Le nuove reti di innovazione dello sviluppo sostenibile: i network agro-alimentari biologici in Sicilia

The alternative food network, especially GAS (Solidarity Purchase Groups), are considered like laboratories where testing new models of innovation system (new social paradigms). In this paper is focused the theory of transitions management. With the help of Social Network Analysis, we tried to understand the network between GAS and associations both of them involved in the processes of food production and consumption, aimed at promoting sustainable development in Sicily

Il settore delle produzioni zootecniche biologiche in Sicilia

The study shows the results obtained in Sicily in the sphere of the activities carried out within a larger national research3, and identifies key strengths and weaknesses of the sector, both in the production stage and in the upstream segments of processing and marketing. As for the structural survey on manufacturing firms, the research turned both to a direct survey concerning some case studies which were tested for a two-year period, and to the analysis of the technical-financial elements derived from the RICA-INEA Database. On the other hand, for what concerns the steps following the production, the investigation looked at 12 firms dealing, also or exclusively, with the marketing of organic farms products (milk, cheese, eggs, and meat in sheep, goats, cattle and poultry), analyzed as case studies. The study reveals some significant features of the development of the industry, whose products are still marketed primarily on conventional markets, and the difficulties of the companies investigated, mainly due to the weakness, or, in some cases, to the absence of channels of commerce locally organized and able to absorb their production

What olive oil for healthy ageing

The olive tree originated in Asia Minor around 6000 years ago and then spread to all the Mediterranean basin. Olive oil is extracted from the pulp of its fruits [1–3]. Many studies show that the nutritional pattern of the so-called Mediterranean Diet is associated with a lower incidence of age-related diseases related to inflammation and oxidative stress, such as cardiovascular disease, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and cancer [4–7]. It is now clear that olive oil, as a main source of fat, must play a key role in explaining the health benefits of the Mediterranean Diet

Un'applicazione della Social Network Analisys alla rete di relazioni di un Gruppo d’Acquisto Solidale: l’esperienza di Gasualmente

The phenomenon of GAS (Solidarity Purchase Groups) in Sicily has in Gasualmente an important actor. This GAS, was created following a structured training program and research by the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Palermo. It now plays an important role as activator of relationships and ethical affirmation of critical consumption, and promotion of organic products. The study aims through the Social Network Analysis, to investigate Gasualmente network and the role played by all the actors involved

Food Community Networks as Leverage for Social Embeddedness

Social embeddedness, defined as the interaction of economic activities and social behavior, is used in this study as a conceptual tool to describe the growing phenomenon of food community networks (FCNs). The aim in this paper was to map the system of relations which the FCNs develop both inside and outside the network and, from the number of relations, it was inferred the influence of each FCN upon the formation of new socially embedded economic realities. A particular form of FCN was taken under consideration: solidarity purchase groups (SPGs). Performed with the aid of social network analysis on a sample of SPGs in Sicily (a region in southern Italy), the study allowed us to identify a relational (internal) social embeddedness, in which groups of consumers and farmers are directly influenced by reciprocal interactions, giving rise to more or less numerous links of reciprocity and trust depending on the number of interactions. It was also identified a structural (external) social embeddedness, generated by the nature of relations that the SPGs undertake with the various social actors. From the results of our analysis it emerges that SPGs lie at the intersection of many social realities, influencing them and in turn being influenced by such realities. We highlight the major role played by consumer and environmental associations in affecting the phenomenon of social embeddedness

Food community networks as leverage for social embeddedness

Social embeddedness, defined as the interaction of economic activities and social behavior, is used in this study as a conceptual tool to describe the growing phenomenon of food community networks (FCNs). The aim in this paper was to map the system of relations which the FCNs develop both inside and outside the network and, from the number of relations, it was inferred the influence of each FCN upon the formation of new socially embedded economic realities. A particular form of FCN was taken under consideration: solidarity purchase groups (SPGs). Performed with the aid of social network analysis on a sample of SPGs in Sicily (a region in southern Italy), the study allowed us to identify a relational (internal) social embeddedness, in which groups of consumers and farmers are directly influenced by reciprocal interactions, giving rise to more or less numerous links of reciprocity and trust depending on the number of interactions. It was also identified a structural (external) social embeddedness, generated by the nature of relations that the SPGs undertake with the various social actors. From the results of our analysis it emerges that SPGs lie at the intersection of many social realities, influencing them and in turn being influenced by such realities. We highlight the major role played by consumer and environmental associations in affecting the phenomenon of social embeddedness

Understanding Collective action in sustainable consumption: a relational approach

Depletion of natural resources have become key issues on the European policy agenda. Bottom-up measures have emerged in several countries with a view to promoting awareness campaigns and practical actions with respect to environmental sustainability. All this has led to the creation of new strategies in the policies for consumption, redefining a new alternative geography of food and new opportunities for small enterprises excluded from globalization (Whatmore and Thorne, 1997; Miele, 1999; Murdoch e Miele, 1999; Murdoch et al., 2000). In the new emerging geography of food, the reincorporation of production processes and local consumption are spreading quickly assuming different forms such as the so-called Alternative Food Networks (AFNs) (Abatekassa and Peterson, 2011) or the much less analyzed Food Community Networks (FCNs) (Pascucci et al., 2013). FCNs differentiate from AFNs as in these experiences participants share both the benefits and cover expenses of the organization (Caracciolo and Lombardi, 2012). A common feature of the different forms of FCNs is an interesting relational structure that governs market transactions. Within FCNs, Italian Solidarity Purchase Groups (SPGs) are among the most representative relational forms with the objective to promote sustainable consumption (Brunori et al., 2011; Graziano and Forno, 2012; Migliore et al., 2013). The phenomenon of SPGs is continuously growing in Italy: in 2013, there were 974 active groups , which means that in the two last years they have increased by 22% and by 64% if compared to 2007 when the phenomenon began to spread more intensely. The spread of SPGs is mainly due to new and confirmed policies for consumption testing new social paradigms aimed at promoting sustainable development in rural areas through active reorganizing of the agriculture and food industry (Cembalo et al., 2013; Migliore et al., 2012; Schifani and Migliore, 2011; Brunori and Rossi, 2000). By their very nature, SPGs are activated by enthusiastic individuals who, in an entirely voluntary manner, offer their time and resources to start up collective action initiatives at the local level. As a result, there is a set of rules deriving from complex relational structures competing to define a - self-organized collective action for sustainable consumption. The rules within SPGs differ from the mainstream as they experiment with new social paradigms and innovation system models (Cembalo et al, 2013; Brunori, 2000, 2011). At the local level, in fact, SPGs are often at the center of a much more complex network structure which involves actors that share an explicit ambitions of territorial governance, similar to what happens in the Anglo-Saxon movement of Transition Towns (Grasseni, 2013). In other words, these networks represent the typical ‘grassroots innovations’ (Seyfang & Smith, 2006), in which individual actors and organizations experiment with new solutions to common problems. These forms of FCNs represent particularly important cases because they allow for the construction and consolidation of relations of reciprocity which favor the management of natural resources at local levels with satisfactory long-term outcomes (Migliore et al., 2013). However, while research conducted on SPGs has shown that these groups represent important sources of social innovation capable of suggesting effective solutions to the problems of the unsustainability of the agro-industrial system, to date it is still not clear which actors and roles within the network influence the promotion of long-term sustainable consumption and production. To develop a more inclusive view of how such influences are established within the network, this work draws on the evolutionary theory of collective action (Ostrom, 2000, 2010). In these studies, the conditions which affect the likelihood of individuals bringing about collective actions to overcome social dilemmas in the management of resources used in common are analyzed. Among these conditions, the way in which the individuals are linked via a network has proven very important in triggering collective action. In fact, it is a commonly held opinion that individuals who are linked in a network are more likely to contribute each other’s welfare (Granovetter, 1973; Ostrom, 2010). The aim of this study is to understand how clusters of economic actors organized in different ways (aggregations of consumers and of producers, environmental associations, etc.) tend to influence the promotion of sustainable consumption and production. The hypothesis behind the present study is in fact that the capacity of an SPGs to diffuse and produce long-term collective actions is the result of the strategies of specific actors in possession of relational capital (quality and amount of relations). More precisely, it is presumed that bigger the number of relationships that each actor or group of actors establishes within the network, major is the capability of an actor to affect collective action. Following this line of reasoning, it is possible to identify the key actors and their role within the collective action. With this in mind, the article takes a relational approach and analyzes in detail the system of relations between one specific SPG called Gasualmente (placed in Palermo City), which constitutes one of the most active SPGs in Sicily (Southern Italy), and other actors (both individual and collective actors). Social initiatives like SPG promoting solidary consumption of local food are based on a system of relations where movements of a single actor are conditioned by its position and the number of mutual ties it is able to form. Therefore, it is important to identify the social actors with a strategic role, so those that can influence more the collective decision making process and the transmission of information within the social network. In order to study social relations, we have used in this paper Social Network Analysis (SNA). It is an analysis technique identifying and analyzing relations among the members of a network (individuals and/or associations) in order to discover schemes depicting relational structures (Hannemann e Riddle, 2005). In other words, Social Network Analysis (SNA) permits to analyze and visualize social relations among actors, groups, associations and other actors involved in the exchange of goods, information and knowledge. (Wasserman S., Faust, K., 1994). By applying Social Network Analysis, we have identified what role different participants of the network play, that is who can influence the long time collective action. The analysis of structural and relational traits of Gasualmente network, done by applying a specific set of ego-network analysis indexes, has shown that Gasualmente consumers structure many relationships with various actors, highly dependent on each other which is due to the fact that they share the same values, direct relations and trust each other. It favors a strong sense of community, which is a typical trait of actors promoting ethical and solidary economy. More precisely there are farmers, cultural and environmental associations and other institutional actors. Our case study is a typical example of a self-governing common resources that guarantees a sustainable development and permits to obtain significant and lasting outcomes. It also confirms that a better and more sustainable management of common resources can be achieved when they are used by involving economic actors that are interdependent and when the relational capital of every network can contribute to the sustainable development

Food Community Network as Sustainable Self-Organized Collective Action: a case study of a Solidarity Purchasing Group

The spread of Food Community Networks (FCNs) is mainly due to new and confirmed policies for consumption, testing new social paradigms aimed at promoting sustainable development in rural areas through the active reorganization of the agricultural and food industry. As a result, there is a set of rules deriving from complex relational structures competing to define self-organized collective action for sustainability. This paper analyses the structure of relations within FCNs. With this end in view, research on the experience of FCNs has been done, in particular of Solidarity Purchasing Groups (henceforth SPGs) in Sicily (Southern Italy). By applying Social Network Analysis, the article identifies what role each participant in the network plays; that is, who can influence long-term collective action.La propagation de Réseaux Agro-alimentaires Alternatifs (RAA) est principalement due à des nouvelles et confirmés politiques pour la consommation. Ils expérimentent de nouveaux paradigmes sociaux pour le développement durable dans les zones rurales à travers la réorganisation active du secteur agricole et alimentaire. En conséquence, il existe un ensemble de règles issues de structures relationnelles complexes qui définissent l'action collective auto-organisée pour la durabilité. Cet article analyse la structure des relations au sein RAA. Avec ce but, a été fait un recherche sur l'expérience de la RAA, en particulier les groupes d'achat solidaires (dorénavant SPGs) en Sicile (sud de l'Italie). Avec l'application de la Social Network Analysis, l'article identifie le rôle que chaque participant dans le réseau joue; c'est, qui peut influer action collective pour une longue période

Conventions of quality in consumer preference toward local honey in southern Italy

During the last few decades consumer demand for local foods has increased around the world, particularly in the USA and Europe. Such consumer trend also contributes to redefine a new alternative geography of food; in which local foods are perceived to be of better quality and safer. Moreover, consumers frame local food quality not only in terms of general attributes, such as taste and price, but also in terms of more subjective attributes closely linked to social and environmental aspects of products. These attributes are recognised by consumers as a range of socially constructed food quality criteria, which play an important role in the creation of information about quality and consumer decision-making. In this study, to better understand the choice of consumers with respect to food sourced locally, it was decided to analyse, as illustrative case product, the consumption of honey. More in depth, the aim of this study is to identify the quality characteristics that most influence the purchase of locally produced honey, or to identify those that may affect transactions in the local market for honey, guiding the choices of consumers

L\u2019EFFICIENZA ECONOMICA DEGLI ALLEVAMENTI BIOLOGICI IN ITALIA. IL CASO DEL CAMPIONE RICA-INEA

Il presente lavoro affronta i problemi principali che caratterizzano la competitivit\ue0 delle aziende zootecniche biologiche in Italia, evidenziando i limiti e le opportunit\ue0 per il settore