Fragmentary embeddedness: Challenges for alternative food networks in Guangzhou, China

Zhong, Shuru; Hughes, Alex; Crang, Mike; Zeng, Guojun; Hocknell, Suzanne

doi:10.1016/j.jrurstud.2022.09.008

Cited by 12 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…The "localization" of production, processing, retailing, and consumption may not be prioritized in conventionalized alternative agriculture. For example, it is not uncommon for conventional alternative farmers to establish long-distance supply chains to cater to a wider market [30].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

2024

Sustainability

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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.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

2024

Sustainability

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“…Global alternative food practices are also challenged by how to establish and maintain a trustful community [ 10 ]. Expanding and enhancing the “community” becomes a tough challenge that AFNs operators and food activists must address, not only for a more economically viable future of AFNs but also for the sustainable transition of China’s food system at large [ 11 , 12 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Does the Concept of Guanxi-circle Contribute to Community Building in Alternative Food Networks? Six Case Studies from China

Miao

et al. 2022

Behavioral Sciences

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As social innovations that help to transition towards a more sustainable food system, alternative food networks (AFNs) in China have attracted much scholarly attention in recent years. However, studies of the community building behavior of AFNs at the micro-level in the Chinese social context are scant. Through in-depth case studies conducted between 2017 and 2021 and social network analysis, our study examines how founders of AFNs successfully facilitate community building among their customers. We find that in China, the traditional social-cultural construct, guanxi, plays a critical role in AFNs’ community formation and expansion. The study identifies a three-stage framework for understanding the community building process of AFNs. First, a group of guanxi of the same kind would form a guanxi-circle. Second, the initial guanxi-circle is enhanced and expanded to multiple secondary guanxi-circles. Third, these multiple guanxi-circles together and the interactions among them constitute the community of AFNs. We argue that to strengthen the community, AFNs operators should inspire key members to form secondary guanxi-circles by enhancing their cognitive trust and emotional trust.

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Cows in the city: How consumer demands sustain urban dairying in the IT capital of India

Yousefian,

Alam,

Ramappa

et al. 2024

Urban Agric & Regnl Food Sys

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Spurred by rising incomes and urbanization, the “nutrition transition” in India has led to many dietary changes, including an increase in per capita milk consumption, which has quadrupled since 1970. We examine how changing preferences for milk are shaping consumer demand and the rise in dairy consumption. We focus on urban dairying and milk alternative food networks (AFNs), in which farmers sell directly to consumers. To better understand milk AFNs, we interviewed consumers (n = 95) and dairy farmers (n = 62) in urban (within 15 km) and peri‐urban (15–30 km) areas of the south Indian megacity Bengaluru. Consumers were grouped by location and the type of milk they purchase. Dairy farmers were grouped based on their farm distance to the city center and the breed of cattle they rear: indigenous (Bos indicus) or crossbred (Bos indicus × Bos taurus). We found that demand for farm‐fresh milk is driven by concerns for freshness, quality, and health. In our sample, urban dairy farmers are producing more milk and more frequently cite dairying as their sole or primary source of income compared to peri‐urban farmers. The role of milk AFNs is thus two‐fold: they allow consumers to know the origins of their milk, and they provide a marketing channel for farmers in the absence of urban dairy cooperatives. While urbanization tends to push dairying to peri‐urban and rural areas, the consumer demand for farm‐fresh milk, as well as the cultural and religious significance of the cow in India, is prolonging their presence in Indian cities.

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Fragmentary embeddedness: Challenges for alternative food networks in Guangzhou, China

Cited by 12 publications

References 40 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

How Does the Concept of Guanxi-circle Contribute to Community Building in Alternative Food Networks? Six Case Studies from China

Cows in the city: How consumer demands sustain urban dairying in the IT capital of India

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