| Description |
1 online resource (viii, 223 pages) |
| Series |
Earthscan food and agriculture |
|
Earthscan food and agriculture.
|
| Contents |
Transformations in China's food system / Theresa Schumilas, Zhenzhong Si, Aijuan Chen, and Steffanie Scott -- Top-down initiatives: state support for ecological and organic agriculture in China / Aijuan Chen, Steffanie Scott, and Zhenzhong Si -- The farmers' cooperative model in China's ecological agriculture sector / Aijuan Chen and Steffanie Scott -- Bottom-up initiatives: the emergence of "alternative" food networks / Zhenzhong Si, Theresa Schumilas, and Steffanie Scott -- Economic, ecological and interpersonal dimensions of alternative food networks / Theresa Schumilas -- Farmers' markets as contested spaces: case study of the Beijing organic farmers' market / Zhenzhong Si -- Promising community organizing in China's AFNs / Theresa Schumilas -- Rural development initiatives amid food safety crisis: strategies, challenges and opportunities in the "new rural reconstruction movement" in China / Zhenzhong Si and Steffanie Scott -- Conclusion / Zhenzhong Si, Steffanie Scott, Theresa Schumilas, and Aijuan Chen |
| Summary |
Despite reports of food safety and quality scandals, China has a rapidly expanding organic agriculture and food sector, and there is a revolution in ecological food and ethical eating in China's cities. This book shows how a set of social, economic, cultural, and environmental conditions have converged to shape the development of a'formal'organic sector, created by'top-down'state-developed standards and regulations, and an'informal'organic sector, created by 'bottom-up'grassroots struggles for safe, healthy, and sustainable food. This is generating a new civil movement focused on ecological agriculture and quality food. Organic movements and markets have typically emerged in industrialized food systems that are characterized by private land ownership, declining small farm sectors, consolidated farm to retail chains, predominance of supermarket retail, standards and laws to safeguard food safety, and an active civil society sector. The authors contrast this with the Chinese context, with its unique version of'capitalism with social characteristics, 'collective farmland ownership, and predominance of smallholder agriculture and emerging diverse marketing channels. China's experience also reflects a commitment to domestic food security, evolving food safety legislation, and a civil society with limited autonomy from a semi-authoritarian state that keeps shifting the terrain of what is permitted. The book will be of great interest to advanced students and researchers of agricultural and food systems and policy, as well as rural sociology and Chinese studies |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index |
| Notes |
Print version record |
| Subject |
Organic farming -- China
|
|
TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING -- Agriculture -- General.
|
|
Organic farming
|
|
China
|
| Form |
Electronic book
|
| Author |
Si, Zhenzhong, author.
|
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Schumilas, Theresa, author.
|
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Chen, Aijuan, author.
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| ISBN |
9780203701706 |
|
0203701704 |
|
9781351331357 |
|
1351331353 |
|
9781351331364 |
|
1351331361 |
|
9781351331340 |
|
1351331345 |
|
