scholarly journals A Socially-Based Redesign of Sustainable Food Practices: Community Supported Agriculture in Italy

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (21) ◽  
pp. 11986
Author(s):  
Alessandra Piccoli ◽  
Adanella Rossi ◽  
Angela Genova
Keyword(s):  
Community Supported Agriculture ◽  
Shared Knowledge ◽  
Alternative Food Networks ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Common Value ◽  
Food Practices ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Grassroots Initiatives ◽  
Consumption Practices ◽  
The Many

Several grassroots initiatives in the last two decades have shown the need for different food practices that should be locally based and founded on ethical goals of social and environmental justice. Among the many “alternative food networks”, the Community Supported Agriculture model is particularly significant and interesting. By redefining meanings and social norms around food practices, this model actualizes significant processes of food re-socialization and re-territorialization. Focusing on Italy, this study aims to contribute to the understanding of the potential of this model. It does so through two investigations carried out in 2019 and 2020, aimed at analyzing, respectively, structural and organizational aspects of CSAs and the features of resilience shown by these initiatives during the first COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. On the whole, the two surveys give us the image of a radically innovative experience, potentially capable of deeply redefining production and consumption practices, being rooted in socially-shared knowledge, motivations, willingness, commitment and sense of community. In addition to being characterized by a determination to pursue sustainability and equity goals, the model shows a remarkable character of resilience thanks to the original arrangements that the common value basis and the strong sense of interdependence and solidarity of its members can provide.

Consumers’ perceptions of food ethics in luxury dining

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wided Batat
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Cultural Dimensions ◽  
Food Ethics ◽  
Business Practices ◽  
Sustainable Practices ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Food Practices ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Consumption Practices

Purpose This paper aims to draw on the sociocultural dimensions of food luxury consumption as a new theoretical foundation to explore the consumers’ perceptions of ethical food production and consumption practices within luxury gastronomic restaurants. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted a contextualized, qualitative exploration of French luxury dining settings among 35 consumers with different profiles, food cultural backgrounds and gastronomic knowledge. Drawing on Thompson’s analysis framework, the authors captured the narratives beyond the stories told by participants that describe their perceptions and the meanings they assign to ethical food practices in Michelin-starred restaurants. Findings The results illustrate how consumers with different profiles perceive ethical food practices within luxury restaurants. The authors identified three segments: novice, advanced and confirmed according to participants’ acquaintance with luxury gastronomy codes and values. These three profiles served as a framework to examine consumers’ perceptions of ethical food forms – environmental sustainability, food well-being and cultural heritage – within the luxury dining setting. Research limitations/implications The study revealed no one dominant form of ethical food practices as emphasized in prior studies. Rather, there are multiple forms, including functional, hedonic and symbolic values, related to the degree of familiarity and knowledge of consumers in terms of their luxury gastronomic experiences. The findings show that the perception of ethical food practices within luxury restaurants can encompass additional dimensions such as food well-being and cultural preservation and transmission. This information can enrich the restaurant sustainability literature that principally focuses on health, community and the ecological aspects of food ethics in restaurants. Although this study suggests numerous new insights, there are limitations related to focusing on the French food culture. However, these limitations can help us develop other opportunities for future research. Practical implications The findings of this study provide luxury professionals and marketers with key insights into effective strategies to integrate sustainable practices while enhancing the luxury experience. The findings show that to encourage luxury businesses and restaurants to promote sustainable practices, it is necessary to enhance the functional, social, emotional and cultural dimensions of the perceived benefits of offering sustainable luxury experiences and reducing the constraints related to sustainability. Social implications With its focus on the luxury dining settings underpinning the ethical food practices from the perspective of consumers, this research offers novel insights for researchers and luxury professionals interested in ethical and sustainable business practices. Originality/value This research suggests a new way to study sustainability and ethical food production and consumption practices in luxury dining settings – namely, as multiple, culturally embedded perceptions related to three main profiles of luxury gastronomy consumers: novice, advanced and confirmed.

scholarly journals Co-Creating Value in Sustainable and Alternative Food Networks: The Case of Community Supported Agriculture in New Zealand

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 1252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariarosaria Savarese ◽  
Kerry Chamberlain ◽  
Guendalina Graffigna
Keyword(s):  
Food Consumption ◽  
Learning By Doing ◽  
Alternative Food ◽  
Community Supported Agriculture ◽  
Alternative Food Networks ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Complex Concept ◽  
Food Networks ◽  
Strongly Connected ◽  
Consumer Perspectives

Background: Over recent decades, society has been facing different social, political, and economic challenges that are changing classical consumption dynamics towards more sustainable practices, mostly in the field of food consumption. In particular, alternative food networks are enabling new food consumption models inspired by principles of participation and sustainability. The aim of this study was to explore how community supported agriculture farms create value for sustainability practices from both farmer and consumer perspectives in order to find new levers to engage consumers towards pursuing better food consumption models. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted following focused ethnography principles. Results: The results show that community supported agriculture is a complex concept based on the active participation of consumers as carers of economic, social, and environmental values. These values are all strongly connected, and together contribute to create an ecosystem where sustainable food practices can be promoted through a “learning by doing” process. Conclusions: This research offers new ways to re-connect and collaborate with consumers in the era of sustainable food consumption.

Sustainable Food Logistics Systems

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhaohui Wu ◽  
Madeleine Elinor Pullman
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Food Supply ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Cold Chain ◽  
Community Supported Agriculture ◽  
Food Supply Chain ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Chain Management

Food supply chain management is becoming a critical management and public policy agenda. Climate change, growing demand, and shifting patterns of food production, delivery, and consumption have elicited a series of new challenges, such as food security, safety, and system resiliency. This chapter first introduces the typical players in a food supply chain and examines the global food system characterized by consolidation and industrialization. It then discusses some critical topics of the sustainable food supply chain that aim to address these challenges. These topics include traceability, transparency, certification and standards, and alternatives to industrialized food systems, including cooperatives, community-supported agriculture, and roles of small and medium-sized growers in regenerative agriculture. The chapter ends with a discussion of several important emerging logistics management topics, including last-mile delivery, new technology, and cold chain management.

scholarly journals Challenging the Status Quo through Social Influence: Changes in Sustainable Consumption through the Influence of Social Networks

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 5513
Author(s):  
Iljana Schubert ◽  
Judith I. M. de Groot ◽  
Adrian C. Newton
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Social Influence ◽  
Food Consumption ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Injunctive Norms ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Consumption Choices ◽  
The Status ◽  
Consumption Practices

This study examines the influence of social network members (versus strangers) on sustainable food consumption choices to investigate how social influence can challenge the status quo in unsustainable consumption practices. We hypothesized that changes to individual consumption practices could be achieved by revealing ‘invisible’ descriptive and injunctive social norms. We further hypothesized that it matters who reveals these norms, meaning that social network members expressing their norms will have a stronger influence on other’s consumption choices than if these norms are expressed by strangers. We tested these hypotheses in a field experiment (N = 134), where participants discussed previous sustainable food consumption (revealing descriptive norms) and its importance (revealing injunctive norms) with either a stranger or social network member. We measured actual sustainable food consumption through the extent to which participants chose organic over non-organic consumables during the debrief. Findings showed that revealed injunctive norms significantly influenced food consumption, more so than revealed descriptive norms. We also found that this influence was stronger for social network members compared to strangers. Implications and further research directions in relation to how social networks can be used to evoke sustainable social change are discussed.

scholarly journals Policy Interventions Promoting Sustainable Food- and Feed-Systems: A Delphi Study of Legume Production and Consumption

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 7597
Author(s):  
Bálint Balázs ◽  
Eszter Kelemen ◽  
Tiziana Centofanti ◽  
Marta W. Vasconcelos ◽  
Pietro P. M. Iannetta
Keyword(s):  
Delphi Study ◽  
N Fertilizer ◽  
Communication Process ◽  
Smooth Transition ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Policy Interventions ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Food And Feed ◽  
The Eu

The food- and feed-value systems in the European Union are not protein self-sufficient. Despite the potential of legume-supported production systems to reduce the externalities caused by current cultivation practices (excessive use of N fertilizer) and improve the sustainability of the arable cropping systems and the quality of human diets, sufficient production of high-protein legume grains in Europe has not been achieved due to multiple barriers. Identifying the barriers to the production and consumption of legumes is the first step in realizing new pathways towards more sustainable food systems of which legumes are integral part. In this study, we engage stakeholders and decision-makers in a structured communication process, the Delphi method, to identify policy interventions leveraging barriers that hinder the production and consumption of legumes in the EU. This study is one of a kind and uses a systematic method to reach a common understanding of the policy incoherencies across sectors. Through this method we identify policy interventions that may promote the production of legumes and the creation of legume-based products in the EU. Policies that encourage reduced use of inorganic N fertilizer represent an important step toward a shift in the increased cultivation of legumes. Relatedly, investment in R&D, extension services, and knowledge transfer is necessary to support a smooth transition from the heavy use of synthetic N fertilizer in conventional agriculture. These policy interventions are discussed within current EU and national plant-protein strategies.

scholarly journals COVID-19 As an Opportunity for a Healthy-Sustainable Food Transition. An Analysis of Dietary Transformations during the First Italian Lockdown

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 5661
Author(s):  
Raffaele Matacena ◽  
Mariangela Zenga ◽  
Marco D’Addario ◽  
Silvia Mari ◽  
Massimo Labra
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Generational Cohort ◽  
Current Crisis ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Household Level ◽  
Daily Food ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
The Impact

The COVID-19 emergency and the consequent social distancing requirements have caused major disruptions in daily food-related practices at the household level. In this paper, we evaluate the transformations that occurred in the daily nutritional choices and behaviors of a convenience sample (n = 2288) of Italian residents during the first nation-wide lockdown (March–May 2020) to assess the impact on the health and socio-environmental sustainability of their diets. Results portray a scenario of wide-spread change, especially in relation to the quantity of daily food consumed, the composition of diets and the time and commitment devoted to home-cooking, with young individuals emerging as the most impacted generational cohort. Through the construction of an indicator for healthy–sustainable transition (HST index), we demonstrate that such changes unfold on a gradient, revealing that while for many respondents lockdown nutrition implied overeating and weight gain, a substantial segment of the population conversely improved the healthiness and sustainability of their daily nutritional patterns. In this sense, improvements are associated with young age, socio-economic status, frequency and enjoyment of cooking-from-scratch and, more generally, an attentive attitude towards the quality, provenance and materiality of food that, in turn, the COVID-19 crisis appears to have re-kindled. We conclude by highlighting five areas of institutional intervention (i.e., young people, time, tools, food supply at work, and local food chains) on which to focus in order to ensure the current crisis does not represent a missed opportunity for creating the necessary conditions for sustainable food production and consumption to take hold as the ‘new’ normal in the post-pandemic era.

scholarly journals Actions on sustainable food production and consumption for the post-2020 global biodiversity framework

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. eabc8259
Author(s):  
Izabela Delabre ◽  
Lily O. Rodriguez ◽  
Joanna Miller Smallwood ◽  
Jörn P. W. Scharlemann ◽  
Joseph Alcamo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Transformative Change ◽  
Political Commitment ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Sustainable Food Production ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Barriers And Opportunities ◽  
Sustainability Standards

Current food production and consumption trends are inconsistent with the Convention on Biological Diversity’s 2050 vision of living in harmony with nature. Here, we examine how, and under what conditions, the post-2020 biodiversity framework can support transformative change in food systems. Our analysis of actions proposed in four science-policy fora reveals that subsidy reform, valuation, food waste reduction, sustainability standards, life cycle assessments, sustainable diets, mainstreaming biodiversity, and strengthening governance can support more sustainable food production and consumption. By considering barriers and opportunities of implementing these actions in Peru and the United Kingdom, we derive potential targets and indicators for the post-2020 biodiversity framework. For targets to support transformation, genuine political commitment, accountability and compliance, and wider enabling conditions and actions by diverse agents are needed to shift food systems onto a sustainable path.

Minimum-wage Connoisseurship and Everyday Boundary Maintenance: Brewing Inequality in Third Wave Coffee

2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 469-491
Author(s):  
Brian Ott
Keyword(s):  
Minimum Wage ◽  
The United States ◽  
Third Wave ◽  
Niche Markets ◽  
Sensory Experiences ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Boundary Maintenance ◽  
Consumption Practices ◽  
Specialty Coffee ◽  
Additional Payment

The shift from Fordism to post-Fordism in the United States introduced vast changes to production and consumption practices. In contrast to the commercial enterprises of Fordism, the post-Fordist economy relies on fast-changing tastes and small, niche markets along with new cultural forms for inducing consumption and anchoring identities. This article focuses on the specialty (or “third wave”) coffee industry, where coffee is treated similarly to wine, which I argue is emblematic of a post-Fordist economy. Relying on data collected from over a year of ethnographic fieldwork, I argue that the specialty coffee industry represents a qualitative shift in the coffee industry, one that produces a new niche market and consumer base that commoditizes sensory experiences as embodied class dispositions. I argue that baristas perform a kind of labor that I term “minimum-wage connoisseurship,” where they receive minimum wage (and tips) along with additional payment in cultural and social capital that elevates their status as well as manufacture’s consent for dedicating their time, in and outside of work, and their bodies to the organization.

scholarly journals SUSTAINABILITY AND THE CONCEPT OF SHARED VALUE AND THE 4TH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION: A BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF TWO SCIENTIFIC NETWORKS

2021 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 19-32
Author(s):  
Inge de Wet ◽  
de Kock Imke
Keyword(s):  
Bibliometric Analysis ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Shared Value ◽  
Business Practices ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Consumption Practices ◽  
Scientific Networks ◽  
Environmentally Friendly Production

The role of the technologies, concepts, and philosophies associated with the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) has been argued to hold significant value in the quest for sustainability. Furthermore, the concept of ‘shared value’ has been put forward as an approach that holds significant value when aiming to bring about socially just, economically fair, and environmentally friendly production and consumption practices. The importance of the link between the concept of shared value and 4IR is explored in this paper using bibliometric analysis, and we expose the different structures of these fields, including keywords, key authors, and the coherence of these two scientific networks in order to uncover areas of integration between them. The findings of this analysis indicate that a clear gap in integration exists; and the opportunity for research in this field could further contribute to the debate on using innovative, contemporary technologies — such as those associated with 4IR — to support approaches to ensure increasingly sustainable business practices, such as shared value.

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