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Building the local food movement in Chiapas, Mexico: rationales, benefits, and limitations

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  • Laurel Bellante

    (University of Arizona)

Abstract

Alternative food networks (AFNs) have become a common response to the socio-ecological injustices generated by the industrialized food system. Using a political ecology framework, this paper evaluates the emergence of an AFN in Chiapas, Mexico. While the Mexican context presents a particular set of challenges, the case study also reveals the strength the alternative food movement derives from a diverse network of actors committed to building a “community economy” that reasserts the multifunctional values of organic agriculture and local commodity chains. Nonetheless, just as the AFN functions as an important livelihood strategy for otherwise disenfranchised producers it simultaneously encounters similar limitations as those observed in other market-driven approaches to sustainable food governance.

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  • Laurel Bellante, 2017. "Building the local food movement in Chiapas, Mexico: rationales, benefits, and limitations," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 34(1), pages 119-134, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:34:y:2017:i:1:d:10.1007_s10460-016-9700-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s10460-016-9700-9
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    7. Rosario Michel-Villarreal & Martin Hingley & Maurizio Canavari & Ilenia Bregoli, 2019. "Sustainability in Alternative Food Networks: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-20, February.
    8. Farreras, Verónica & Salvador, Pablo F., 2022. "Why do some Participatory Guarantee Systems emerge, become effective, and are sustained over time, while others fail? An application of the Ostrom social-ecological system framework," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    9. González-Azcárate, Mario & Cruz-Maceín, José Luis & Bardají, Isabel, 2022. "Certifications in short food supply chains in the region of Madrid. Part of the alternative?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
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