Profile

Career

Research

Overview

Description of PhD

Title: The new geographies of food: confronting complexity between local and global scales

Supervisor(s): Dr Samarthia Thankappan

TAC:

Description of Thesis

It has been widely believed for some time now that the agri-food system is globalised. In many respects globalisation of food systems follows the same course as globalisation in other economic sectors, where production chains are increasingly orchestrated across long distances by few large-scale economic actors. In other important respects, however the development of food system follows its own course due to some specific characteristics of food production notably its close association with natural resource base and cultural variation in consumption practices. Food chains therefore are bound by ecology and culture. Therefore to understand the development of agri-food sector it is necessary to consider how forces promoting globalisation interact with natures and cultures. This project will explore the interaction between these parameters that underpin the new geography of food, especially under conditions where we now have new pressures like climate change, preserving the local ecology and local knowledge and improving and maintaining the sustainability of the food system.

This project will explore sources of data, which will include:

• Private, public and governance actors to assess how their changing retail strategies are incorporating corporate social responsibility and new food quality parameters; to gauge how their relationships with governance frameworks and quality conventions are changing; and assess how and what significance the re-localisation process is having on their competitive positioning.
• Public bodies at EU and global level: WTO, OECD, EFSA, FAO
• Regional and National alternative movements and networks in the case study location.

The empirical work for this project will be 'grounded' in particular types of supply chain (e.g. fruit and vegetables, meats) and in their production and consumption within a European context.

Publications

Full publications list

Huber, B. et al. 2005 Drawing up an overview on the legal requirements for organic agriculture for the most relevant import and export countries. http://orgprints.org/4742/

Concepción, J. 2005. New trends towards Organic Agriculture in Zamora. Organic food quality and health research newsletter. March.

Concepción, J and How, P. 2007. 100% organic feed for UK poultry? The Organic Standard. Issue 75/July.

Concepción, J. 2008. Are derogations the answer? The Organic Standard issue 84/ April 2008.

Conference papers

Concepción, J. The potential of Sustainability Indicators as a tool in agricultural Development. Wye College, University of London. 1999.

Concepción, J. Restructuring Cuban agriculture on more organic lines after withdrawal of Soviet's support. Tropical Agriculture Association. U.K. 2001.

Concepción, J. The role of Organic Agriculture in Sustainable Rural Development. Organic Agricultural Caribbean Conference, "In the Vision of a New Agriculture", Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, 2004.

Concepción, J. Organic Certification. 1st International Conference of Organic Livestock. Zamora, Spain, 7-9 October 2004.

Concepción, J. The economic sustainability of organic livestock production in UK. Cirencester conference. UK. 2007.

Pearce, B and Concepcion, J. Research and development into the viability of a 100% organic ration for organic table birds. Advisory Committee on Organic Standards (ACOS) 7th June 2007. London. UK.

Concepción, J. The impact of animal welfare in the organic broiler production. Cirencester conference. 2006.UK.