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School-aged children living in Montgomery and Troy located in Central Alabama are particularly vulnerable to food insecurity. This study used a one-group pre-test–post-test research design to investigate if gardening and nutritional activities could be used as effective intervention to reduce levels of food insecurity among school-aged children. Statistical results found that several of the participants live in urban food deserts. Food insecurity scores were higher for participants in Montgomery compared to those in Troy, AL. The relationship between parental income, household size, and location were important indicators for measuring food insecurity among participants. Recommendations for future research include expanding the scope of study to different sites and climates with larger samples to enhance our understanding of gardening and nutritional educational activities on food insecurity among school-aged children.

This paper tests the potential for the food and wine tourism model developed by Hall and Sharples to be used as a tool for identifying specific food and wine segments in a destination. Using Cairns, Australia, as a case study a survey of tourists identified three food and wine segments and confirmed the ability of the model to be used to classify the destination's position as a food and wine destination based on the categories developed by Hall and Sharples. Results of the survey indicate that while almost all participants experienced the destination's food and wine products, only one group of respondents (45%) self-identified as food and wine tourists. A second group participated in food and wine experiences but did not select specific destinations on the basis of the destination's food and wine sector. A third group expressed no interest in food and wine as a tourist experience but did consume unique food and wine as part of the overall tourist experience. The research found that the food and wine tourism model developed by Hall and Sharples was a useful tool for both identifying the stage of development of the food and wine industry and planning strategies to develop the sector. The paper concludes by outlining a number of implications for marketing food and wine tourism.

Purpose: Consumer acceptance is considered the most important factor in functional food success and is given top priority in new product development. This study focussed on finding factors that influence consumer perceptions about active food and the pattern of active food consumption. This chapter aims to provide a deeper understanding of taste trading based on a consumer decision-making framework.

Research Methodology: Cross-sectional consumer data were collected by floating G-Doc containing the questionnaire which was supposed to be answered by people according to their behaviours, preferences, knowledge regarding functional foods etc. It contained questions about their income, gender, preference towards functional foods, factors affecting decision-making while purchasing functional foods etc.

Results of the Study: The findings suggest that the consumers' attitude towards functional foods was mainly influenced by the quality and suitability of the product. Purchase intent was found based on age, literacy of population, income and health benefits of active foods. Awareness of functional foods and their price significantly affected the purchase of functional foods. Most people were willing to spend more on functional foods in the future regardless of the taste and provided high quality and product suitability.

This introduction provides an overview of the discourse on alternative agrifood movements (AAMs) to (1) ascertain the degree of convergence and divergence around a common ethos of alterity and (2) context the chapters of the book. AAMs have increased in recent years in response to the growing legitimation crisis of the conventional agrifood system. Some agrifood researchers argue that AAMs represent the vanguard movement of our time, a formidable counter movement to global capitalism. Other authors note a pattern of blunting of the transformative qualities of AAMs due to conventionalization and mainstreaming in the market. The literature on AAMs is organized following a Four Questions in Agrifood Studies (Constance, 2008) framework. The section for each Question ends with a case study to better illustrate the historical dynamics of an AAM. The literature review ends with a summary of the discourse applied to the research question of the book: Are AAMs the vanguard social movement of our time? The last section of this introduction provides a short description of each contributing chapter of the book, which is divided into five sections: Introduction; Theoretical and Conceptual Framings; Food Sovereignty Movements; Alternative Movements in the Global North; and Conclusions.

This study examines the relationship between food experience, emotion, place attachment, and tourists' revisit behavioral intention. A survey questionnaire is conducted on-site in Lukang and distributed to 408 tourists. The dimensions of food experience are established through factor analysis, and a hypothesized model of the relationships between the constructs is tested using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results indicate that tourists' food experiences included local flavor, media recommendation, local learning, life transfer, and interpersonal sharing. In addition, food experience has a significant impact on emotion and place attachment, and emotion has a substantial effect on place attachment. Finally, place attachment significantly impacts tourists' revisit behavioral intention. The study makes a significant theoretical contribution by identifying food experience, emotion, and place attachment as the salient predictors of heritage tourists' revisit intention. Furthermore, the study suggests that food experiences enhance effective bonding at tourism destinations.

Purpose – This study explores U.S. consumer attitudes toward organic foods in order to demonstrate that multiple and meaningful segments can be identified based on attitudes and beliefs rather than demographics and that a more targeted marketing strategy could likely create a better fit with consumer wants and needs.

Methodology – Q-methodology is employed, in part to demonstrate its usefulness for segmentation purposes.

Findings – Six meaningful segments of consumers are generated based on attitudes toward organic foods: Health Enthusiasts, Organic Idealists, Hoban's Hogwashers, Unengaged Shoppers, Bargain Shoppers, and Cynical/Distrustfuls. These groups vary in attitudes toward organic food, and despite conventional wisdom, exhibit a reasonable match between attitude and purchase behavior. Segments are also generated for viewpoints toward conventionally grown foods, revealing that consumers do not simply hold binary positions (pro-organic, anticonventional), but instead consider each food type on its respective merits. Positioning and media choice strategies are considered for each organic food segment.

Originality – This chapter distinguishes between different types of consumers of organic food by using Q-methodology, with the result being a rich, detailed description of the values and preferences of each group. With these descriptions, the organic food industry can better align its marketing efforts with the priorities of individual consumer groups, rather than their simplistic demographics as are commonly utilized. The chapter also offers a unique perspective on the attitude–behavior gap, revealing that when the attitude is understood in greater detail, the gap appears to disappear.

Purpose – European studies of alternative food networks have covered primarily rural or periurban initiatives that connect producers and consumers directly. For the most part, those studies overlook nonprofit urban community initiatives. This chapter begins to address the gap by presenting preliminary findings from a study that examines the development of community food initiatives that sell green produce in London.

Design/methodology/approach – The first part of the chapter draws on content analysis of literature produced by 15 initiatives and presents a brief overview. The second part presents case study analysis of the organizational, physical, and social context of two of the initiatives.

Findings – The findings indicate that many urban green produce initiatives have an explicit emphasis on the demand side of the producer–consumer connection. Those that emphasize sustainably produced food and fair trade may have difficulty drawing low-income customers, even if located in areas with high levels of deprivation. Initiatives oriented toward basic food access rather than sustainability are expanding their scope to include more “local” food.

Originality/value – Although this study does not represent urban green produce initiatives throughout England or beyond, it provides some examples of how such initiatives can develop and the extent to which they claim social justice and environmental considerations in their efforts. This study is a step toward empirical examination of nonprofit urban green produce initiatives, and contributes to a broader, more inclusive conceptualization of alternative food networks.

Tourism and hospitality scholars have examined tourists' food experiences in the tourism context. However, little research has been focused on the experience of tasting slow food/wine and the market that consumes slow food/wine. This study aims to (1) understand the factors contributing to tourists' slow food experiences and (2) identify the market segmentation of tourists who experiences slow food and wine at a winery. Four hundred fifty-three online survey questionnaires were collected from Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) platform. The critical research variable is slow food experience, which contains 16 items explained by four dimensions: (1) food, (2) place, (3) behavior, and (4) knowledge. Subsequently, a cluster analysis based on slow food experience measurement was adopted to discover the tourist market. The study identifies three markets: (1) hardcore slow food gastronomes, (2) common slow foodies, and (3) casual visitors. In the conclusion section, this study offers theoretical contributions to the slow food literature and managerial implications for tourism marketers to establish new marketing strategies.

The chapter is an auto-ethnographic account of the self-management of a chronic illness within the context of a participatory research project on Mediterranean Diet (MD). A group of Italian women with type 2 diabetes is following a non-medical, personal interpretation of the Mediterranean-style diet. The research account is preceded by a critical appraisal of the scientific narratives of the MD.

Analysis of epidemiological research on MD examines some methodological aspects of gender blindness in its scientific approach. The ethnography concerns self-management of MD diet and redefinition of gender relations.

MD is analyzed as a case of transplantation of yesterday’s cultural and social capitals of the peasant classes, to today’s discourses on food considered as appropriate for affluent people suffering from satiety diseases. The ethnography highlights gender aspects of biographical work, examining in particular a “conversion” dietary model.

The ethnography must be amplified to include women and men from different social classes with various Mediterranean cooking habits, and family and gender patterns.

The chapter highlights cultural processes for women’s empowerment in self-managing type 2 diabetes.

This chapter may represent a seminal sociological work on chronic illness, gender and food studies in one of the “native” contexts of the Mediterranean-style diet.