Researching European ‘alternative’ food networks: some methodological considerations

Abstract

Recent European literature on ‘alternative’ food networks (AFNs) draws heavily upon an apparently accessible and diverse body of non‐conventional food networks in the agro‐food sector and whilst researchers frequently refer to individual examples of farmers markets, box schemes, producer cooperatives and community‐supported agriculture projects, less attention is given to the methodological processes that facilitate the identification and examination of these networks. From the preliminary stages of a research project focusing on examples of AFNs, 2 this paper examines the process of operationalizing AFNs research and reviews the difficulties associated with identifying, comparing and characterizing AFNs.