Producer-oriented and consumer-oriented alternative food networks and rural revitalization in China: Distinct trajectories and variegated impacts

Abstract

Alternative food networks (AFNs) have been increasingly perceived as an engine for rural revitalization, yet AFNs can differ in their founding motivations, operational methods, and organizational forms, which thus produce varying economic, social, and environmental outcomes. Despite this, the complexity of AFNs in the role of rural revitalization remains surprisingly under-researched. This study, drawing a distinction between producer-oriented and consumer-oriented AFNs in China, explores the dynamics of how producer-oriented and consumer-oriented AFNs are formed and give rise to distinct trajectories of rural revitalization. When AFNs prioritize producers' pursuit of alternatives to conventional agrifood systems over merely catering to urban consumers’ instrumental needs, AFNs can then become a catalyst for rural revitalization by driving the transformation of the agrifood economy, the benefits of which are subsequently leveraged to enhance the living environment and community fabric. This study has significant implications for the role of AFNs in facilitating rural development.