The production and distribution of food are among the hot topics debated in the context of sustainable development. Short food supply chains (SFSCs) are now widely believed to be more sustainable in comparison to mass food delivery systems. To date, very little quantitative evidence exists on the impacts of various types of food supply chains. Using a cross-sectional quantitative approach, this study assesses the sustainability of distribution channels in short and long food supply chains based on 208 food producers across seven countries: France, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Poland, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam. Ten distribution channel types are used in this study. To provide a comprehensive sustainability assessment, a set of economic, social, and environmental indicators are applied. Indicators commonly used in the literature are used, supported by original indicators constructed specifically for the present study. In total, 486 chains are examined and the study confirms that individual producers participate simultaneously in several, short and long chains. Participation in SFSCs is beneficial for producers from an economic perspective. SFSCs allow producers to capture a large proportion of margin otherwise absorbed by different intermediaries. It appears, however, that ’longer’ supply channels generate lower environmental impacts per unit of production when measured in terms of food miles and carbon footprint. Finally, ambiguous results are found regarding social dimension, with significant differences across types of chains.
Recent literature has highlighted the importance of testing the sustainability performances of supply chains. Nevertheless, this field of research is still in its early stages, in particular with reference to short food supply chains (SFSCs). This research analyzed producers’ and consumers’ perception of the economic, social and environmental sustainability of two SFSCs of a specific quality of cheese (Parmigiano Reggiano PDO) placed in two different contexts: the first is a rural area in the Appennino Tosco-Emiliano National Park mountains and the second is a peri-urban area in Parma surroundings, both in Italy. The case study also analyzed the carbon emissions of shopping for Parmigiano Reggiano at dairy shops. Qualitative and quantitative methodologies were employed to achieve the aims of the present study. For producers in both areas, the SFSC is a successful strategy to sell a part of their output in their own outlets, gain reputation, reduce costs and at the same time increase their levels of self-esteem. Product quality is the biggest factor attracting consumers to the outlet; moreover, it is associated with trust in the producers and the idea of combining “leisure with pleasure”. However, the environmental impact of the consumers’ purchase activities is a drawback.
The empirical literature suggests that farmland prices and rents capitalise agricultural subsidies and that the 2003 reform of the EU Common Agricultural Policy, which decoupled subsidies from production and attached them to land, may have increased the extent of the phenomenon. Employing a farm-level dataset, the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) for Italy, we investigate this issue while accounting for selectivity, endogeneity and unobserved individual heterogeneity. To understand the impact of the reform we compare the estimates of capitalisation rate for decoupled payments with those for coupled payments. After correcting for unobserved individual heterogeneity and selectivity, our results reveal no capitalisation of coupled payments and only limited capitalisation of decoupled area payments into farmland rents in Italy.
In recent years, food manufacturers have been devoting a large portion of their R&D budgets to the development of functional foods. Although functional foods exhibit a significant level of information asymmetry, consumers appear to be increasingly appreciative, recognizing their role in preventing or reducing health risks and/or improving other physiological functions. This paper quantifies the willingness to pay of a representative sample of 600 Italian consumers for a hypothetical yogurt using a web-based stated choice experiment. The willingness to pay for two functional attributes (probiotics and catechin enrichment) was measured using the panel data version of a Random Parameters Logit model. The results show that respondents are willing to pay a premium for a catechin-enriched yogurt (0.38 €/jar), which is well above their willingness to pay for the probiotic attribute (0.21 €/jar). Averaging the individual values across sample sub-groups indicates that the willingness to pay for catechin enrichment may be related
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