Jasmine Elizabeth Black, Damian Maye, Anna Krzywoszynska and Stephen Jones
This paper examines how key actors in the UK food system (FS) understand the role of the local food sector in relation to FS resilience.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper examines how key actors in the UK food system (FS) understand the role of the local food sector in relation to FS resilience.
Design/methodology/approach
Discourse analysis was used to assess and compare the framings of the UK FS in 36 publications released during Covid-19 from alternative food networks (AFNs) actors and from other more mainstream FS actors, including the UK government.
Findings
The analysis shows that AFNs actors perceive the UK FS as not resilient and identify local FSs as a route towards greater resilience (“systemic” framing). In contrast, other food actors perceive the UK FS as already resilient, with the role of local food limited to specific functions within the existing system (“add-on” framing). The two groups converge on the importance of dynamic public procurement and local abattoir provision, but this convergence does not undermine the fundamental divergence in the understanding of the role of “the local” in resilient UK FSs. The local food sector’s messages appear to have gone largely unheard in mainstream policy.
Research limitations/implications
The paper presents an analysis of public sector reports focused on the UK FS released during the Covid-19 pandemic years 2020–2021. The corpus inclusion criteria mean that publications during this period which focus on other food sector issues, such social injustices, climate change and health, were not included in the analysis, although they may have touched upon local food issues. The authors further recognise that Covid-19 had a longer lasting effect on FSs than the years 2020–2021, and that many other publications on FSs have been published since. The time span chosen targets the time at which FSs were most disrupted and therefore aims to capture emerging issues and solutions for the UK FS. The authors’ insights should be further validated through a more complete review of both public reports and academic papers covering a wider base of food-related issues and sectors as well as a broader timespan.
Originality/value
A comparison of how different FS actors understand the importance of local food, especially in relation to resilience, has not been undertaken to date. The findings raise important questions about the disconnect between AFN actors and other actors in the framing of resilience. Considering the need to ensure resilience of the UK FS, this study's findings raise important insights for UK food policy about the “local food blindspot” and for food movement actors wishing to progress their vision of transformative change.
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Brian Ilbery, Paul Courtney, James Kirwan and Damian Maye
The purpose of this paper is to examine the proportion and distribution of organic produce sold through different marketing channels by a sample of organic farmers in three “core”…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the proportion and distribution of organic produce sold through different marketing channels by a sample of organic farmers in three “core” areas of organic farming in England and Wales. More specifically, it conducts a quantitative analysis of marketing concentration and geographical dispersion within different travel time zones.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative database was constructed on the marketing channels and travel time zones used by 61 organic farmers to sell their produce and purchase necessary inputs. Indices of marketing concentration and geographical dispersion (outputs and inputs) were then calculated for each farm and region.
Findings
Results indicate a high level of marketing concentration, dominated by marketing cooperatives, direct marketing and abattoir/processors. Similar levels of concentration are recorded for the indices of geographical dispersion (especially outputs). Results vary significantly between the three regions, but it is clear that organic farmers in each region make use of different combinations of marketing channels, both local and national, in increasingly hybridised and individualised supply chains.
Research limitations/implications
Many organic farmers are developing hybridised supply chains, including both local and more conventional marketing channels, and further research is needed into the identified regional differences and the reasons for developing what are often very individualised marketing chains.
Originality/value
This is the first attempt to calculate indices of marketing concentration and geographical dispersion for organic farms in different regions of England and Wales. The paper also contributes to debates on the potential impact of organic farming on rural development and the local economy.
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Aleksandra Kowalska, Sophia Lingham, Damian Maye and Louise Manning
Applying mitigation measures during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in ‘locking down’ of economies, and disrupted agri-food markets worldwide. Income losses and food price…
Abstract
Research Background
Applying mitigation measures during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in ‘locking down’ of economies, and disrupted agri-food markets worldwide. Income losses and food price increases negatively affected food security. The ‘stay-at-home’ policy led some households towards a positive shift in eating habits and maintaining these changes could contribute to better nutrition. The Russia–Ukraine war and soaring energy and food prices contributes further to the pressure on the global food system and urgency to consider longer term resilience capacities of national food systems.
Purpose of the Chapter
The aim of the chapter is to identify and review food security challenges that governments and societies have faced during the COVID-19 crisis and beyond, with specific emphasis on Poland.
Methodology
The methodological approach was to undertake a narrative literature review and to analyse a number of indicators relating to food security at the national level. These were quantified using data from Economist Impact, the World Bank, the European Commission, FAOSTAT and Statistics Poland.
Findings
The 2019–2022 Global Food Security Index for Poland remained quite stable, but the number of food insecure people increased significantly. Hence, urgent government measures are needed to ensure food security for all. Since 2021, high food inflation has reduced food affordability and is expected to remain high due to the Russia-Ukraine war, market pressures on energy prices and climate-related weather conditions. Greater food self-sufficiency in Poland is a key strategy to build up the resilience of the national food system.
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Damian Mellifont, Annmaree Watharow, Sheelagh Daniels-Mayes, Jennifer Smith-Merry and Mary-Ann O'Donovan
Ethical principles and practices frequently support the position that people with disability are vulnerable. Vulnerability in research traditionally infers a need for protection…
Abstract
Ethical principles and practices frequently support the position that people with disability are vulnerable. Vulnerability in research traditionally infers a need for protection from harm and raises questions over the person’s capacity to consent and engage. In addition, vulnerability in ethics infers a state of permanency and one that is all-encompassing for everyone within the vulnerable groups. This construction of vulnerability in effect legitimises the exclusion of people with disability from research or monitors and restricts how people with disability can engage in research. This results in an implicitly ableist environment for research. In this chapter, which has been led by researchers with disability, we argue that there is a critical need to move beyond a popularised social construction of vulnerability which serves to perpetuate barriers to including people with disability in research. Like all terms, the traditional and popular construction of vulnerability is open to reclaiming and reframing. Under this reconstruction, what is traditionally viewed as a limiting vulnerability can be owned, openly disclosed and accommodated. Following a pandemic-inspired ‘new normal’ that supports flexible workplace practices, and in accordance with UNCRPD goals of inclusive employment and reducing disability inequity, we argue that the pathway for people with disability as career researchers needs an ethical review and overhaul. We provide readers with a practical roadmap to advance a more inclusive academy for researchers with disability.
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Philippa Simmonds and Signild Vallgårda
This paper qualitatively explores arguments in the UK meat tax debate, including how they align with values from specific political ideologies and perspectives on sustainable food…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper qualitatively explores arguments in the UK meat tax debate, including how they align with values from specific political ideologies and perspectives on sustainable food security.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted a scoping media analysis of articles published over 1 year in six leading UK newspapers, followed by semi-structured interviews with ten key stakeholders in late 2019. The authors identified categories of arguments, distilled the core conflicts and analysed how arguments reflected different ideas about human nature, the role of the state and solutions to food system challenges.
Findings
Arguments were categorised into five major topics: climate change and environment; human health; effects on animals; fairness; and acceptability of government intervention. Pro-meat tax arguments often aligned with modern liberal ideology, and sometimes echoed demand restraint or food system transformation perspectives on sustainable food security. Arguments against meat taxes were more likely to align with the efficiency perspective or classical liberal ideology.
Originality/value
To the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first interpretive analyses of this controversial suggested policy. Despite having similarities with other debates around taxation – particularly taxes on sugar sweetened beverages – the meat tax debate contains unique complexities due to the prominence of environmental arguments, and differing values pertaining to animal welfare and rights. This study highlights the need for policy research exploring values, in addition to quantitative evidence.
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This study examined whether individuals' coping strategies and their motivations for social media use act as mediators between actual COVID-19-related stress and the perception…
Abstract
Purpose
This study examined whether individuals' coping strategies and their motivations for social media use act as mediators between actual COVID-19-related stress and the perception that social media use can reduce stress.
Design/methodology/approach
This study empirically develops and tests a research model with data (N = 503) collected through Amazon Mechanical Turk. A path analysis was used to test the research model.
Findings
The path analysis indicated that active coping initiated by individuals under COVID-19-related stress was more likely to be associated with information and social interaction needs, leading the individuals to perceive the use of social media as the cause for stress reduction. The expressive support coping strategy motivated the individuals under stress to seek social interaction, leading individuals to perceive that activities on social media reduced their stress during the pandemic. Emotional venting and avoidance coping strategies significantly impacted escape, social interaction, and entertainment seeking by allowing individuals to get absorbed in social media activities and forget unpleasant thoughts associated with the pandemic.
Originality/value
No previous study has explored the relationship between decisions around the type of coping strategy used and motivations for media usage, which leads to stress reduction. Understanding how stress-induced coping strategies influence social media users' specific motivations and reduce users' stress levels would help communicators understand how users' can encourage individuals to cope with stress by presenting individuals with more effective social media, resulting in stress reduction and improved well-being.
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Bhumika Ray, Mohit Verma, Nikshit Gautam and Manindra Kumar
This study aims to present a comprehensive review of the scientific literature on gig work and the social responsibility towards them; the study highlights the evolving nature of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to present a comprehensive review of the scientific literature on gig work and the social responsibility towards them; the study highlights the evolving nature of work, career and organisation, focussing on their social responsibility towards gig work.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic review of 186 selected articles published since the beginning of the gig economy research. Quantitative bibliometric and framework-based review techniques were used to analyse theoretical nuances, themes, antecedents and contextual factors.
Findings
Factors responsible for the social responsibility towards gig work were identified. The factors were categorised into individual, organisational and social-related attributes. Overall, the contextual factors, top articles, authors and journals suggested that gig work research is increasing exponentially across the globe.
Research limitations/implications
The understanding of the factors influencing the gig work explored, the long-term implications of disruptions or gig workers’ well-being and exploring the impact of social and cultural aspects of the gig work research.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first studies to analyse the factors influencing social responsibility towards gig work in the changing nature of work, career and organisation. The study provides future directions for expanding the scholarship, resulting in the sustainability of this form of employment.