On Places Lost and Places Regained: Reflections on the Alternative Food Geography and Sustainable Regional Development

Abstract

This paper departs from the observation that the industrialization and globalization of the agri-food supply chain has disconnected food from its socio-cultural and physical territorial context. In recent years there is growing recognition of the multitude of problems associated with the prevailing food regime, such as consumers' mistrust in agro-industrial food, environmental pollution and rising prevalence of obesity and malnutrition. This paper outlines and illustrates the emergence of an alternative paradigm as a response the problems associated with the agro-industrial logic. It shows how a more integrated and territorial agri-food approach can support sustainable regional development