ABSTRACT
This chapter suggests several trains of thought which support the hypothesis that the alternative model has prospects for development. It remembers that this system is very heterogeneous and, in all countries, assumes at the very least a dual nature, with an agro-industrial subsystem concentrated, specialized, financialized and integrated in the globalization movement based on a rationale of international competitiveness; and a more traditional subsystem based on smaller territories and thus smaller firms with a rationale relating more to proximity. The alternative food system, like the agro-food system, must respect those constraints of public health and sustainable development. This means mobilizing the most up-to-date scientific and technological resources. In Romania, traditional bakeries face competition from bread factories and suffer from the concentration of flour mills, which exercise a certain market power. The cultural values linked to diet and its role in rural development is clearly highlighted by Hungarian gourmet festivals which combine popular arts, in particular music, with food festivals.
