ABSTRACT
In Chapter 5, we first propose a typology of alternative food networks (AFNs) in China, which includes community supported agriculture farms, ecological farmers' markets, buying clubs, and garden plot rentals. We illustrate their characteristics with specific cases. We then examine the socio-economic and political conditions that shape China's AFNs. We argue that Chinese AFNs are consumer-driven and there is a potential inconsistency in values between the AFN organizers and their customers. The “consumer-driven” feature shapes AFNs’ alternativeness by pitching their core attributes as meeting food safety requirements while ecological and social values are given less prominence.
