Alternative Food Networks in Latin America—exploring PGS (Participatory Guarantee Systems) markets and their consumers: a cross-country comparison

Agriculture and Human Values 40 (1):193-216 (2023)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

Alternative food networks (AFN) are argued to provide platforms to re-socialize and re-spacealize food, establish and contribute to democratic participation in local food chains, and foster producer–consumer relations and trust. As one of the most recent examples of AFN, Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) have gained notable traction in attempting to redefine consumer-producer relations in the organic value chain. The participation of stakeholders, such as consumers, has been a key element theoretically differentiating PGS from other organic verification systems. While research on farmer participation in PGS is attracting interest, consumer participation is still widely overlooked. Using a mixed methods approach, this paper describes five PGS markets in Mexico, Chile and Bolivia. A survey was conducted with consumers in the PGS markets to explore their awareness of the PGS, how consumers participate in the PGS, and their level of trust in the respective PGS and its certified products. Results showed a low level of awareness of PGS among market consumers, few participation possibilities, and minimal consumer participation overall. Nevertheless, trust in organic quality was generally high. Consumers primarily relied on the direct relationship with producers and the PGS market itself as sources of trust. These results provide novel insight into PGS consumer-market interactions, and contribute to discussions concerning social embeddedness, awareness and participation within AFN.

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 92,611

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

Choosing a food future: Differentiating among alternative food options. [REVIEW]Jeffrey R. Follett - 2009 - Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 22 (1):31-51.
Books received. [REVIEW][author unknown] - 2022 - Agriculture and Human Values 39 (3):1165-1167.
Books received. [REVIEW][author unknown] - 2020 - Agriculture and Human Values 37 (4):1323-1324.
Books Received. [REVIEW][author unknown] - 2022 - Agriculture and Human Values 39 (1):501-503.
Books received. [REVIEW][author unknown] - 2021 - Agriculture and Human Values 38 (4):1225-1227.
Books received. [REVIEW][author unknown] - 2020 - Agriculture and Human Values 37 (3):933-934.
Books received. [REVIEW][author unknown] - 2021 - Agriculture and Human Values 38 (2):603-605.
Books received. [REVIEW][author unknown] - 2020 - Agriculture and Human Values 37 (2):513-514.
Books received. [REVIEW][author unknown] - 2021 - Agriculture and Human Values 38 (3):861-863.
Books received. [REVIEW][author unknown] - 2022 - Agriculture and Human Values 39 (2):845-847.
Books received. [REVIEW][author unknown] - 2021 - Agriculture and Human Values 38 (1):347-349.

Analytics

Added to PP
2023-03-11

Downloads
16 (#913,262)

6 months
8 (#373,162)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Citations of this work

No citations found.

Add more citations

References found in this work

No references found.

Add more references