSA) Farm, with data being gathered through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using thematic methods. The findings indicated that (1) the low economic sustainability of Sharing CSA Farm leads to an influx of external investment; (2) external investors compel the farm manager to relax adherence to the ecological values and principles of organic agriculture and shift towards specialized and intensive farming in order to make the farms profitable; (3) a new business model for Sharing CSA Farm is adopted to further support the conventionalization. This study can provide new implications for improving the economic sustainability of alternative agriculture.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conventionalization of Alternative Agriculture and the Intervention of External Investors: Case Sharing Community-Supported Agriculture Farm, China

2024

Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Sustainable food networks, hybridization and values: a case study in Castilla y León (Spain)

Sánchez-Hernández

2024

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Sustainable food networks involve different food supply arrangements which attempt to construct a more sustainable, democratic, and egalitarian food system. Since the concept appeared at the end of the 20th century (labelled as ‘alternative food networks’), two approaches have been employed to explore these initiatives. The ‘view of differences’ emphasizes alternativeness and opposition to the hegemonic food system, governed by large food production and retail firms. The ‘view of influences’ highlights the complex interactions between the mainstream food system and these more sustainable initiatives. As a result of these interactions, many sustainable food networks apply organizational practices similar to those of mainstream companies: this process has been called ‘hybridization’. The present article studies the process of hybridization in the sustainable food networks based in the Spanish provinces of Salamanca and Zamora (region of Castilla y León). An inventory of sustainable food initiatives across the region has been compiled and semi-structured interviews have been conducted with initiatives all along the food value chain. According to qualitative data recorded in the interviews, it is argued that the broad set of hybrid practices embodied in these sustainable food networks are legitimized by the members’ values because they contribute to achieving three key objectives: protecting the environment, promoting health, and fostering local development. These three goals frame an ‘inward’ notion of sustainability rooted on the product itself that is likely to turn these networks less transformative, but also more resilient against the competition of the mainstream companies.

show abstract

Socially embedding the food system: the role of alternative food initiatives to build sustainable food models

Cited by 2 publications

References 44 publications

Conventionalization of Alternative Agriculture and the Intervention of External Investors: Case Sharing Community-Supported Agriculture Farm, China

Conventionalization of Alternative Agriculture and the Intervention of External Investors: Case Sharing Community-Supported Agriculture Farm, China

Sustainable food networks, hybridization and values: a case study in Castilla y León (Spain)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About