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Alternative Approaches to Food: Community Supported Agriculture in Urban China

Author

Listed:
  • Kees Krul

    (Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, P.O. Box 5015, 2600 GA Delft, The Netherlands)

  • Peter Ho

    (Minzu University of China, No. 27 Zhongguancun South Street, Beijing 100081, China
    Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, P.O. Box 5015, 2600 GA Delft, The Netherlands)

Abstract

One of the most remarkable features of China’s development path is its large-scale and fast-paced urbanization. As cities already accommodate more than half of China’s population, new challenges to urban food systems have emerged concurrently. Concerns over environmental degradation and food safety have provoked growing dissatisfaction with China’s food regime. Amidst these concerns, the aim of this paper is to study the role of new and alternative approaches to food, focusing in on the question of how community supported agriculture (CSA) can deal with the food-related issues emerging from China’s development. The paper adopts Granovetter’s notions of social embeddedness to describe CSA’s relational role in consumer-farmer dynamics, as well as the structural role within its broader relational context. Empirical data is drawn from surveys distributed among CSA farms, and interviews with key stakeholders in the Chinese CSA movement. The study finds that the model of CSA demonstrates an innovative approach to deal with food safety issues, address sustainability, and operate in an environment where future food demands are most critical. Although the movement’s structural embeddedness is bound by several limitations and contradictions, it is argued that the CSA model offers important insights and adds value into ameliorating China’s food systems.

Suggested Citation

  • Kees Krul & Peter Ho, 2017. "Alternative Approaches to Food: Community Supported Agriculture in Urban China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(5), pages 1-16, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:9:y:2017:i:5:p:844-:d:98959
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Leigh Martindale, 2021. "‘I will know it when I taste it’: trust, food materialities and social media in Chinese alternative food networks," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 38(2), pages 365-380, June.
    3. Rokpelnis, Karlis & Ho, Peter & Cheng, Gong & Zhao, Heng, 2018. "Consumer perceptions of the commodification and related conservation of traditional indigenous Naxi forest products as credence goods (China)," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 91498, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    4. Yahya Dabaghi & Shahla Choobchian & Hassan Sadighi & Hossein Azadi, 2022. "Consumers’ attitude toward participation in community-supported aquaculture: a case of Kurdistan province in the west of Iran," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 12(4), pages 870-889, December.
    5. Si Tan & Weiping Chen, 2019. "Can members’ WeChat engagement affect relational outcomes in community‐supported agriculture? Empirical evidence from China," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(1), pages 36-52, January.
    6. Mirka Erler & Christoph Dittrich, 2020. "Middle Class, Tradition and the Desi-Realm—Discourses of Alternative Food Networks in Bengaluru, India," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-15, March.
    7. Karlis Rokpelnis & Peter Ho & Gong Cheng & Heng Zhao, 2018. "Consumer Perceptions of the Commodification and Related Conservation of Traditional Indigenous Naxi Forest Products as Credence Goods (China)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-18, October.
    8. David Meek, 2022. "From marginalized to miracle: critical bioregionalism, jungle farming and the move to millets in Karnataka, India," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(3), pages 871-883, September.
    9. Jing Lin & Jianming Cai & Yan Han & Jiansheng Liu, 2017. "Identifying the Conditions for Rural Sustainability through Place-Based Culture: Applying the CIPM and CDPM Models into Meibei Ancient Village," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-15, July.
    10. Zhen, Huayang & Gao, Wenzeng & Yuan, Kai & Ju, Xuehai & Qiao, Yuhui, 2021. "Internalizing externalities through net ecosystem service analysis–A case study of greenhouse vegetable farms in Beijing," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).

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