What is alternative about Alternative Agri-Food Networks? A research agenda towards an interdisciplinary assessment

This paper presents a research agenda about Alternative Agri-Food Networks (AFNs)1 and an introduction to the literature from an interdisciplinary standpoint. We assume that, besides the scientific relevance of our approach, this research agenda may be effective for ‘raising awareness’ about AFNS among politicians, administrators and technicians and, thus, may help to better support AFNs through public policies (Roep, Wiskerke 2012). AFNs are often viewed as desirable on social and environmental grounds. It is argued that, given the shorter distance food travels, they are more environmental friendly for society and economically cheaper for consumers. Being based on direct connections between consumers and producers, they also arguably enhance social capital by creating a local network based on trust and common definitions of quality. These arguments are attractive but they have two serious shortcomings: (i) they have an ideological flavour, as well as lack of sound theoretical framing and (ii) they are often analyzed separately. In this paper we outline a framework to directly address these shortcomings from diverse but interrelated standpoints: territorial, environmental, economic, and sociological. The territorial perspective will highlight the modalities through which agri-food networks are organised at different geographical scales and affect the territories they are linked to. The environmental analysis will urge to go beyond a simple, even if very complex to study, ‘Life Cycle Assessment’ to take into account the multi-functionality of farms and the territorial dimensions of the area where the supply chains is placed. The economic standpoint will outline the necessity to examine both the economic determinants of the farmers’ choice to use the AFNs and the mechanisms explaining why consumers are using, from the demand side, the same chains. Finally, the sociological analysis will point to the mechanisms through which quality conventions emerge and diffuse in AFNs. Before illustrating these points, a succinct summary of AFNs will be provided.