Overview
- Discusses the prospects for the development of AFNs
- Takes an empirical and analytical approach in understanding the growth of AFNs
- Examines the sustainability of AFNs
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About this book
In recent years, Alternative Food Networks (AFNs) have been a key issue both in the scientific community and in public debates. This is due to their profound implications for rural development, local sustainability, and bio-economics. This edited collection discusses what the main determinants of the participation of operators – both consumers and producers – in AFNs are, what the conditions for their sustainability are, what their social and environmental effects are, and how they are distributed geographically. Further discussions include the effect of AFNs in structuring the food chain and how AFNs can be successfully scaled up.
The authors explicitly take an interdisciplinary approach to analyse AFNs from different perspectives, using as an example the Italian region of Piedmont, a particularly interesting case study due to the diffusion of AFNs in the area, as well as due to the fact that it was in this region that the ‘Slow Food’ movement originated.
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Keywords
- Alternative Food Networks
- Marketing chains
- Farmers' markets
- Bio-economics
- Local sustainability
- Agricultural economics
- Environmental economics
- Geographical distribution of alternative food networks
- Social effects of alternative food networks
- Environmental effects of alternative food networks
- Economic geography
- Monetary determinants
- Non-monetary determinants
- Alternative, conventional and high-quality food chains
- Economic sustainability of Solidarity Purchasing Groups
- Environmental sustainability of alternative food networks
Table of contents (15 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Introductions
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Front Matter
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AFNs from the Consumers’ Viewpoint
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Front Matter
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Environment, Territory, and AFNs
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Front Matter
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Conclusions
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Front Matter
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Reviews
“Alternative Food Networks (AFNs) have now been an object of interest for scholars for almost twenty years. This book, which studies AFNs in one of the regions where the movement had one of its earliest origins, provides a timely reflection on what they mean today, what their connection with the broader food system is and what they have the potential to become.” (Professor Gianluca Brunori, University of Pisa, Italy)
“This gem of a book argues that we need to move away from nouns and adjectives—e.g., local, fresh, quality, and healthy—when valorising AFNs and redirect the discussion toward what these practices engender. The book offers a rich empirical grounding for helping us think through the type of food futures we want to make possible. It is not enough to make food affordable and accessible. We equally need to think about the type of individuals and communities our foodscapes create. The goal: to foster those networks with the potential to afford empathetic food citizens.” (Michael S. Carolan, Colorado State University, USA)
“In contrast to the popular discourse around AFNs – which treats them as a wholly benign phenomenon – this book offers a new and highly sophisticated treatment, revealing them to be far more complex and heterogeneous than conventional wisdom suggests they are. Drawing on robust empirical analysis of a diverse range of food institutions the authors show that due to the diversity of consumer preferences and the relevance of personalrelationships, the concept of ‘alternativeness’ needs to be understood as a continuum rather than a binary. This book is in the great traditional of moral economy studies, where food is viewed and valued as something more than a mere commodity.” (Kevin Morgan, Cardiff University, UK)
Editors and Affiliations
About the editors
Alessandro Corsi is Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics at the University of Turin, Italy.
Filippo Barbera is Associate Professor of Economic Sociology at the University of Turin, Italy and Affiliate of the Collegio Carlo Alberto, Turin, Italy.
Egidio Dansero is Professor of Political and Economic Geography at the University of Turin, Italy.
Cristiana Peano is Associate Professor of Arboriculture at the University of Turin, Italy.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Alternative Food Networks
Book Subtitle: An Interdisciplinary Assessment
Editors: Alessandro Corsi, Filippo Barbera, Egidio Dansero, Cristiana Peano
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90409-2
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: Economics and Finance, Economics and Finance (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-90408-5Published: 05 November 2018
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-08009-9Published: 08 January 2019
eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-90409-2Published: 17 October 2018
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XVIII, 325
Number of Illustrations: 14 b/w illustrations
Topics: Agricultural Economics, Economic Geography, Environmental Economics, Regional/Spatial Science