Search

This paper describes the recent emergence of alternative food networks in China in the context of widespread food quality concerns. Drawing on interviews and public blog posts, we illustrate how participants in these networks are moving beyond instrumental market relations and developing the collective agency necessary to participate in shaping China's food system. We argue that the initiators and participants in these alternative food networks are not only individual shoppers who 'vote with their chopsticks', but are also nascent activists deploying grassroots community organising strategies. We reveal how these networks are using inclusive and reflexive processes to build diverse networks, how they are using internet communications to extend their reach, voice dissent and engage in nascent 'bottom up' policy formation, and how they are building influential connections and actively, but unofficially, expanding linkages to broader emancipatory spaces of global and social justice movements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural sociologists and geographers have conceptualised different rural development trajectories including “the agri-industrial model”, “the post-productivist model” and “the rural development model”. Alternative food networks (AFNs) are increasingly recognised as a “forerunner” and a critical component of the emerging “rural development model” in the West. Meanwhile, Marsden and Franklin [2013. Replacing neoliberalism: theoretical implications of the rise of local food movements.Local Environment, 18 (5), 636–641] pointed out that there is a “local trap” in the current conceptualisation of AFNs that overemphasises their local embeddedness and heterogeneity. This “local trap” marginalises AFNs and, therefore, hinders their potential for transforming the industrialised conventional food system. The convergence and scaling-up of fragmented AFNs have been recognised as important ways to address this marginalisation issue and thus have attracted considerable attention. However, current studies of the convergence of AFNs focus mainly on the role of food-centred organisations without recognising the role of the emerging “rural development” initiatives in the convergence of AFNs. Based on in-depth interviews with key stakeholders and analysis of secondary data, this paper uses the New Rural Reconstruction Movement (NRRM), an emerging alternative rural development movement in China, as an example to illustrate how the NRRM opens up a novel space for the convergence of AFNs. We argue that the interrelationship between AFNs and rural development is indeed reciprocal. The NRRM, following the “rural development” trajectory, functions as a hub for the convergence and scaling-up of various alternative food initiatives. Strategies for achieving convergence include constructing a “common ground” for these initiatives, establishing national alliances and organisations, sharing knowledge and exchanging personnel among them. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Processes of globalisation in the conventional food provision system have had widespread negative impacts on small-scale farmers. Yet, alternative food networks, which are characterised by more sustainable production/consumption practices and fairer trade relations, have increasingly been 'going global' and, in the process, have been integrating small-scale farms in the South. One such high-value export-led commodity is certified organic shrimp. International third-party certification schemes are becoming popular as a tool to verify the intangible attributes of such commodities. Using concepts of multifunctionality and agrarian change, this paper examines the implications of introducing an international environmental certification programme to a site where the 'peasantry' has been preserved and has limited integration in the global agro-food system. Drawing on a case study that examines the first certified organic shrimp production project in Vietnam, this paper concludes that the current movement towards post-productivism in the global North has potential to keep local farming practices in the global South by justifying the value of peasant-like production methods through international certification. As a result, the development path of agrarian transition might be reshaped into a form not necessarily pursuing industrialisation. This leads to the new interpretation of pre- and post-productivism beyond the North and South divide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the concept of perceived embeddedness (PE) and its impact on purchasing behavior at an organic farmers' market. Based on a review of the prior literature, the study refines the conceptualization and measurement of PE as a second-order factor construct reflected in its three dimensions: perceived social embeddedness, perceived spatial embeddedness, and perceived natural embeddedness. The study also suggests that organic farmers' market shoppers' PE is positively related to the two measures of purchasing behavior: expenditure per visit and repurchase intention. In a sample of 492 organic farmers' market shoppers in Beijing municipality, China, the study find support for the second-order factor structure of PE and the theorized relationship between the shoppers' PE and their purchasing behavior. The study also discusses theoretical and managerial implications of the findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the concept of perceived embeddedness (PE) and its impact on purchasing behavior at an organic farmers' market. Based on a review of the prior literature, the study refines the conceptualization and measurement of PE as a second-order factor construct reflected in its three dimensions: perceived social embeddedness, perceived spatial embeddedness, and perceived natural embeddedness. The study also suggests that organic farmers' market shoppers' PE is positively related to the two measures of purchasing behavior: expenditure per visit and repurchase intention. In a sample of 492 organic farmers' market shoppers in Beijing municipality, China, the study find support for the second-order factor structure of PE and the theorized relationship between the shoppers' PE and their purchasing behavior. The study also discusses theoretical and managerial implications of the findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] China has stringent food production standards to approach zero ecological impact. [•] State support for eco-agriculture is part of the agricultural modernization agenda. [•] Yet state support fosters high-tech farming that excludes smaller producers. [•] Consumer priorities are food safety, not environmental protection or farmer incomes. [•] Some exceptions include values-oriented CSAs, farmers’ markets, and buying clubs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the evolution of land use and mangrove forest management in a coastal commune in Central Vietnam from its early period of environmentally sound management under a common property regime, through State and cooperative management, to individual household allocation under the economic reforms of the 1990s. It analyses in particular the introduction of shrimp culture and its environmental and socioeconomic consequences. The case study demonstrates that, while opening up many economic opportunities, Vietnam's economic reforms have had uneven impacts on income inequality. Like many cases in Asia and Latin America, the disruption of common property resources – through the introduction of aquaculture as a livelihood opportunity and producer of an export crop – leaves farmers indebted and natural resources polluted. But, ironically, it was the financially better-off aquaculture farmers, who had more capacity for risk-taking and investing, who ended up most indebted, in comparison with poorer farmers who had already sold their ponds. The latter were less integrated into the market economy and relied more on marine product collection. This paper suggests that attention to local contexts and histories can contribute to a better understanding of the causes and consequences of environment-poverty interfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many smaller cities in developing countries are only beginning to plan for appropriate solid waste management systems. The majority of waste management systems in developing countries fail to address residents' sanitation needs properly. In this paper, we present the results of fieldwork in Mazatenango, Guatemala, examining the problems of governing solid waste, as linked to administration, collection, handling, and disposal. The problems identified include lack of adequate funding; no formal recycling programmes at the household level; absence of a sanitary landfill; increase of illegal dumping; limited public awareness of proper waste management practices; and street litter causing a breakdown in the sewer systems. The results of the study are used to propose strategies for improved governance of solid waste, addressing the needs and priorities of a range of stakeholders. These strategies highlight the importance of strengthening relationships among the stakeholders involved in the governmental/administrative, social, economic, and environmental aspects of solid waste management. The approach may be effective in other developing country cities that are starting to plan waste management systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synopsis: In this paper we map the predominant interpretations and characteristics of Vietnamese research on gender issues. Through a review of recent articles from the Vietnamese-language journal Women''s Studies, we profile the main topics, intellectual influences, methods, and conceptual approaches of women''s studies and gender research. The academic orientations that we identify in Vietnam are linked to the country''s legacy of relative isolation. However, major economic reforms and an open door policy since the late 1980s have led to increased international exposure for Vietnamese researchers, and contributed to a diversification of research themes on women and gender issues. The paper ends by identifying some of the challenges for enhancing the profile and quality of Vietnamese scholarship on gender. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Rapid socioeconomic and institutional changes in Vietnam since the early 1990s have opened up new geographical spaces for field research. Reflecting on the experiences of three doctoral student researchers engaged in distinct development geography fieldwork projects in Vietnam, this paper profiles some of the conditions and procedures for carrying out fieldwork in order to serve as a basis for comparison of changing ‘fieldwork possibilities’ in Vietnam and other developing and transitional socialist countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper documents the uneven experiences of decollectivisation, using Thai Nguyen province as a setting for an exploration of divergent outcomes of, and local responses to, land allocation. Ethnicity, blood relations and settlement history are identified as emerging axes of differentiation in new patterns of vulnerability regarding access to land. This trend is evidenced by the phenomenon of farmers who migrated to the region during the collectivisation period and were subsequently left landless as longer term residents from other ethnic groups reclaimed their ancestral lands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of sustainable agricultural innovations and the alternative food movement, agroecology provides important tools to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Yet very few existing studies have explicitly addressed their linkages. Synergies among the SDGs are often examined at the national level, overlooking nuanced opportunities revealed by small agroecology initiatives at the local scale. Based on literature review, field visits and semi-structured interviews with farms and relevant organizations in China, this research investigates how locally embedded agroecology practices lead to advancement of multiple SDG targets and facilitate the synergies among the SDGs. It also highlights their motivations, achievements, and challenges. We argue that the technocentric metrics of SDGs underappreciate the application of traditional knowledge and small-scale low-tech innovations. By bringing visibility to low-tech and small agroecology initiatives, this paper advocates for stronger inclusion of grassroots agroecology initiatives in SDG discussions among researchers and policy makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses various reports published within the issue, including one by Nguyen Van De and colleagues on the impacts of migration and intensification of farming practices on soil erosion and nutrient loss in southern Vietnam and another by Nguyen Dai Trung and colleagues on the need for better collaboration, and participatory and multidisciplinary research for sustainable land use in diverse ecosystems.

Embeddedness has long been used to study collaborations and tensions between food initiatives, but less attention has been paid to this topic in both the vertical and formal contexts of governmental systems and the horizontal and vernacular contexts of local culture. Such interrogations are essential for understanding the challenges for advancing food initiatives. This study uses the case of ecological agriculture in Nanjing, China to investigate the vertical embeddedness shaped by policy networks and horizontal embeddedness carved into local social configurations. We conclude that strong government supports facilitated large-scale modern ecological agriculture enterprises, at the expense of small-scale ecological farms. Furthermore, the tensions between new farmers and local farmers attributed to the broad urban-rural divide also impede recently established ecological farm operations. Strategies are needed to address these social divides between ecological farms in order for them to be collaborative in China and in other similar social-political settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Global South, the informal food economy is both a source of income for disadvantaged urban groups and an accessible source of food for consumers. Yet, governance of this economy has commonly been restrictive among Southern countries including China. Consequently, in China there has been an antagonistic relationship between vendors and chengguan—China's city management officers. This antagonism has been studied by scholars and reported by Chinese media. In response, several Chinese municipal governments, including Nanjing's, reformed their regulations to formalize street food vending with a permit system. Despite this progress, the reforms are criticized as partial and dismissive of the needs of vendors. This article uses semistructured interviews with street food vendors to evaluate how the reforms affected vendor-chengguan relations and vendors' livelihoods in Nanjing. In contrast to other studies in China, we identified a non-confrontational relationship between some groups of vendors and chengguan. Rather than overt opposition, this relationship is better understood as covert cooperation. Unpermitted practices of street food vending were tolerated by chengguan and the local government, despite restrictive top-down regulations. A few other existing case studies conceptualize the discrepancy between policy and its implementation as ambiguous governance. However, we argue that the term ambiguous governance does not fully capture the complex dynamics in the covert cooperation between vendors and officers in our study. One group of vendors we studied play multiple roles. They were not only petty traders, but also landless farmers who lost their farmland to urbanization. The agreement between these vendors, chengguan, and local government was reached outside the permit system, and was a means of compensating vendors for their lost land. Therefore, the governance mechanism is more accurately conceptualized as compensatory governance. To conclude, we call for further studies on the compensatory governance of street food vendors among Chinese cities, and advocate for community-based bottom-up initiatives to formalize this informal governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation: Detailed empirical work on the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on food security is scant. Local management of food security has received little attention. Purpose: This article describes emergency food policies in Wuhan and Nanjing, China during lockdown in 2020 and their implications for household food security in the two cities. Methods and approach: Policy documents and background data describe the emergency measures. Online surveys of residents of two Chinese cities were used to gauge household food security. Findings: Despite the determined efforts of provincial and city governments to ensure that food reached people who were locked down in Wuhan, or subject to restrictions on movement in Nanjing, households experienced some decline in food security. Most households found they could not access their preferred foods. But a minority of households did not get enough to eat. Government had contingency plans for the pandemic that ensured that most people had sufficient, if not preferred, food. But not all households were fully covered. Policy implications: A more resilient system of food distribution is needed, including a relatively closed and independent home delivery system. Grassroots organizations such as residential community committees, property management organizations, and spontaneous volunteer groups need to be brought into the management of emergency food provision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decade, the popularity of food scholarship has led to an expansion of online food studies courses and programs. This push for online course offerings has been escalated due to the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. To date, much of the field has focused on examining the global concentration and integration of corporate food systems, often described as a "food from nowhere" regime. In contrast, the study of civil society organizations and social movements working toward more equitable and sustainable food systems points to the desire to (re)build a "food from somewhere" regime. How do these ideas of de-spatialization and re-spatialization apply to teaching online food studies courses? In this reflective essay, five scholars and postsecondary instructors share experiences with online teaching about food systems. Our collective reflection reveals a number of benefits for postsecondary institutions, instructors, students, and pedagogical approaches. We also share key concerns, such as engaging students and encouraging participation, constraints for developing personal connections and the additional time and energy required to prepare and deliver courses. Beyond these opportunities and tensions, we point to the need for instructors to consider the implications of teaching about "food from somewhere" from nowhere. We offer these reflections to begin a much-needed conversation about the current state and the future of online food studies education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food subsidies are widely implemented as part of government policies globally to mitigate food insecurity amongst the urban poor. Subsidies to retail outlets are one a type of supply-side subsidy designed to make food more affordable to low-income consumers. China's Affordable Food Shop (AFS) program introduced by the central government in 2011 and implemented by municipal governments is one example. To date, there has been little research examining the effectiveness of the AFS program despite more than a decade of implementation. This paper presents a case study of the program's effectiveness in Nanjing which was one of the first Chinese cities to introduce the program which grew very rapidly in the years that followed. In early 2020, the Nanjing program was closed which raises important questions about its effectiveness and impact. We show that food insecurity in Nanjing is generally low but that increased food insecurity is associated with lived poverty, lower income, and unaffordability of staple foods. Food insecurity is not mitigated by proximity to an AFS Program shop. The paper argues that the program had various deficiencies and a limited effect in reducing food insecurity and increasing food accessibility. These included inappropriate targeting, program redundancy, and competition from supermarkets and public markets. In the circumstances, the decision by the city government to close the program is understandable. • Food subsidy programs in many countries target low-income, food insecure urban populations. • The Chinese central government introduced an Affordable Food Shop (AFS) Program in 2011. • Food insecurity in Nanjing City affects about 20% of the population and varies with level of poverty, income, food expenditure and household type. • The AFS Program in Nanjing has not succeeded in providing cheaper food for low-income, food insecure households. • The limitations of the AFS Program in Nanjing are partly responsible for its closure in 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic agriculture can sustain rural development and ease poverty. However, whether it could be a viable pathway to improve the livelihoods of small-scale farmers in the context of urbanisation and demographic change has been less studied. To understand this, household surveys were conducted in 2007 and 2014 in Wanzai, Jiangxi Province China, where organic farming started in 2000. The results show that organic farming did contribute to higher farm incomes for small-scale farmers (< 1 ha land) compared to those practicing conventional agriculture, regardless of whether the profitability is measured on a per land unit or per household basis. The annual farmers household net income increased from 2007 to 2014, however, the farm income of small-scale farmers only makes up a minor part of total household income and its percentage becomes less and less over time. For medium-scale organic farmers (> 1 ha land), the proportion of income from farming was higher (56% in 2007 and 77% in 2014), leading to average farm incomes of USD16,108 in 2014. Among organic farmers, cooperatives members performed better economically than those not in cooperatives. Organic agriculture can ensure stable and sustainable alternative livelihoods, especially in a situation where available land offers opportunities for scaling up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic agriculture has developed rapidly in China since the 1990s, driven by the increasing domestic and international demand for organic products. Quantification of the environmental benefits and production performances of organic agriculture on a national scale helps to develop sustainable high yielding agricultural production systems with minimum impacts on the environment. Data of organic production for 2013 were obtained from a national survey organized by the Certification and Accreditation Administration of China. Farming performance and environmental impact indicators were screened and indicator values were defined based on an intensive literature review and were validated by national statistics. The economic (monetary) values of farming inputs, crop production and individual environmental benefits were then quantified and integrated to compare the overall performances of organic vs. conventional agriculture. In 2013, organically managed farmland accounted for approximately 0.97% of national arable land, covering 1.158 million ha. If organic crop yields were assumed to be 10%–15% lower than conventional yields, the environmental benefits of organic agriculture (i.e., a decrease in nitrate leaching, an increase in farmland biodiversity, an increase in carbon sequestration and a decrease in greenhouse gas emissions) were valued at 1921 million RMB (320.2 million USD), or 1659 RMB (276.5 USD) per ha. By reducing the farming inputs, the costs saved was 3110 million RMB (518.3 million USD), or 2686 RMB (447.7 USD) per ha. The economic loss associated with the decrease in crop yields from organic agriculture was valued at 6115 million RMB (1019.2 million USD), or 5280 RMB (880 USD) per ha. Although they were likely underestimated because of the complex relationships among farming operations, ecosystems and humans, the production costs saved and environmental benefits of organic agriculture that were quantified in our study compensated substantially for the economic losses associated with the decrease in crop production. This suggests that payment for the environmental benefits of organic agriculture should be incorporated into public policies. Most of the environmental impacts of organic farming were related to N fluxes within agroecosystems, which is a call for the better management of N fertilizer in regions or countries with low levels of N-use efficiency. Issues such as higher external inputs and lack of integration cropping with animal husbandry should be addressed during the quantification of change of conventional to organic agriculture, and the quantification of this change is challenging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: What we eat simultaneously impacts our exposure to pathogens, allergens, and contaminants, our nutritional status and body composition, our risks for and the progression of chronic diseases, and other outcomes. Furthermore, what we eat is influenced by a complex web of drivers, including culture, politics, economics, and our built and natural environments. To date, public health initiatives aimed at improving food-related population health outcomes have primarily been developed within 'practice silos', and the potential for complex interactions among such initiatives is not well understood. Therefore, our objective was to develop a conceptual model depicting how infectious foodborne illness, food insecurity, dietary contaminants, obesity, and food allergy can be linked via shared drivers, to illustrate potential complex interactions and support future collaboration across public health practice silos.Methods: We developed the conceptual model by first conducting a systematic literature search to identify review articles containing schematics that depicted relationships between drivers and the issues of interest. Next, we synthesized drivers into a common model using a modified thematic synthesis approach that combined an inductive thematic analysis and mapping to synthesize findings.Results: The literature search yielded 83 relevant references containing 101 schematics. The conceptual model contained 49 shared drivers and 227 interconnections. Each of the five issues was connected to all others. Obesity and food insecurity shared the most drivers (n = 28). Obesity shared several drivers with food allergy (n = 11), infectious foodborne illness (n = 7), and dietary contamination (n = 6). Food insecurity shared several drivers with infectious foodborne illness (n = 9) and dietary contamination (n = 9). Infectious foodborne illness shared drivers with dietary contamination (n = 8). Fewer drivers were shared between food allergy and: food insecurity (n = 4); infectious foodborne illness (n = 2); and dietary contamination (n = 1).Conclusions: Our model explicates potential interrelationships between five population health issues for which public health interventions have historically been siloed, suggesting that interventions targeted towards these issues have the potential to interact and produce unexpected consequences. Public health practitioners working in infectious foodborne illness, food insecurity, dietary contaminants, obesity, and food allergy should actively consider how their seemingly targeted public health actions may produce unintended positive or negative population health impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food safety issues in China have received much scholarly attention, yet few studies systematically examined this matter through the lens of trust. More importantly, little is known about the transformation of different types of trust in the dynamic process of food production, provision, and consumption. We consider trust as an evolving interdependent relationship between different actors. We used the Beijing County Fair, a prominent ecological farmers' market in China, as an example to examine the transformation of trust in China's alternative food networks. We argue that although there has been a disruption of institutional trust among the general public since 2008 when the melamine-tainted milk scandal broke out, reconstruction of individual trust and development of organizational trust have been observed, along with the emergence and increasing popularity of alternative food networks. Based on more than six months of fieldwork on the emerging ecological agriculture sector in 13 provinces across China as well as monitoring of online discussions and posts, we analyze how various social factors--including but not limited to direct and indirect reciprocity, information, endogenous institutions, and altruism--have simultaneously contributed to the transformation of trust in China's alternative food networks. The findings not only complement current social theories of trust, but also highlight an important yet understudied phenomenon whereby informal social mechanisms have been partially substituting for formal institutions and gradually have been building trust against the backdrop of the food safety crisis in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to determine whether basic arable land protection planning has reduced arable land loss in Fuyang County, Zhejiang Province, China and, if so, to identify how much arable land has been saved by the implementation of land use planning. Land use data covering 10 years, from 1999 to 2008, were collected from Fuyang County for analysis. A logistic discrete-time hazards model was used to model the conversion of arable land, and the effects of basic arable protection planning were estimated. The Youden index was used to determine the cut-off point for predicted probabilities, and the effects were estimated based on the classification with the cut-off point. Furthermore, an analysis framework combining effectiveness-based assessment and goals-based assessment was developed. The results suggest that basic arable land protection planning is effective, with the odds of basic arable land being converted to other uses decreasing by 89 percent compared with arable land outside the basic arable land protection district in Fuyang County, and the conversion of arable land in general decreasing by 72 percent due to basic arable land protection planning. Considering both the effectiveness and goal''s achievement, the implementation of basic arable land protection planning is judged to be effective, but not entirely successful. Certain factors made basic arable land protection planning effective, these include the reallocation of approval rights for arable land conversion to the central government from the local government, the application of new technology in the central government''s inspections of the local governments'' land use regulation and land administration, the raising of compensation standards for arable land expropriation, the creation of a Supervisor of State Land, and the readjustment of the local land and resources administrative system. However, other factors made the implementation of basic arable land protection planning not completely successful, including a top-down administrative system of land use planning, differences of interests regarding land administration between the local and central governments, and the system by which local government cadres'' performances are evaluated. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]