17 pages, Little is known about how farms and markets are connected. Identifying critical gaps and central hubs in food systems is of importance in addressing a variety of concerns, such as navigating rapid shifts in marketing practices as seen during the COVID-19 pandemic and related food shortages. The constellation of growers and markets can also reinforce opportunities to shift growing and eating policies and practices with attention to addressing racial and income inequities in food system ownership and access. With this research, we compare network methods for measuring centrality and sociospatial orientations in food systems using two of America’s most high-producing agricultural counties. Though the counties are adjacent, we demonstrate that their community food systems have little overlap in contributing farms and markets. Our findings show that the community food system for Yolo County is tightly interwoven with Bay Area restaurants and farmers’ markets. The adjacent county, Sacramento, branded itself as America’s Farm-to-Fork capital in 2012 and possesses network hubs focused more on grocery stores and restaurants. In both counties, the most central actors differ and have been involved with the community food system for decades. Such findings have implications beyond the case studies, and we conclude with considerations for how our methods could be standardized in the national agricultural census.
13 pages, via online journal, Food charity in the United States has grown into a critical appendage of agro-food supply chains. In 2016, 4.5 billion pounds of food waste was diverted through a network of 200 regional food banks, a fivefold increase in just 20 years. Recent global trade disruptions and the COVID-19 pandemic have further reinforced this trend. Economic geographers studying charitable food networks argue that its infrastructure and moral substructure serve to revalue food waste and surplus labor in the capitalist food system. The political–legal framework undergirding this revaluation process however is still poorly understood. Drawing on a 6-year institutional ethnography of the food banking economy in West Virginia, this paper takes a supply-side approach to examine the material and moral values driving the expansion of food waste recovery as hunger relief. Empirically, it focuses on the laws, contracts and fiscal incentives regulating charitable food procurement at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Feeding America. The assemblage of government agencies, private businesses and non-profit organizations enrolled into this gift economy at different scales I argue, serves to enclose food waste into a public–private governance structure that regulates food surpluses and ensures these will not disrupt the scarcity logics driving profitability along primary food circuits.
8 pages, The conjunction of citizen science and social media through the mediation of the smartphone is investigated in this Scientific Communication, following on from the last issue of the Moravian Geographical Reports (2019, Vol. 27, No. 4). Through a reconsideration of three previously published articles, in part written by the author, this paper reflects on these topics with regard to farmer innovation, local food networks and citizen-informed ecology. Each of these papers has used Twitter to gather data about practices of innovation and observation that have revealed new insights about innovation networks amongst farmers, urban-rural connections and insect behaviours. The reflections reported here are embedded in a discussion of the rise of the term 'Citizen Science'. Recent experiences in areas as diverse as fisheries management and combating Ebola, have informed societal needs for greater engagement in finding inclusive, comprehensive solutions to urgent socio-ecological problems. This paper suggests a compositional approach to studies using citizen scientists and their data as a new avenue of practice and investigation.
14pgs, Background
Businesses and organizations involved in growing, distributing, and supplying food may face severe disruptions from natural and human-generated hazards, ranging from extreme weather to political unrest. Baltimore, Maryland, is developing policies to improve local food system organizations’ ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disruptive events and ultimately to contribute to food system resilience.
Objectives
To identify factors that may be associated with organization-level food system resilience, how these factors may play out in disaster response, and how they may relate to organizations’ confidence in their ability to withstand disruptive events.
Design
Semi-structured in-depth interviews with representatives of key food system businesses and organizations identified by means of stratified purposive sampling and snowball sampling.
Participants/setting
Representatives of 26 food system businesses and organizations in Baltimore stratified by two informant categories: organizations focused on promoting food access, such as governmental offices and nonprofits, and businesses and organizations involved in supplying and distributing food in Baltimore City, such as retailers, wholesalers, and producers.
Analyses
Interviews were analyzed using a phronetic iterative approach.
Results
The following 10 factors that may contribute to organization-level resilience were identified: formal emergency planning; staff training; staff attendance; redundancy of food supply, food suppliers, infrastructure, location, and service providers; insurance; and post-event learning. Organizations that were larger, better resourced, and affiliated with national or government partners typically demonstrated more resilience factors compared with smaller, independent, and nonprofit organizations.
Conclusion
To ensure reliable access to safe food for all people, food system organizations must strengthen their operations to safeguard against a variety of potential threats. This study’s examination of factors that contribute to resilience can help food system organizations, researchers, and government officials identify priorities for investigating vulnerabilities in diverse operations and potential strategies to improve resilience in the face of ongoing and growing threats.
15 pages., The paper analyses characteristics of vertical relationships of organic supply chains with a specific focus on the processing and retailing sectors. The analysis takes into account different regions of the EU Mediterranean area. Data were collected through interviews using an ad hoc questionnaire. The survey was based on a sample of 306 firms, including processors and retailers. The analysis revealed that a relevant aspect for the processing firms of organic products concerns the guaranteeing of safety and quality levels for the products. The main tools to implement the quality management are based on the adoption of specific production regulations and quality controls. The premium price most frequently applied by processors ranges from 10% to 40% and similar values are revealed for retailers. The diffusion of supply contracts allows the vertical coordination between agriculture and processing firms in the organic supply chains. The main distribution channels for the processing firms are represented by specialised shops in organic products, direct sales and supermarkets.
