'In recent years, as global food chains have expanded, an array of terms has been used in academic, policy, technical or civic debates to describe innovative re-organisations of food supply chains aimed at re-connecting producers and consumers and re-localising agriculture and food production. These include short supply chains, alternative food networks, local farming systems and direct sales. In the European Union, several Member States have developed legal frameworks and incentives to support such types of food chains and at EU level, these kind of initiative benefit from Rural Development funding. In this policy context, the paper reports on a study which has examined the state-of-play of short food supply chains and local food systems in the EU and reflects on the policy tools which could support them. Drawing on results from a systematic literature review, a new database of short food supply chains and three case studies from France, Austria and Hungary, the study considers the advantages and disadvantages of a possible common EU labelling scheme for farm produce. It offers insights into the evolving characteristics and structures of short food supply chains, and suggests that a distinction can be drawn between \'traditional\' and \'neo-traditional\' types. The study identifies a strong emphasis on social capital and organic farming systems within the database examples, and highlights some possible differences between short food chains in Northern and Southern Europe and the New Member States.'
Tags: europe , Coventry University , agroecology , food security , Moya Kneafsey , Short Food Chains
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