Conference paper, International European Forum, Innsbruck, Austria, February 5-9, 2018. Pages 271-283 in proceedings published in this journal., The increasing impact due to urban population’s food supply causes a series of negative externalities related to food production, transformation and transportation. FAO and other institutions are trying to integrate traditional models of food supply with alternative ones like Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture (UPA). Defining the drivers that motivate the participation in different types of UPA could be useful to plan more participated and effective UPA development policies. Barcelona (Spain) hosts a number of cases representing different declinations that UPA can assume. This work aims at describing the differences in terms of motivations to enter the various typologies of Urban Agriculture (UA) in Barcelona. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews to 4 groups of users representing 3 of the most widespread models of UA initiatives in Barcelona (Allotment Gardens, Community Gardens, Pla Buits.) The results showed that participation in UA is mainly motivated by relational aspects and knowledge exchange and differences exist among the various UA models. Political reasons are mostly influencing the Community Gardeners while Pla Buits users’ mains motivations are related to socialising and Allotment gardeners are mainly motivated by environmental aspects. Differences in the participants’ demographic characteristics also emerged. Better targeted public policies contents and communication strategies for UPA development can thus be derived by the results obtained; to this end, recommendations have been provided. Further research should broaden the range of case studies and the sample size, in order to provide a more effective and comprehensive tool for tailoring UPA developing strategies to different contexts.
20 pages., via databse., Based on a qualitative investigation comparing the ways in which French and Israeli Bordinary consumers view naturalness in food, this paper questions the choices they make in terms of food supply and their relations to the food production processes and the retail channels. The results of the study highlight that these representations, with the categorizations in which they are embodied, are strongly influenced by the context of life and the socio-cultural affiliations of these consumers. The comparison between the two countries allows to underline that the logic of categorization of the natural, and the related practices, are characterized by significant differences due to food cultures and relations of trust or mistrust regarding the food chains and industries. More broadly, the article demonstrates that investigating the conceptions that consumers have of naturalness is a relevant analyzer of their dietary decisions and their perceptions of food production and distribution systems.
Authors examined the growth of meal kit delivery services. They advance three arguments to explore the cultural phenomenon of these services. "Despite their investment in the performative dimensons of cooking as a way to reconnect with the food system, they also miss opportunities to address gender, culture, and waste, which limits the radical potential of that performativity."