Journal of Economic Geography Advance Access originally published online on August 1, 2005
Journal of Economic Geography 2006 6(2):181-199; doi:10.1093/jeg/lbi006
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Beyond the divide: rethinking relationships between alternative and conventional food networks in Europe
* School of City and Regional Planning, Cardiff University, Glamorgan Building, King Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff CF10 3WA, Wales, UK. email
SonninoR{at}Cardiff.ac.uk
** School of City and Regional Planning, Cardiff University, Glamorgan Building, King Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff CF10 3WA, Wales, UK. email
MarsdenTK{at}Cardiff.ac.uk
In this paper, we develop the burgeoning research agenda on alternative food networks in Europe. Through the concept of embeddedness, we argue for a much more nuanced and complex understanding of the relationships between conventional and alternative food chainsand, by extension, of their implications for rural development. Rather than viewing alternative and conventional food networks as separate spheres, we see them as highly competitive and as relational to one another and argue for the need to examine the links more critically. In particular, we highlight the need to explore the competitive relationships that alternative food networks have with the conventional sector to expose power imbalances and the effect these may have on wider rural development processes.
Keywords: alternative food networks, rural development, re-localization of agri-food, embeddedness,
JEL classifications: Q10, R11, Z13
Date submitted: 5 October 2004
Date accepted: 19 May 2005