ABSTRACT
Most Alternative Agri-Food Networks (AAFNs) have been developed to counter the mainstream agri-food networks dominated by huge multinational corporations. However, they have largely ignored the capacity of the mainstream to absorb, mimic, repackage and otherwise co-opt the goals of the various AAFNs. Without an understanding of those processes, AAFNs become merely marketing tests for the next wave of mainstream food products. In this chapter I examine how the mainstream is maintained and co-opts approaches developed by AAFNs. One can distinguish five components to this approach to mainstream network management: First, the Tripartite Standards Regime of standards, certifications and accreditations, designed by the major actors, governs the entire network. Conformity is enforced through audits that extend from the behavior of CEOs to janitors, from farm supply companies to farmers to processors to retailers. Second, assembly line technologies have been extended to much of the agri-food chain. Hence, poultry processors and fast-food restaurants now share the same technical approach to production. Third, the mainstream has created a New Taylorism, in which something akin to time and motion studies has been extended to all occupations. Fourth, Big Data now makes it possible to monitor everyone and everything in real time. Finally, the mainstream agri-food companies have developed a variety of tactics for co-opting, incorporating and subverting alternative agri-food movements. In conclusion, I argue that only by understanding these tactics and how they fit into an overall strategy can AAFNs transform the current food regime.
