Farm to school programs: exploring the role of regionally-based food distributors in alternative agrifood networks

Farm to school programs are at the vanguard of efforts to create an alternative agrifood system in the United States. Regionally-based, mid-tier food distributors may play an important role in harnessing the potential of farm to school programs to create viable market opportunities for small- and mid-size family farmers, while bringing more locally grown fresh food to school cafeterias. This paper focuses on the perspectives of food distributors. Our findings suggest that the food distributors profiled have the potential to help institutionalize farm to school programs. Notably, their relationships with farmers may be a critical element in expanding the scale and scope of local school food procurement. Their ability to catalyze local school food procurement however, is limited by the structural context in which farm to school programs operate. Specifically, the oppositional school year and agriculture production cycle, and tight food service budget constraints disembed and limit the potential of farm to school programs to decrease the “marketness” of school food procurement and to shift it from a process based largely on price to one that is more territorially embedded. As farm to school programs continue to gain support, regionally-based food distributors that have the meaningful relationships necessary to re-embed the school food service market back into the larger society may be critical to enabling advocates to achieve their goals.     

Direct farm,production base,traceability and food safety in China

With the rapid growth of China's economy,rising demand for safety food has been accompanied by frequent food safety scandals. Given that China's farming is dominated by millions of small-scale farms,ensuring food safety is a major challenge facing the public and private sectors. The direct farm(DF) program,initiated in 2008,represents one of the government's major initiatives to modernize the distribution of fresh fruit and vegetables(FFV) and improve food safety. Under the DF program,participating national and international retailers are expected to establish more direct procurement relationships with farm communities. While it is often claimed that greater participation by retailers in the production and post-harvest processing implied the DF program will lead to improved quality,safety and traceability,systematic evidence remains elusive as existing studies are largely narrative,based on case studies,or theoretical inference. Little empirical evidence is available for a broader evaluation of the DF program. This paper aims to fill this gap by assessing the overall performance of a single retailer's DF experience with respect to the procurement and food safety of FFV. We use data from a survey of production managers of 35 DF production bases(PBs) spread across 11 provinces,3 cities and 1 autonomous region in China. The results show a mixture of opportunities and challenges. On one hand,the DF program improves production practices and distribution channels of FFV produced on its PBs,thus facilitating the move of China's food system towards improved food safety compliance. On the other hand,significant heterogeneity in the traceability of food and the ability of DF to meet higher safety standards is evident both across major product categories and across household-operated vs. firm-operated PBs. The paper concludes with policy implications.     

北京家庭农场产业发展新模式研究

自从2013年中央一号文件首次提到“家庭农场”,家庭农场在全国发展速度非常快。家庭农场作为规模化经营的新型农业经营主体,已经成为解决三农问题的有效途径之一。但 北京家庭农场仍处于试点阶段,产业选择和发展起着至关重要的作用。通过界定北京家庭农场的内涵,分析其产业发展优势和存在的主要问题,构建具有北京特色的家庭农场产业发展模式,即“种植业+服务业”发展模式和“种养结合的生态产业+服务业”发展模式。“种植业+服务业”发展模式具体包括粮食种植、蔬菜种植、花卉种植和果树种植分别与服务业融合发展,“种养结合的生态产业+服务业” 发展模式也包括两种类型。为了进一步促进北京家庭农场产业发展模式的建设,提出明确产业布局、合理产业定位、加大资金扶持、加强基础设施配套建设及加强技术支持与服务等对策建议。     

The Multi-vitamin Nutrient Fresh Vegetable Juice

In the Tenth Five- Year Plan period, an important strategy for food industry is to develop fruit vegetable freshening and processing industry. Now,the consumable demand for vegetables turns to fresh,convenient, nutritious, safe and dean ones, while semi-processed vegetables and mixed fresh vegetable juices will meet this market demand exactly.     

Buying into the food system: Trends in food retailing in the US and implications for local foods

The contemporary US food systemis characterized by both an unprecedentedconcentration of corporate control as well as afragmentation of sourcing and marketingprocesses, introducing both new constraints andnew opportunities for more localized foodsystems. The purpose of our study is to explorethese issues by investigating three keyquestions. First, what are the key trends inthe US grocery industry? Second, how dodifferent kinds of food outlets choose,procure, and promote food products? Finally,what are the implications of recent trends inthe food retailing process for strengtheninglocal flows of the production, distribution,and consumption of food? Background informationon the grocery industry and the results ofseven open-ended interviews conducted withowners and managers of grocery stores in oneupstate New York county indicate that theretailing process differs in complex ways fromstore to store and in most aspects cannot beinferred from store type. The paper concludeswith a discussion of the implications of ourfindings for local food system efforts,specifically in terms of new collaborationsamong producers, distributors, retailers, andshoppers, who play an indispensable role indeveloping viable alternatives to increasingcorporate control.     

我国果蔬冷链物流发展现状与对策

果蔬是人们日常生活中不可缺少的副食品,是仅次于粮食的世界第二重要农产品。随着我国经济的迅速发展和人民生活水平的不断提高,人们对新鲜果蔬的需求量越来越大,对农产品质量与品质的要求也越来越高。分析了我国果蔬农产品冷链物流的发展现状,剖析了其存在的主要问题,对果蔬冷链物流发展的需求进行了预测,并在此基础上提出了促进我国果蔬冷链物流发展的对策建议。     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Still</Emphasis> a time to act: A review of institutional marketing of regionally-grown food

Regional institutional marketing supports sustainable farming by bringing wholesome, nutritious food to members of the community. Schools, in particular, can benefit greatly from this arrangement in comprehensive efforts to address childhood obesity. Nineteen previous publications examined issues around supply of and/or demand for regional food procurement by institutions across the United States, including levels of interest, perceived benefits, and barriers to this arrangement. Food service directors, farmers, and/or distributors participated in surveys, interviews, workshops/forums, case studies, and one evaluation about regional food procurement. Accounts of seven farmer cooperatives or networks indicate that institutional customers are more often restaurants (n = 5), health care facilities (n = 2), colleges/universities (n = 2), and other facilities (n = 2), than public schools (n = 1) or food retailers (n = 1). The studies agree that the main benefits offered by regional food procurement are support of the local economy and increased access to fresh and nutritious food. Barriers consistently faced by food services and farmers have to do with lack of infrastructure and financial support for processing and central distribution. Though obstacles vary by district and/or geographic characteristics, results indicate that across groups there is a clear need for better support mechanisms by which farms can connect with regional markets. The practice of farm-to-institution marketing holds the potential to improve nutritional status of community members and financial stability of farmers, though institutional support is needed for systemic transition to this purchasing method.

Restaurants,chefs and local foods: insights drawn from application of a diffusion of innovation framework

Chefs have been recognized as potentially important partners in efforts to promote local food systems. Drawing on the diffusion of innovation framework we (a) examine the characteristics of chefs and restaurants that have adopted local foods; (b) identified local food attributes valued by restaurants; (c) examine how restaurants function as opinion leaders promoting local foods; (d) explored network linkages between culinary and production organizations; and (e) finally, we consider some of the barriers to more widespread adoption of local foods in the culinary community. Analyzing quantitative and qualitative data collected from interviews with individuals from 71 restaurants, we compare and contrast restaurants that utilize relatively large amounts of locally-produced ingredients with restaurants using few, if any, local products. Results reveal that chefs are most interested in intrinsic food qualities, such as taste and freshness, and less interested in production standards. As opinion leaders, chefs utilize signage, wait staff, and cooking classes to promote local foods; however, the diffusion process across restaurants, and between restaurants and producers, is limited by network associations. Structural barriers such as distribution problems and lack of convenience were identified as limiting more widespread use of locally-grown foods. We offer several implications of this research for further work that seeks to engage chefs as opinion leaders who are important to building greater support for local food systems.

大力发展小杂粮 促进山西农业结构调整

审视山西农业的优劣势 ,可以看出 ,小杂粮、蔬菜、干鲜果、牛羊草食家畜是山西省的 4项优势产业。其中小杂粮是山西最具地域优势、最值称道的特色产业。调整农业结构 ,大力发展小杂粮 ,只有坚持调整种业结构 ,优化品种 ,实行区域化布局、规模化发展 ,积极培育市场 ,搞活商品流通 ,才能把小杂粮真正发展成为兴晋富民的立省产业     

规模化养猪场沼气工程发展的税收政策制度导向探讨

在对福建省规模化养猪场沼气工程开展随机抽样调查的基础上,分析了税收政策对规模化养猪场沼气工程的作用机理,并通过对国内外清洁能源工程税收政策的比较,分析了现有税收政策的实施效果及不足,提出了增强税收政策的市场导向作用;进一步完善税收体系,加大税收扶持力度;建立促进可持续发展的税收政策的协调机制和配套措施等政策设想。     

The rural crisis in Minnesota: Identifying social and economic vulnerability and new directions for the future

The rural crisis of the 1980s is described in terms of the economic and social vulnerability of rural farm areas. The crisis is shown spreading from farms through families to rural communities, schools, churches, counties and beyond. Rural communities are shown to be undergoing dramatic and non-cyclical change. Criteria are defined to identify rural counties vulnerable to further economic losses and include: dependence on agriculture for jobs, inadequate off farm income, population losses, declines in residential and commercial property value, and county fiscal crises due to loss of the tax base, delinquincies, and additional federal and state program changes and cutbacks. Social and economic distress are so extensive as to overwhelm conventional emergency intervention efforts to provide food, shelter, access to health care, and professional counseling. Peer support programs have been found to be effective at reaching farm families and helping them seek out the assistance of farm financial advisors, counselors, food shelves, and public assistance. Emerging attempts to link politically contending parties are discussed, specifically the Reinvest in Minnesota Coalition and the Rural Strategy Task Force consisting of major farm, church, and lending organizations. A strategy process and stakeholder analysis for local communities are presented together with recommendations for action that include creating a rural trend watch capability.     

不同种类蔬菜农药残留检出率的规律性研究

[目的]研究不同种类蔬菜农药残留检出率的规律性。[方法]在辽宁省规模化蔬菜生产基地和农贸市场采集蔬菜样品1 920个(包括9个蔬菜种类),采用气相色谱法分析了蔬菜中20种农药的残留量。[结果]试验结果表明,蔬菜农药残留检出率有一定的规律性,与我国农药产业结构、蔬菜种类和月份分布相关。农药种类主要集中在杀虫剂,尤其是高毒有机磷杀虫剂;叶菜类、茄果类和豆类是农药残留检出率较高的蔬菜种类,2月是农药检出的高峰期。[结论]根据试验结果提出相应的降低辽宁省蔬菜农药残留水平的对策,可保障人民群众的饮食安全,提高我国蔬菜的国际竞争力。     

Placing the food system on the urban agenda: The role of municipal institutions in food systems planning

Food issues are generally regarded as agricultural and rural issues. The urban food system is less visible than such other systems as transportation, housing, employment, or even the environment. The reasons for its low visibility include the historic process by which issues and policies came to be defined as urban; the spread of processing, refrigeration, and transportation technology together with cheap, abundant energy that rendered invisible the loss of farmland around older cities; and the continuing institutional separation of urban and rural policy. Despite its low visibility, the urban food system nonetheless contributes significantly to community health and welfare; to metropolitan economies; connects to other urban systems such as housing, transportation, land use, and economic development; and impacts the urban environment. We examine existing or potential city institutions that could offer a more comprehensive look at the urban food system. These include the city department of food, the food policy council, and the city-planning department.     

新鲜叶菜、果菜中亚硝酸盐含量的比较

依据GB 5009.33-2010—《食品中硝酸盐与亚硝酸盐的测定》,对新鲜叶菜和果菜中的亚硝酸盐含量进行了简单比较,检验结果显示,新鲜叶菜中亚硝酸盐含量有比果菜中亚硝酸盐含量多的趋势.     

基于多国数据的食物消费聚类与演化分析

为明晰食物消费类别,发现其演化特征规律,基于联合国粮农组织食物平衡表中1991—1995年和2015—2017年两个时期13种食物消费等数据,运用因子和聚类分析方法,得到5项因子,划分出7类食物消费类别,分析各类别食物消费变化及影响因素。结果表明:食物消费表现出典型地域特点,体现了各国经济发展差异。20年来各类别稻米、禽肉、糖人均消费普遍增长。处于温饱或小康阶段的类别,食物消费变化以谷物、蔬菜、水果等植物性食物消费增长为主;处于最富裕阶段的类别,居民薯类、油脂、红肉、水果消费普遍减少。期初消费对各种食物人均消费增长普遍具有负向影响,经济增长、本国生产则普遍表现出正向影响。经济增长对奶类、糖、蔬果消费带动较强,本国产量对蔬果、肉类、水产品等鲜活产品消费影响较大。城镇化、老龄化以及关税变化对不同食物消费影响存在较大差异。城镇化或带动油脂等高热量食物消费,降低蛋、奶、肉类等高蛋白食物以及蔬菜消费。而老龄化或引起糖、油脂消费减少,带动蛋类、红肉等食物的消费增长。     

广东省果蔬农药残留调查研究——关于消费者对果蔬农药残留的认知度与购买行为调查

近年来,由于水果蔬菜农药残留造成的食品安全问题屡见不鲜。为了解消费者对果蔬农药残留的认知程度及购买行为,对广东省多个城市的消费者进行了问卷调查,共收回有效答卷298份。通过对298份问卷进行研究发现:消费者对农药残留的认知度相对不高、对果蔬农药残留的知识了解不多;大部分消费者都不知道如何判断果蔬产品是否农残超标;信息传播途径不同对消费者形成果蔬安全认知上有差异;对于提高消费者对果蔬安全认知程度这一方面,信息质量起正向作用;信息传播者的特征对认知提高起重要作用。为引导消费者正确认识果蔬农药残留,建议政府应建立健全法律法规、提高居民食品安全意识、加强舆论监督、相关部门要加强监测、加大宣传的力度。     

(Bio)fueling farm policy: the biofuels boom and the 2008 farm bill

In the mid-2000s, rising gas prices, political instability, pollution, and fossil fuel depletion brought renewable domestic energy production onto the policy agenda. Biofuels, or fuels made from plant materials, came to be seen as America’s hope for energy security, environmental conservation, and rural economic revitalization. Yet even as the actual environmental, economic, and energy contributions of a biofuels boom remained debatable, support for biofuels swelled and became a prominent driver of not only US energy policy but of US farm policy as well. This paper asks why biofuels became such a powerful force in farm policy debates, and draws on policy windows theory and discourse analysis to analyze biofuels’ contributions to the passage of the 2008 farm bill. It finds that budgetary and political factors combined with a particular set of patriotic biofuels-oriented discourses to carry energy policy debates into farm policy. It also comments on the implications of biofuels policies for conservation and sustainable land use in 2008 and beyond.     

保鲜膜对水果的保鲜作用研究分析

随着人们生活水平的不断提高,消费者对蔬菜和水果的需求量也大大增加,大部分果蔬在成熟后都不易保存,因此市场越来越重视果蔬的新鲜度以提高果蔬的品质。通过对水果保鲜膜的保鲜作用的实验阐述,以及对实现现象和实验结果的分析,总结出保鲜膜的作用机理。     

An oasis in the desert? The benefits and constraints of mobile markets operating in Syracuse,New York food deserts

In this paper we critically examine mobile markets as an emerging approach to serving communities with limited healthy food options. Mobile markets are essentially farm stands on wheels, bringing fresh fruits, vegetables and other food staples into neighborhoods, especially those lacking traditional, full service grocery stores, or where a significant proportion of the population lacks transportation to grocery stores. We first trace the emergence of contemporary mobile markets, including a brief summary about how and where they operate, what they aim to achieve, who they serve, and the general constraints on their operations. We then report case study findings that examine the operational benefits and challenges of two mobile markets operating in Syracuse, New York. Our research suggests that although Syracuse’s mobile markets play a positive role in alleviating geographic, economic and social barriers to fresh food access experienced by elderly, immobile and low income residents living in Syracuse’s urban neighborhoods, the impacts of the mobile markets are dampened by both operational constraints and larger political and economic forces.     

Eating Right Here: Moving from Consumer to Food Citizen

The term food citizenship is defined as the practice of engaging in food-related behaviors that support, rather than threaten, the development of a democratic, socially and economically just, and environmentally sustainable food system. Ways to practice food citizenship are described and a role for universities in fostering food citizenship is suggested. Finally, four barriers to food citizenship are identified and described: the current food system, federal food and agriculture policy, local and institutional policies, and the culture of professional nutrition organizations. Jennifer L. Wilkins is a Senior Extension Associate in the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell University and currently a Kellogg Food and Society Fellow. Her extension and applied research focuses on community food systems, regional dietary guidance, and farm to school connections.