Maurizio Canavari - Böcker

This text contains a selection of the papers presented at the Joint Conference on Food, Agriculture, and the Environment, organized by the University of Minnesota and several universities in Italy, and held in Bologna, Italy, on June 12-14, 2001. The papers are grouped into four sections: food, nutrition, and quality; land and resource assessment; agriculture and rural development; and environment and markets. Readers should gain insights concerning alternative approaches to dealing with important policy issues.

Consumers’ attention to food safety issues and environmental issues has increased overwhelmingly in recent decades because of their increased concern about their own health, the environment’s health, and the crises and emergencies reported worldwide. Once the only option, organic agriculture has always been a production option followed by at least a few farmers all over the world. These farmers were prompted by ethical and environmental motivations, as well as by committed consumers who supported organic agriculture thanks to a separate but fairly elitist distribution channel. Organic food now has become a viable alternative for an increasing number of consumers that are worried about the presence of chemicals residues and the negative consequences on the environment caused by intensive production methods. Many farmers also now see organic farming as a way to stabilize or even increase their income due to public policy support and growing market demand.Organic Food: Consumers' Choices and Farmers' Opportunities gives an overview of the organic sector, both in Italy and in the United States, and demonstrates how agricultural economists are performing analyses dealing with organic produce on different points in the supply chain. It discusses economic issues raised by organic farming and takes into account both the consumer's needs and the managerial and budget constraints experienced by the farmers. Also farm management methodologies and marketing analyses are used with specific research topics involving several industries in the agri-food sector.

Consumers’ attention to food safety issues and environmental issues has increased overwhelmingly in recent decades because of their increased concern about their own health, the environment’s health, and the crises and emergencies reported worldwide. Once the only option, organic agriculture has always been a production option followed by at least a few farmers all over the world. These farmers were prompted by ethical and environmental motivations, as well as by committed consumers who supported organic agriculture thanks to a separate but fairly elitist distribution channel. Organic food now has become a viable alternative for an increasing number of consumers that are worried about the presence of chemicals residues and the negative consequences on the environment caused by intensive production methods. Many farmers also now see organic farming as a way to stabilize or even increase their income due to public policy support and growing market demand.Organic Food: Consumers' Choices and Farmers' Opportunities gives an overview of the organic sector, both in Italy and in the United States, and demonstrates how agricultural economists are performing analyses dealing with organic produce on different points in the supply chain. It discusses economic issues raised by organic farming and takes into account both the consumer's needs and the managerial and budget constraints experienced by the farmers. Also farm management methodologies and marketing analyses are used with specific research topics involving several industries in the agri-food sector.

This book contains a selection of the papers presented at the Joint Conference on Food, Agriculture, and the Environment, which was held in Bologna, Italy, on June 12-14, 2001. This was the seventh gathering of a biennal meeting born from a cooperation agreement between US and Italian academic and research institutions. This round of the Conference was organized in the Faculty of Agriculture in Bologna by the Dept. of Agricultural Economics and Engineering (DEIAgra) and the CNR Land and Agri-System Management Research Centre (GeST A-CNR) of Bologna. There were two main reasons for the choice of this location: fIrst, the Conference was dedicated to Maurizio Grillenzoni and Franco Alvisi, two colleagues and friends who passed away in recent years, and who committed themselves and played an important role in developing the collaboration agreement and promoting the past Conferences; second, in the year 2000 the Faculty of Agriculture in Bologna celebrated its fIrst centennial, and this Con­ ference was part of a wide set of events organized to highlight the relevant role of the Faculty in the research activity, both at an Italian and international level. The Conference papers were articulated both in plenary and concurrent sessions, dealing with key topics for agricultural economists. A structure similar to the Conference was adopted for grouping the papers into the four sections contained in this book: • food, nutrition, and quality, focusing i. e.

When relations are facilitated by communication technologies such as e-business, food supply networks can improve efficiency, flexibility and effectiveness. However, a lack of trust within such transactions can prevent the integration of e-business into this large, economic sector. Using case studies from European countries, chapters discuss trust-building methods for food networks in an e-business environment. Key issues include the influence of cultural disparity and cross-border transactions upon major product groups such as meat, cereal products and fresh produce.

When relations are facilitated by communication technologies such as e-business, food supply networks can improve efficiency, flexibility and effectiveness. However, a lack of trust within such transactions can prevent the integration of e-business into this large, economic sector. Using case studies from European countries, chapters discuss trust-building methods for food networks in an e-business environment. Key issues include the influence of cultural disparity and cross-border transactions upon major product groups such as meat, cereal products and fresh produce.

Due to increased purchasing power of certain consumer segments all over the world and the related growing demand for food specialties for differentiated goods in the international markets, agri-food trade and marketing is no longer focused on commodities only. Key concepts of 'Marketing', 'International Trade' and 'Quality' are taking the forefront in the scientific debate among agricultural economists dealing with agricultural and food products markets. The need for scientific knowledge about several aspects of marketing for quality food products is growing. The aim of this book is to link these key concepts together and consider connections, overlaps, contradictions and complementarities between them.This book contains peer-reviewed articles covering a range of studies on international marketing and trade for quality food products and is edited with the support of the BEAN-QUORUM project, funded by the European Union's Asia Link Programme. The topics covered by the studies range from geographical indications to organic food; from fair trade to functional food; from knowledge about quality requirements to the impact of the quest for quality. The geographical scope of the studies is broad and the perspectives vary including the consumer, the producer and the supply chain side. The focal interest of the studies also range from competitiveness, to policy, to potential demand. The book is of interest to researchers and practitioners in international food networks of all types.