Can we sustain sustainable agriculture? Learning from small-scale producer-suppliers in Canada and the UK |
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Authors: | LARCH MAXEY |
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Institution: | Department of Geography, School of the Environment and Society, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP E-mail: |
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Abstract: | There has been particular interest in 'alternative' food over the last 10 years, with many policymakers and researchers throughout the Minority World following a growing number of consumers and producers in supporting organic farming and a host of 'alternative' food networks. To date, there has been a tendency for theory and policy to emerge somewhat divorced from the grounded practices and experiences of producer-suppliers themselves within these networks. Urging a shift from 'alternativity' to 'sustainability' as a more critical and valuable tool to analyse food networks, this paper draws upon in-depth ethnographic research with small-scale producer-supplier case studies in south Wales and southern Ontario. In so doing it explores often overlooked voices and stories within sustainable food discourses. Focusing on the value of farmer-led understandings and responses, the paper highlights important implications for policymakers and consumers and outlines future research on sustainable food networks. |
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Keywords: | Wales Canada sustainable food networks ethnography |
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