Alternative Food Networks

Although the different alternative food networks (AFNs) have experienced increases worldwide for the last thirty years, they are still unable to provide an alternative capable of spreading on a large scale. They in fact remain niche experiments due to some limitations on their structure and governance. Thus, this study proposes and applies a design method to build a new sustainable food supply chain model capable of realizing a “jumping scale”. Based on the theoretical and value framework of the Civil Economy (CE), the Economy for the Common Good (ECG), and the Development on a Human Scale (H-SD), the proposed design model aims to satisfy the needs of all stakeholders in the supply chain. Max-Neef’s Needs Matrix and Design Thinking (DT) tools were used to develop the design model. Applying the design method to the food chain has allowed us to develop the concept of the “Food Village”, an innovative food supply network far from the current economic mechanisms and based on the communi...

La Agroecología representa un campo de conocimiento en constante desarrollo en el cual se encuentran involucrados conocimientos científicos de distintas disciplinas, incluyendo al mismo tiempo prácticas sociales y culturales influidas por aspectos filosóficos y éticos. Entre dichas prácticas, la Agricultura Biodinámica comparte rasgos comunes respecto a su inserción en el movimiento ecologista, aunque no queda claro si hay coincidencia en sus bases conceptuales y epistemológicas. En este trabajo se presenta el análisis de un calendario biodinámico desde un punto de vista científico con el fin de aportar a la controversia acerca de la relación entre Agroecología y Biodinámica. Los resultados evidencian la presencia de datos astronómicamente correctos junto con inferencias lógicamente no válidas o insuficientemente fundamentadas. Esto parecería encuadrar a la Biodinámica como un sistema de creencias de valor social y cultural, atravesada por ciertas ideas de escasa validez científica.

Recent years have seen a rapid expansion of interest in studies of the relationships between food and society, covering a highly diverse range of thematic and empirical perspectives and engaging with many of the key issues of our time, including the climate emergency, global inequalities and the persistence of poverty alongside wealth, and imbalances of power at global and local scales. The preparation of this Elgar Encyclopedia of Food and Society has provided an opportunity to take stock of what can be a bewildering array of ideas, materials, topics and examples, to highlight key connections between different themes and approaches, and to provide some signposting towards future directions for research into food and society. In this brief introduction, we contextualise the volume’s entries by commenting on how food-society relationships have been studied, the approach and underlying principles that informed our own thinking, our aims and intentions for the encyclopedia and the process of putting the volume together, and, finally, how the encyclopedia can be used.

Recent years have seen a rapid expansion of interest in studies of the relationships between food and society, covering a highly diverse range of thematic and empirical perspectives and engaging with many of the key issues of our time, including the climate emergency, global inequalities and the persistence of poverty alongside wealth, and imbalances of power at global and local scales. The preparation of this Elgar Encyclopedia of Food and Society has provided an opportunity to take stock of what can be a bewildering array of ideas, materials, topics and examples, to highlight key connections between different themes and approaches, and to provide some signposting towards future directions for research into food and society. In this brief introduction, we contextualise the volume’s entries by commenting on how food-society relationships have been studied, the approach and underlying principles that informed our own thinking, our aims and intentions for the encyclopedia and the process of putting the volume together, and, finally, how the encyclopedia can be used.

cobraron interés para su estudio. A partir de un debate en geografía sobre el reescalamiento del Estado a escalas subnacionales en este trabajo se presenta la institucionalización de las políticas de promoción de Economía Social y Solidaria en la provincia de Santa Fe en el período 2004-2015. De esta manera, se analiza la creación de una estructura programática con espesura institucional destacando el contenido de sus políticas, la intersectorialidad y las fragmentaciones de las acciones a nivel provincial.

We advance the literature on environmental justice by examining colorblind rhetoric as a mechanism sustaining environmental racism. Through a case study of one agricultural community in California actively contesting pesticide exposure, we examine the colorblind rhetoric and tactics that agricultural growers and state regulators engage to sustain pesticide practices in the face of racial harm. We identify five epistemic maneuvers: a) elevating public good claims, b) projecting morality and solidarity, c) inverting narratives of victimhood and innocence, d) promoting a scientific narrative, and e) disparaging dissenting voices. These maneuvers normalize harm, minimize the negative impacts of pesticide exposure, absolve growers and state regulators from responsibility for racial harm, and discredit the knowledge and experience of farmworkers and their representatives. Our findings contribute to understanding how environmental racism is sustained in a colorblind context through rhetoric and tactics that promote racial ignorance.

Urban gardens take on different forms and meanings, which vary depending on the socio-economic context where they located/used and how it evolves over time. This makes a garden comparable to a micro-social ecosystem, different from other gardens and ever changing. As with every social-ecosystem resulting from a territorialisation process, there is a certain degree of social inertia that makes it difficult for outsiders with new motivations and demanding new spaces to enter into the “garden ecosystem”. Drawing on existing literature and fieldwork in two urban communal gardens in Turin, the paper is mainly concerned with the spatiotemporal dimension of urban gardening, with a special focus on governance aspects. In particular, the article offers insights about the involvement of the governance process in the dynamics of urban allotment gardens and looks at the impact of regulations. Despite being areas with a limited extension, the complex nature of the structural coupling of the rela...

This chapter in the Routledge Handbook of Degrowth (2025) challenges prevailing conceptualisations of degrowth, which portray it mainly as a result of deliberate political strategies. It argues that this perspective often overlooks practices that align with the degrowth movement in various ways but are undertaken outside of it – by actors unaware of degrowth, who lack specific degrowth goals – and often result from trajectories which are not straightforward. Using an empirical example from Central and Eastern Europe, from an applied research project in the Czech Republic focusing on the introduction of a collaborative housing concept (a practice aligned with degrowth), the chapter engages in a conversation with authors who focus on similar practices, calling them everyday degrowth, quiet degrowth or real-existing degrowth, and proposes a new concept of accidental degrowth. By using the word ‘accidental’, the focus is on practices characterised not only by a lack of intentionality but also by haphazardness, uncertain goals and non-linear, fuzzy results, and show the crucial role of affects and emotions when engaging with unaware actors outside the movement. The concept reflects the inevitable complexity and accidentality of the processes by which new realities potentially aligned with degrowth principles emerge, and sometimes disappear.

U.S. farm-to-school (FTS) projects and programs promote the incorporation of locally or regionally produced food, primarily fresh fruits and vegetables, in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), a feeding program that relies on federal reimbursements and long, industrialized supply chains. FTS encourages the formation of hybrid agrifood networks that utilize shortened supply chains. This research builds upon and expands current FTS research because it examines the experiences, motivations, practices, and perceptions of farmers in a U.S. state in which FTS is facilitated by a state law. The state's promotion of FTS has reached many Oklahoma farmers through meetings with the program administrator. Some farmers have chosen to participate, while others have not. Differences in the scale of farming operations may be important in this choice. The perspectives and experiences of Oklahoma farmers vis-a-vis the state's FTS program reveals structural incompatibilities between the N...

Description
The present era is witnessing profound changes in global production and consumption of food. In some respects, this is a continuation of earlier trends. However, in several significant ways, restructuring of global agro-food systems in the contemporary moment appears to be completely new.
Concentration and centralization of capital within agriculture is now being reinforced through intensified global competition, innovations in biotechnology and transportation, and the social organization of labor. As a result, we result as daily evidence rapid transformation of agriculture, including decline of subsistence agriculture and proletarianization of independent farmers.
Call for Chapter Submissions:
With the edited volume’s aim to provide critical insights, diverse perspectives, and creative approaches about migrant farmworker resistance, we invite scholars, researchers, writers, and creative artists to contribute original works, empirically grounded studies, and theoretical essays
to the volume. We encourage non-traditional scholarly contributions that include creative performing arts, expressions of resistance such as poetry, short stories, photo essays, or participatory creative research methods such as photovoice.
Submission process and deadlines
If you are interested in contributing, please submit an abstract of 500 words, a 200-word biographical note with current affiliation and email address, and an updated CV (all as Word docs) by 15 October 2025 (instead of 30 September 2025).
Please include “migrant agricultural workers resistance CfA” submission in the subject line. The
abstract should state the research question addressed in the proposed article, outline the theoretical
framework, and state the article’s main argument.
Please email the abstract and all queries to Eriselda Shkopi (eriselda.shkopi@unive.it), Reena
Kukreja (reena.kukreja@queensu.ca), and Fabio Perocco (fabio.perocco@unive.it)

My research explores the relationship between metabolic health and the rise of capitalist food and labor systems, through interviews and long-term ethnographic research with Maya peoples of southern Belize. As work has been replaced with wage labor and farm foods with store-bought alternatives, diabetes has begun to affect Indigenous communities in Southern Belize. "Eating the money" earned by paid labor through consumption of commodity foods and accumulation of resources is seen to produce inequality and nutritional disease. The co-occurrence of diabetes with economic success represents the emergent and contradictory risks posed by integration into consumer capitalist economies. Concern over nutritional diseases like diabetes has led to reflexive critique of the deleterious health effects of modern food and labor relationships. Research participants' narratives emphasize the nutritional consequences of consumer culture as well as the challenges of balancing health and economic concerns in a rapidly changing world. By engaging Maya paradigms of health as embodiment with social scientific literature on political ecology and cultural studies of food systems, this article reveals that diabetes is endemic to the commodification of food and work. These findings demonstrate the integral role of commodification and consumption-oriented cultural practices to the global rise of nutrition-related diseases.

Over the last twenty years, Alternative Food Networks (AFN) have become increasingly successful at reducing the length of the chain that connects food production and consumption in an attempt to counteract the impact of the contradictions of the industrial food system and its supermarket-dominated distribution. Their grassroots actions, aimed at overcoming pre-existing socio-economic structures, are in line with social innovations, which have the objective of promoting the social participation of consumers and producers in food systems (empowerment, socio-political activism or social integration in society). In Italy, the Solidarity Purchasing Groups (SPGs), have been the subject of numerous academic studies, but the scope of these studies has, to date, been limited to the political activism of the consumer. The ability of this experience to foster the social participation of the groups' suppliers and the effects that the exchange has on the economic life of the producers have n...

The global catastrophic risk (GCR) and existential risk (ER) literature focuses on analyzing and preventing potential major global catastrophes including a human extinction event. Over the past two decades, the field of GCR/ER research has grown considerably. However, there has been little meta-research on the field itself. How large has this body of literature become? What topics does it cover? Which fields does it interact with? What challenges does it face? To answer these questions, here we present the first systematic bibliometric analysis of the GCR/ER literature. We consider all 3437 documents in the OpenAlex database that mention either GCR or ER and use bibliographic coupling (two documents are considered similar when they share many references) to identify 10 distinct emergent research clusters in the GCR/ER literature. These clusters align in part with commonly identified drivers of GCR, such as advanced artificial intelligence (AI), climate change, and pandemics or discuss the conceptual foundations of the GCR/ER field. However, the field is much broader than these topics, touching on disciplines as diverse as economics, climate modeling, agriculture, psychology, and philosophy. The metadata reveal that there are around 150 documents published on GCR/ER each year, the field has highly unequal gender representation, most research is done in the United States and the UK, and many of the published articles come from a small subset of authors. We recommend creating new conferences and potentially new journals where GCR/ER-focused research can aggregate, making gender and geographic diversity a higher priority, and fostering synergies across clusters to think about GCR/ER in a more holistic way. We also recommend building more connections to new fields and neighboring disciplines, such as systemic risk and policy, to encourage cross-fertilization and the broader adoption of GCR/ER research.

Britain is needed to meet biodiversity and climate targets. Britain is needed to meet biodiversity and climate targets. Today's fossil fuel intensive and ecologically simplified farming systems are environmentally and socially unsustainable. To meet Britain's commitments under COP21 to keep global heating below 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, the country must pivot towards ecologically beneficial ways of farming. Britain is also committed to reversing species decline, much of which is caused by conventional agriculture. This requires a transition towards agroecological systems that combine nature regeneration with food production. Public-common partnerships are a suitable institutional form to build food sovereignty in Britain. form to build food sovereignty in Britain. Public-common partnerships -an organizational form that facilitates democratic control over food systems from farm to fork -offer a way to transition towards agroecological food sovereignty. PCPs insulate food provisioning from the vagaries of private finance, land markets, and expensive off-farm inputs that make good quality food unaffordable for low-income households, and which subject Britain's farmworkers to the undemocratic whims of larger corporations up and downstream from them including manufacturers of many off-farm inputs and supermarkets. England's council farm estate provides an already existing institutional form through which to implement PCPs. Unfortunately, however, many cashstrapped local authorities have taken to selling their council farm holdings to fill budgetary deficits for essential public services. This report argues that this is a political choice and that local authorities can and should instead work with local community groups and growers to reimagine England's council farm estate as incubators for an agroecological transition in Britain. Agroecological food sovereignty, implemented through Agroecological food sovereignty, implemented through PCPs, provides numerous social and ecological benefits. PCPs, provides numerous social and ecological benefits. Governing England's council farms as PCPs, in accordance with the principles of agroecological food sovereignty, delivers several key benefits including: nutritious locally produced food, increased biodiversity, employment and training opportunities, ecological goods that can contribute to the green targets of local authorities, and a deepening of community and democratic control.

Food hubs create a range of economic, social, and environmental impacts through a wide variety of activities and programs. Evaluation of these impacts is important; however, many hubs lack the capacity (including time, resources, knowledge, and expertise) to do effective, ongoing evaluation work. This lack of capacity is exacerbated by the difficul¬ties inherent in capturing the kinds of complex, multidimensional, context-specific impacts and outcomes that many of these businesses and organizations strive to achieve. This paper reports on a participatory research project designed to develop a resource to support food hub evaluation efforts. It presents highlights from the guide that was created and discusses associated insights regarding the tensions and opportunities of food hub evaluation. We argue that food hubs need to be engaging in evaluation efforts, even in the face of significant resource constraints, as a means of strengthening individual entities and the sector as a whole...

Urban gardening initiatives have evolved from their original purpose of food production to assume aesthetic, recreational, educational, social, or therapeutic functions. The general objective of this paper was to determine the new socio-spatial configuration into which these experiences have been implemented, in order to determine the diversity of actors involved in urban agriculture (UA) within the municipality of Perugia. Secondary objectives were to explore the social and environmental capital produced and to indicate orientations and suggestions to enhance the impact of UA within the city. The survey, conducted during 2015 and 2016, focused on seven UA initiatives or projects and demonstrated that there is an increasing social demand for the reintegration of agriculture within urban areas. At the same time, there is a lack of coordination between the different initiatives, plans, and programmes to enhance these projects. It is necessary to take advantage of the intense activity, creativity, ideas, and actors involved in UA to improve the connections and synergy to implement these initiatives. Furthermore, we show that the municipality could develop and implement specific tools and devices to allow institutions, private citizens, associations, and farmers to operate in more synergistic and efficient ways.

Now, more than ever, there is a stronger need for a "route change" towards a common action on food systems transformation. Dialogues among all stakeholders to redesign the future of tomorrow's food systems are needed to trigger collective, multi-stakeholder actions on the ground, at local, regional and global level, towards more sustainable food systems, linking sustainable food production to more healthy and sustainable food consumption. In this context CIHEAM, FAO, and the Union for the Mediterranean Secretariat (UfMS) initiated in 2019, a joint collaborative effort for the establishment of a multi-stakeholder platform on Sustainable Food Systems in the Mediterranean to accelerate the shift towards the Agenda 2030 in the Mediterranean region, with the Mediterranean diet acting as a driver.

Indigenous knowledge is an inherited knowledge gained by communities of farmers and local origins. Northeast India blessed with such inherited traditional knowledge and being rich biodiversity hotspot adds value to the specific cultivated spices of this region which needs to be preserved. Geographical Indication act as an instrument and a potential mechanism to sustain it, bridge the gap and educate the future generations for efficient use of the traditional knowledge. The study is conducted in four states of Northeast India namely, Assam, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Sikkim. The data are being analyzed with the use of Nvivo software.

In recent years there has been a growing international interest in alternative certification strategies for organic products. Specifically, participatory guarantee systems (PGS) have proved to be particularly suitable not only to simplify bureaucratic procedures for small organic producers and reduce the cost of certification, but also to generate empowerment, social inclusion and mutual support among farmers. The purpose of this paper is to study the elements of social capital (SC) found in a PGS through the use of social network indicators using the Organizaçao Participativa de Acreditaçao e Certificaçao “Orgânicos Sul de Minas” (OPAC-OSM) as a case study. The research was carried out in the southern part of Minas Gerais, one of the states of the Brazilian Federation, where organic production represents a viable alternative for small and medium-sized farmers. In particular, a survey was carried out to capture the opinions of managers (presidents or directors) about their participa...

İstanbul metropolündeki kırsal alanlar, 6360 sayılı Bütünşehir Yasası gibi idari düzenlemelerle hukuken kentle bütünleştirilmesi ve 3. Köprü, İstanbul Havalimanı gibi mega altyapı projelerinin mekânsal baskısıyla köklü bir dönüşüm geçirmektedir. Bu süreç, kırsalın yasal ve istatistiksel görünürlüğünü ortadan kaldırırken, tarım ve mera alanları üzerinde geri dönülmez bir tahribata yol açmaktadır. Bu araştırma, söz konusu dönüşümün gölgesinde kalan İstanbul kırsalındaki tarımsal üretimin güncel durumunu, üretici profillerini, karşılaşılan zorlukları ve sürdürülebilirlik dinamiklerini ortaya koymayı amaçlamaktadır.

Araştırma kapsamında, 14-30 Haziran 2025 tarihleri arasında İstanbul’un yedi kırsal ilçesinde 32 üreticiyle yarı yapılandırılmış görüşmeler gerçekleştirilmiştir. Bulgular, İstanbul kırsalında geleneksel tarımın yanı sıra, tıbbi aromatik bitkiler ve fındık gibi katma değeri yüksek ürünlere yönelen bir çeşitlilik olduğunu; üretici profilinin ise geleneksel çiftçilerin yanı sıra yeni girişimciler ve göçmen çiftçilerle zenginleştiğini göstermektedir. Özellikle yerel yönetimlerin kurduğu üretici pazarları, kooperatifler ve doğrudan satış modelleri, küçük üreticilerin pazara erişiminde ve ayakta kalmasında kritik bir rol oynamaktadır.

Bununla birlikte, artan girdi maliyetleri, iklim krizinin yarattığı belirsizlikler, mega projelerin neden olduğu arazi spekülasyonu ve genç nüfusun tarımdan kopuşu, üretimin sürdürülebilirliğini ciddi anlamda tehdit etmektedir. Kamusal destek mekanizmalarındaki süreksizlik ve erişim sorunları da bu zorlukları derinleştirmektedir. Araştırma, İstanbul kırsalındaki tarımın yalnızca bir ekonomik faaliyet değil, aynı zamanda kültürel süreklilik ve yerel çeşitlilik için stratejik bir alan olduğunu ve acil mekânsal, sosyal ve ekonomik koruma mekanizmalarına ihtiyaç duyduğunu vurgulamaktadır.

文章主要依据史料将中国消费品及相关服务供给模式的社会变迁大致区分为小农经济 、计划经济和市场经济三个历史阶段。 不同阶段供给模式的主要特征、分送方式、生态环境及其社会关系、消费体验存在明显的差异：小农经济背景下，乡村生活为主体，消费品及相关服务的供给以家庭和社区共同体为主；计划经济的再分配体制下的供给模式特征则以国家供给为主、家庭和社区为辅，市场严重萎缩；改革开放以来，市场经济体制形成，消费品和服务的供给以市场为主，国家力量依然强大，家庭和社区萎缩。 不同模式下社会成员的生态环境、权利义务关系、消费者身份认同及其环境后果，存在明显差异。 在高调提倡践行可持续消费、改善生态环境、提升社会生活质量之前，还有许多具体而微的重要领域和论题值得深入细致的研究。

The aim of the paper is to evaluate the sustainability of Alternative Food Networks in Italy through the construction of a composite indicator, the Global Sustainability Index. The index is able to provide decision-makers with indications on synergies and tradeoffs between the different dimensions of sustainability. The methodological approach is of the quantitative type, and the information used in the study comes from a direct survey that involved 226 producers. The results show that the environmental indicators that take the greatest value are those concerning problems of great impact on the actual debate such as the loss of genetic diversity and the use of packaging for agro-food products. Regarding economic sustainability, the indicator with the highest value is related to the ability of the Alternative Food Networks to diversify sales channels. This evidence confirms the producers’ increasing difficulty to adopt mono-directional strategies, favoring a differentiation of market...

Le invenzioni sono da sempre alla base del progresso tecnico e dello sviluppo dell’agricoltura sia per quanto riguarda il prodotto sia per quanto concerne il processo produttivo. Il volume focalizza l'attenzione sulle varietà vegetali nel più ampio contesto del funzionamento della filiera agroalimentare: proprietà intellettuale, regole contrattuali, distribuzione di nuove varietà e dei loro frutti, modelli giuridici.

This study applies the socio-metabolic approach and relatedly the concept of planetary urbanization understanding to detect the identity of the "alternative zones" embedded in the food supply chain of cities (FSC). To achieve shortened and sustainable FSCs for cities, strong alternative food networks (AFNs) should be developed and sustained. The precious element of a strong AFN is its urban areas, which serve as niche alternative food initiatives (AFIs) for sustainability transitions in food supply chains (FSCs). To achieve shorter and more sustainable FSCs in cities, it is crucial to develop and sustain empowered alternative food networks (AFNs) by deploying their AFIs. Within this context, this study examines AFIs in 12 European FUSILLI cities to understand the potential of the intrinsic AFN to accelerate the sustainable transition in FSCs. Considering the results of AFNs in accelerating sustainability transitions in FSCs. Results through spatial analyses of food ecosystems of FUSILLI cities, although there are prominent examples with a strong short and alternative food network, it is obvious that the sustainable transition into an alternative food network has proceeded; however, the analysis of AFNs in FUSILLI cities demonstrates that sustainability transitions have advanced through vigorous AFNs. However, extended urban areas still have room to supersede their place in conventional/industrial agricultural production, which remains embedded in these spaces. The same inference applies to urbanrural linkages, which need to be strengthened to support the relocation of the food system in the development of AFNs in urban areas and to create more sustainable and shortened FSCs. Also, it is obvious that cities with greater extended AFNs, for example, Rome, due to its great number of AFIs and geographical extent of AFN covering concentrated urban areas and to strengthen the rural-urban linkage for shortened food supply chains, as well as extended urban areas, and Oslo, due to its great variety of AFIs embedded in concentrated urban areas with alternative food production areas in its (erstwhile rural areas) extended urban areas.

W artykule dokonano krytycznej weryfikacji myśli Edwarda Abramowskiego. Głównym powodem skłaniającym do refleksji nad jego propozycjami jest aktualność i odkrywczość wielu aspektów etyki, filozofii społecznej oraz wskazań praktycznych służących kształtowaniu "nowego człowieka", a także obserwowany renesans jego myśli w dyskusjach i sporach ideowo-światopoglądowych. W filozofii Abramowskiego dominuje pogląd o wyjątkowej roli jednostki w życiu społecznym, realizowany w warunkach całkowitej swobody i niezależności w stosunku do innych, jak też wobec państwa. Organizacją zapewniającą rozwój człowieka jest kooperatywa, której zadaniem miała być stopniowa i systematyczna przebudowa społeczeństwa w duchu braterstwa i poszanowania wolności jednostki.

This contribution offers a first reflection on two field research experiences carried out in the context of two projects aiming to create urban food policies in two medium-sized cities: Bergamo and Trento. In particular, it reflects on the factors that favour and hinder the spread of good practices of responsible consumption and production -the so-called Alternative Food Networks or AFNs -and on the collaboration between civil society actors and institutions. After a first introductory part and before outlining the characteristics of the two contexts taken into examination, the chapter discusses the methodology adopted called "research for action", a particular approach building upon participatory action research traditions in the human and social sciences which aims to support the exchange and the collaboration among actors involved in the local food system to facilitate collective action through the use of different tools including digital maps, in-depth interviews and focus groups. In conclusion, it reflects on which approaches and tools may be utilized to encourage the participation of social actors with institutions to address the problems of the current system of production, consumption and distribution of food (starting from the local scale), in order to better utilize the opportunities for 1 Le politiche urbane del cibo, seppur siano guidate dalle amministrazioni locali dei due capoluoghi, hanno solitamente come territorio di riferimento l'ambito provinciale (e non solo), in particolare rispetto alla produzione del cibo che è definito "a km zero". dissemination and coordination of good environmental and social practices in the development of participatory and sustainable food policies.

While degrowth as a plural and decolonial movement actively invites the Global South to be part of its transformative project, the current North-South dichotomy threatens to miss the variety of semi-peripheral contexts. Against this backdrop, we aim to contribute to dialogues on degrowth from the often-overlooked 'East'-specifically post-socialist Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Instead of being viewed as a site for transformative examples and inspiration for degrowth-oriented socio-ecological transformation, CEE is often portrayed as 'lagging behind'. Problematising such reductionist narratives, this essay explores CEE as a lively and rich site of postcapitalist alternatives. Based on two special sessions organised at the 2023 International Degrowth Conference in Zagreb, we reflect upon insights gathered on various degrowth-aligned traditions and practices in CEE with a goal to 1) advance an equitable dialogue between the global degrowth scholarship and the East, and 2) strengthen a context-sensitive degrowth agenda in CEE.

Il saggio, partendo dall’esegesi del d. lgs. 21 maggio 2018, n. 75 (Testo unico in materia di coltivazione, raccolta e prima trasformazione delle piante officinali, ai sensi dell’articolo 5, della legge 28 luglio 2016, n. 154), analizza le caratteristiche dell’impresa che produce piante officinali alla luce della disciplina generale dell’impresa agricola, evidenziando le peculiarità ermeneutiche e chiarendo le caratteristiche della figura professionale così come considerata dal legislatore. Il saggio consta di due parti. La prima affronta il tema della qualificazione del titolare dell’impresa di produzione delle piante officinali, inquadrando poi giuridicamente le attività da questo intraprese, analizzando gli obblighi di condotta di matrice pubblicistica riferibili specificamente al settore. La seconda parte affronta il tema della contrattazione nella filiera delle piante officinali, con particolare attenzione ai contratti di coltivazione.

Background
Over the last 20 years or so, farmers the world over have been expressing renewed interest in Short Food Supply Chains (SFSCs). Since these marketing channels bring consumers and producers closer together, they are being promoted as a means for producers
to recover more of the added value. They are also seen as a part of the solution to the
problems associated with long supply chains. However, marketing via SFSCs means that
farmers have to take on new tasks, which are likely to disrupt their existing work routines.
We propose here to review the scientific knowledge available on the work of farmers in
SFSCs.
Methods
We carry out a systematic analysis of the English-language literature using a multidisciplinary analytical framework of work. We consider five dimensions of work: 1) structural
elements of work; 2) economic performance of work; 3) organization of work; 4) working
conditions; and 5) occupation.
Results
The theme of work is not prominent in the existing literature on SFSCs. While there is
ongoing debate whether a switch to SFSCs results in increased farm incomes, it is clear
that marketing through SFSCs relies on a large amount of poorly remunerated work.
New tasks have to be added to work schedules, and new skills are required, making the
organization of both productive and marketing work more complex. Various categories of
workers are involved in undertaking these tasks, having to bear a heavy workload that is
a source of stress and fatigue. However, the economic aspect aside, SFSCs appear to be
conducive to farmers’ self-fulfillment at work. Farmers derive particular satisfaction from
their involvement in SFSCs since they are more in touch with consumers and because
they are participating in the transition of food systems, despite the intellectually and physically demanding work they have to do.
Conclusion
We call for the study of farmers’ work in SFSCs to be strengthened, by diversifying both
the methodologies adopted and the case studies. Such knowledge should enable us to
better integrate work-related issues into future public policies to support SFSCs.

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Siamo portati a ritenere poveri cacciatori e raccoglitori perché non hanno nulla; ma forse proprio per questo dovremmo ritenerli liberi. (Sahlins 1980: 25-26) 1 Nel 2006 vinsi una borsa per un soggiorno di studio presso l'università di Granada ed ebbi così la possibilità di vivere un anno nel contesto estremamente multiculturale della cittadina andalusa. M'immersi nell'animata vita granadina cogliendo le svariate occasioni di socialità che la città offriva e fui profondamente arricchito dalla scoperta di modi di vita e di pratiche fino ad allora a me sconosciuti o da me stigmatizzati. Una di queste pratiche è ciò che localmente viene indicato con il termine "reciclaje" 1 . Questo termine indica la ricerca, il recupero, la distribuzione e il consumo di cibo scartato dal ciclo di distribuzione alimentare urbano, e la trasformazione di questi scarti in cibo consumato individualmente o collettivamente, dunque in un oggetto (nuovamente) commestibile e al tempo stesso economico e sociale. Conobbi il reciclaje facendomi includere, quasi senza rendermene conto, nei circuiti di condivisione e di reciprocità che il reciclaje stesso crea. In effetti, durante quell'anno da borsista mi sono regolarmente nutrito con gli alimenti recuperati nei cassoni del mercato all'ingrosso della città, che ogni settimana un'amica donava a me e alla mia coinquilina. Tuttavia, è stato solo durante una ricerca etnografica condotta nel 2009 Lavoro, consumo e tempo libero nelle pratiche informali di riciclo alimentare... Archivio antropologico mediterraneo, Anno XXII, n.

Feminist skeptics have criticized both service-learning and care ethics as socially conservative. Yet feminist advocates of service-learning find overlap between the goals of Women's Studies classes and servicelearning courses, which both emphasize the relation between theory and practice. Care ethicists argue that institutionalizing an ethic of care would promote feminist aims. Our experience teaching "Feminism and Families," a course integrating service-learning and care ethics, demonstrates that neither care ethics nor service-learning are inherently socially conservative; both can be used in Women's Studies classrooms to promote such key feminist pedagogical aims as connecting theory and practice, confronting and addressing privilege, and helping students understand political change needed to create a society that genuinely cares for all its members.

Increasingly high-profile research is being undertaken into the socio-environmental challenges associated with the over-production and consumption of food from animals. Transforming food systems to mitigate climate change and hidden hunger, ensure food security and good health all point to reducing animal-based foods as a key lever. Moving beyond animal-based food systems is a societal grand challenge requiring coordinated international research by the social sciences and humanities. A ‘selective openness’ to this range of disciplines has been observed within multi-discipline research programmes designed to address societal grand challenges including those concerned with the sustainability of food systems, inhibiting the impact of social sciences and humanities. Further, existing research on animal-based foods within these disciplines is largely dispersed and focused on particular parts of food systems. Inspired by the ‘Sutherland Method’ this paper discusses the results of an itera...

Many Japanese and European landscapes harbor biocultural diversity that has been shaped by human agency over centuries. However, these landscapes are threatened by widespread land abandonment, land-use changes, and urbanization. The aim of this study is to use a ''solution scanning'' method to identify placebased food networks in Europe and Japan that reinforce linkages between biological and cultural diversity in landscapes. In our analysis of 26 European and 13 Japanese cases, we find that place-based food networks are typically located in heterogeneous landscapes, are driven by civil society (and less by markets), and act at a local scale. Regional identity is the most frequently addressed societal issue. Scenery, rural tourism, and nature conservation are more important motivations in Europe, and physical well-being and revitalization of local economies are more relevant in Japan. European models are typically associated with achieving biodiversity conservation and socio-cultural tradition outcomes, and Japanese models more with public health and nutrition outcomes. We discuss the potential for transfer of approaches from Japan to Europe (e.g., models that tackle the aging of rural societies), and from Europe to Japan (e.g., models that build explicit connections between food production and biodiversity conservation). We conclude with a list of recommended policy measures, e.g., the creation of a flexible legal framework that protects the interests of and reduces political constraints for collaborative efforts to biocultural diversity in landscapes.

Oltre alla biodiversit\ue0 che caratterizza gli habitat naturali e prossimo-naturali, non vanno dimenticate la diversit\ue0 e le risorse fitogenetiche presenti negli agro-ecosistemi. La biografia di due grandi ricercatori del settore, il russo Nikolaj Vavilov (1883-1943) e l'americano Jack R. Harlan (1917-1998) \ue8 sintetizzata a beneficio di studiosi di altre discipline. Si ricordano i motivi di contrasto negli ultimi 25 anni rispetto ai diritti sulle sementi e alle risorse fitogenetiche d'interesse agrario, in parte composti mediante accordi internazionali, tra i quali il Trattato Internazionale FAO sulle Risorse Fitogenetiche per l'Agricoltura e l'Alimentazione (ITPGRFA). Viene inoltre brevemente esaminato il quadro normativo nazionale e regionale

National politics has a significant impact on organizing and accessing community welfare. This book engages with notions of everyday politics within two London-based food co-ops emerging from different political environments and ideologies. It provides a careful and engaging examination of the experiences of political and economic change in Austerity Britain, revealing how national politics came to punctuate everyday lives within the co-ops. It highlights the political resonances that practices of care, aid and community organizing came to have within the food co-ops at a time of rapid welfare withdrawal, as well as the tensions between more radical and neoliberal imaginaries that played out within them.

The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. The views expressed in this information product are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of FAO.

This report presents research on social innovation and relevant trends for small-scale farming in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region. Social innovation is an approach to community development that gained momentum in the second half of the 2010s as a response to the challenges imposed by the post- crisis economy and austerity policies. The report highlights a rich set of practices already in development in the NENA region in small-scale farming, which can be replicated and adapted to various places and communities, and even progressively scaled up into broader systems. The topics and approaches found in the examples analysed are the following: agroecology production and permaculture; social farming; short food supply chains; income generation and diversification; water management; conservation of landscapes and reforestation; empowerment of women and tackling barriers for the engagement of civil society.

This report presents research on social innovation and relevant trends for small-scale farming in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region. Social innovation is an approach to community development that gained momentum in the second half of the 2010s as a response to the challenges imposed by the post- crisis economy and austerity policies. The report highlights a rich set of practices already in development in the NENA region in small-scale farming, which can be replicated and adapted to various places and communities, and even progressively scaled up into broader systems. The topics and approaches found in the examples analysed are the following: agroecology production and permaculture; social farming; short food supply chains; income generation and diversification; water management; conservation of landscapes and reforestation; empowerment of women and tackling barriers for the engagement of civil society.

This report presents research on social innovation and relevant trends for small-scale farming in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region. Social innovation is an approach to community development that gained momentum in the second half of the 2010s as a response to the challenges imposed by the post- crisis economy and austerity policies. The report highlights a rich set of practices already in development in the NENA region in small-scale farming, which can be replicated and adapted to various places and communities, and even progressively scaled up into broader systems. The topics and approaches found in the examples analysed are the following: agroecology production and permaculture; social farming; short food supply chains; income generation and diversification; water management; conservation of landscapes and reforestation; empowerment of women and tackling barriers for the engagement of civil society.

Resumen: El desplazamiento progresivo del poder de manos del fabricante al vendedor -que en la actualidad asume la doble función de mayorista y detallista-, promovido fundamentalmente por el proceso de concentración en el seno de la distribución comercial vivido recientemente, ha derivado en el endurecimiento de los procesos de negociación entre ambas partes. Los detallistas, además, han encontrado en el desarrollo de la función logística un elemento más con el que ejercer su poder sobre los fabricantes, a la vez que incrementar su participación en el proceso de satisfacer las necesidades de los consumidores. Tras el análisis de la evolución reciente de las relaciones fabricante-detallista y una vez justificada la necesidad de que ambos agentes trabajen conjuntamente en el terreno de la logística, este trabajo presenta los resultados de un estudio empírico realizado para analizar la situación actual de las relaciones entre los fabricantes y los detallistas en el contexto de bienes de gran consumo alimentario en Galicia, prestando una especial atención al desarrollo de la logística.

Th s art cle was rev ewed by at least two referees, a s m lar ty report was obta ned us ng Thent cate, and compl ance w th research/publ cat on eth cs was conf rmed. Bu makale en az k hakem tarafından ncelenm ş, Thent cate yazılımı le taranmış, araştırma yayın ve et ğ ne aykırılık ed lmem şt r. Yerel Kalkınma Bağlamında Kooperatifler ve Belediye Etkileşimi Özet Kooperatifler, günümüzde küreselleşme ve buna bağlı olarak meydana gelen eşitsizliklere ve ekonomik krizlere karşı yoksul ve korunmasız çoğunluğun ayakta kalabilmesi için en ciddi alternatif olarak karşımıza çıkmaktadır. Kooperatifler, yalnızca günümüze özgü örgütsel yapılar değildir. Aynı zamanda eskilerden beri kapitalist sistem içinde dayanışmanın en iyi örnekleri olmuşlardır. Günümüzde alternatif bir ekonomik örgütlenme olarak kooperatiflerin önemi giderek artmaktadır. Yerel kalkınmanın sadece hedef bölgedeki kamu otoritelerinin tek taraflı çabalarıyla başarıya ulaşması mümkün değildir. Yerel kalkınma, aynı zamanda aktörler arasında karşılıklı etkileşim ve dayanışmayı gerektirmektedir. Kooperatifler, yapısı gereği, dayanışmacı ve katılımcıdır. Dolayısıyla, yerel bir kamu otoritesi olan belediyelerin, kalkınma sürecinde yereldeki kooperatiflerle iş birliği yapması kaçınılmaz bir gerekliliktir. Kooperatiflerden beklenen yerel ve bölgesel kalkınma etkisinin ortaya çıkabilmesi, kuruldukları yerlerdeki sivil toplum ve yerel yönetimlerden alacakları desteklere bağlıdır. Bu bağlamda, Türkiye'de İzmir Büyükşehir Belediyesi'nin geliştirdiği belediye-kooperatif ilişkileri, Türkiye'nin geri kalanı için örnek bir model niteliğini taşımaktadır. Bu çalışmada, yerel ve bölgesel kalkınmanın sağlanmasında belediyeler ile kooperatifler arasındaki karşılıklı sinerji yaratabilecek bir etkileşim modelinin nasıl kurgulanması gerektiğine yönelik kapsamlı bir değerlendirme yapılmakta ve Türkiye'de yerel kalkınma açısından başarılı olan belediye-kooperatif ilişkileri ele alınmaktadır.

Various grassroots initiatives that have emerged in recent decades reduce our dependence on large-scale industrial agriculture. They decouple food value from volatile markets through close producer-consumer relations, displaying potential for food system transformations towards post-growth. Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) is an organizational form among them. While most CSAs cover short distances between farmers and consumers within (peri-)urban areas, this qualitative research focuses on an initiative in Switzerland that links rural mountains with urban areas. The study examines the role of institutional, organizational, cognitive, social, and experiential proximity among consumers and farmers in cocreating a food production and consumption system despite geographical distance. It found that consumers and farmers are facing challenges in establishing proximity; nevertheless, shared experiences of farming activities and social events, as well as participants' willingness to improve the CSA operation and strengthen ties for mutual understanding and joint efforts, contribute to the ongoing process of establishing proximity.

This research paper introduces, AI-Kitchen Garden, an innovative solution for indoor vegetable and fruit cultivation targeting commercialization in the Canadian and US markets for the product. The proposed system entails a 3-foot by 5-foot box equipped with advanced AI software, transforming it into an automated, AI-controlled greenhouse. The AI software monitors and manages the growth of vegetables within the box, providing essential elements such as heat, light, water, and appropriate environmental conditions tailored to each plant's needs. The system's automation extends to harvesting, where the AI software identifies ripe vegetables and autonomously picks them, depositing them in a tray outside the box while simultaneously issuing voice and text notifications via a monitor fixed inside the home or monitoring office. Furthermore, the system's versatility allows for the cultivation of shortheight fruit plants in addition to vegetables. The AI software embedded in the box continuously assesses the clay's fertility and recommends adjustments as necessary, ensuring optimal growing conditions. Additionally, the system regulates water temperature to enhance plant growth further. This innovative solution not only streamlines indoor cultivation processes but also offers a sustainable and efficient method for producing fresh food in snowcapped areas like North America. Through this research, the potential for widespread adoption and commercial success of the automated AI-controlled greenhouse system in North American markets is explored and elucidated.