Situated at the intersection of economic, rural and food sociology, this work focuses on small-scale agri-food producers selling their products through alternative food channels in Milan, Italy, and Manchester, United Kingdom. It...
moreSituated at the intersection of economic, rural and food sociology, this work focuses on small-scale agri-food producers selling their products through alternative food channels in Milan, Italy, and Manchester, United Kingdom. It investigates the role of farmers-producers in alternative urban networks of food provisioning, highlighting their practices, attitudes, representations, and logics of action, and how these are shaped by their collaboration with such networks.
By comparing the cases of Milan and Manchester, this work provides an interpretation of the reality of small-scale farmers in these two regions, highlighting the innovative practices they realize to seek viability for their farms within the alternative food economy, along with the corresponding ‘de-commodification’ modalities with which their activities are re-integrated within an innovative system of social relations.
The analysis therefore aspires to contribute to the debate on food sovereignty, sustainability of local food systems, and rural development, which are issues of increasing scientific interest as well as critical areas of local-regional and national policy.
