Paper short abstract:

This paper will address how, and to what extent the members of alternative food networks know about the food they purchase from farmers. The paper aims to explore in what ways/whether this knowledge provides a bridge between producers and consumers for a potentially transformative food politics.

Paper long abstract:

Neoliberal transformation in agriculture have significantly eroded the capabilities of small farmers, including those who cultivate traditional varieties of crops to sustain their livelihoods in increasingly competitive markets. In recent years, however, there is a growing number of initiatives for alternative food networks (AFNs) including food co-ops in cities. The focus of this paper will be on alternative food networks in Istanbul, and how they relate to farmers. Varying in several aspects such as how they define food justice, many of these initiatives prioritize the establishment of a direct relation between producers and consumers, with the aim to provide healthy and quality food for their members, while supporting small farmers. This paper aims to address the question of how, and to what extent the members of alternative food network initiatives know about the food they purchase from farmers and their production process in particular, with a focus on the mechanisms by which they obtain their knowledge. Secondly, the paper aims to explore in what ways/whether this knowledge provides a bridge that brings producers and consumers together for a potentially transformative food politics, as well as the constraints therein. Based on open-ended, in-depth interviews with AFN members and farmers they purchase from, the paper aims to contribute to the debate on politics of knowledge, and whether alternative food networks provide a forum for knowledge exchange that can redefine rural-urban relations.