Know the Farmer That Feeds You: A Cross-Country Analysis of Spatial-Relational Proximities and the Attractiveness of Community Supported Agriculture

Christina Gugerell, Takeshi Sato, Christine Hvitsand, Daichi Toriyama, Nobuhiro Suzuki and Marianne Penker
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Christina Gugerell: Department of Economics and Social Sciences, Institute for Sustainable Economic Development, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, 1180 Vienna, Austria
Takeshi Sato: Department of Global Agricultural Sciences, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8654, Japan
Christine Hvitsand: Faculty of Biosciences, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, 1432 Ås, Norway
Daichi Toriyama: Department of Global Agricultural Sciences, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8654, Japan
Nobuhiro Suzuki: Department of Global Agricultural Sciences, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8654, Japan
Marianne Penker: Department of Economics and Social Sciences, Institute for Sustainable Economic Development, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, 1180 Vienna, Austria

Agriculture, 2021, vol. 11, issue 10, 1-20

Abstract: While food production and consumption processes worldwide are characterized by geographical and social distance, alternative food networks aim to reconnect producers and consumers. Our study proposes a framework to distinguish multiple dimensions of proximity in the context of Community Supported Agriculture (a type of alternative food network) and to quantitatively evaluate them. In a principal component analysis, we aggregated various detailed proximity items from a multinational survey using principal component analysis and examined their relationship with the attractiveness of Community Supported Agriculture in a multiple regression analysis. Our findings highlight the importance of relational proximity and thus of increasing trust, collaboration, and the sharing of values and knowledge within and across organizations in the food system. Rather than focusing on spatial proximity, increasing relational proximity might support alternative food networks, such as Community Supported Agriculture.

Keywords: community supported agriculture; alternative food networks; spatial proximity; relational proximity; cross-national case study (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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