The Quality Turn of Food Deserts into Food Oases in European Cities: Market Opportunities for Local Producers
The current conventional food system is led by large-scale agribusinesses, characterized by industrialized production and increasing distance between food production and consumption. In response, alternative food initiatives (AFIs) have typically emerged as grassroots initiatives that may not be uni...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Agriculture |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/3/229 |
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| author | Laura Fernández-Casal Emel Karakaya Ayalp Sevim Pelin Öztürk Luis Manuel Navas-Gracia Feral Geçer Sargın Julia Pinedo-Gil |
| author_facet | Laura Fernández-Casal Emel Karakaya Ayalp Sevim Pelin Öztürk Luis Manuel Navas-Gracia Feral Geçer Sargın Julia Pinedo-Gil |
| author_sort | Laura Fernández-Casal |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The current conventional food system is led by large-scale agribusinesses, characterized by industrialized production and increasing distance between food production and consumption. In response, alternative food initiatives (AFIs) have typically emerged as grassroots initiatives that may not be uniformly distributed or accessible. Food deserts, areas with limited access to healthy and affordable food, are often discussed without considering food quality. Addressing this, this article aims to assess food deserts for healthy, local, and sustainable products in 11 European cities, comparing conditions before and after the implementation of innovative actions focused on shortening food chains during three years of study. The methodology involves locating alternative production and consumption spaces (APSs and ACSs) and drawing a walking distance around them, identifying densely populated areas outside these radii as food deserts. The results show that the implementation of AFIs has reduced food deserts in 9 out of 11 cities (average from 10.1% at T0 to 7.4% at Tf), opening new market opportunities for local producers and increasing consumer access to local and sustainable produce. The implementation of this study’s approach can potentially transform food deserts into food oases, enhancing food security and sustainability. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-37da92c3158648b2b54feb4cbe982bec |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2077-0472 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agriculture |
| spelling | doaj-art-37da92c3158648b2b54feb4cbe982bec2025-08-20T02:12:23ZengMDPI AGAgriculture2077-04722025-01-0115322910.3390/agriculture15030229The Quality Turn of Food Deserts into Food Oases in European Cities: Market Opportunities for Local ProducersLaura Fernández-Casal0Emel Karakaya Ayalp1Sevim Pelin Öztürk2Luis Manuel Navas-Gracia3Feral Geçer Sargın4Julia Pinedo-Gil5CARTIF Foundation, Parque Tecnológico de Boecillo, Parcela 205, 47151 Boecillo, SpainDepartment of City and Regional Planning, İzmir Democracy University, 35140 İzmir, TurkeyDepartment of City and Regional Planning, İzmir Democracy University, 35140 İzmir, TurkeyTADRUS Research Group, Department of Agricultural and Forestry Engineering, University of Valladolid, 47011 Valladolid, SpainDepartment of City and Regional Planning, İzmir Democracy University, 35140 İzmir, TurkeyCARTIF Foundation, Parque Tecnológico de Boecillo, Parcela 205, 47151 Boecillo, SpainThe current conventional food system is led by large-scale agribusinesses, characterized by industrialized production and increasing distance between food production and consumption. In response, alternative food initiatives (AFIs) have typically emerged as grassroots initiatives that may not be uniformly distributed or accessible. Food deserts, areas with limited access to healthy and affordable food, are often discussed without considering food quality. Addressing this, this article aims to assess food deserts for healthy, local, and sustainable products in 11 European cities, comparing conditions before and after the implementation of innovative actions focused on shortening food chains during three years of study. The methodology involves locating alternative production and consumption spaces (APSs and ACSs) and drawing a walking distance around them, identifying densely populated areas outside these radii as food deserts. The results show that the implementation of AFIs has reduced food deserts in 9 out of 11 cities (average from 10.1% at T0 to 7.4% at Tf), opening new market opportunities for local producers and increasing consumer access to local and sustainable produce. The implementation of this study’s approach can potentially transform food deserts into food oases, enhancing food security and sustainability.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/3/229food desertsfood oasisalternative food initiativesfood securityfood accessibilityshort food supply chains |
| spellingShingle | Laura Fernández-Casal Emel Karakaya Ayalp Sevim Pelin Öztürk Luis Manuel Navas-Gracia Feral Geçer Sargın Julia Pinedo-Gil The Quality Turn of Food Deserts into Food Oases in European Cities: Market Opportunities for Local Producers Agriculture food deserts food oasis alternative food initiatives food security food accessibility short food supply chains |
| title | The Quality Turn of Food Deserts into Food Oases in European Cities: Market Opportunities for Local Producers |
| title_full | The Quality Turn of Food Deserts into Food Oases in European Cities: Market Opportunities for Local Producers |
| title_fullStr | The Quality Turn of Food Deserts into Food Oases in European Cities: Market Opportunities for Local Producers |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Quality Turn of Food Deserts into Food Oases in European Cities: Market Opportunities for Local Producers |
| title_short | The Quality Turn of Food Deserts into Food Oases in European Cities: Market Opportunities for Local Producers |
| title_sort | quality turn of food deserts into food oases in european cities market opportunities for local producers |
| topic | food deserts food oasis alternative food initiatives food security food accessibility short food supply chains |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/3/229 |
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