0000000000504599
AUTHOR
Giovanni Dara Guccione
Food community networks as leverage for social embeddedness
Social embeddedness, defined as the interaction of economic activities and social behavior, is used in this study as a conceptual tool to describe the growing phenomenon of food community networks (FCNs). The aim in this paper was to map the system of relations which the FCNs develop both inside and outside the network and, from the number of relations, it was inferred the influence of each FCN upon the formation of new socially embedded economic realities. A particular form of FCN was taken under consideration: solidarity purchase groups (SPGs). Performed with the aid of social network analysis on a sample of SPGs in Sicily (a region in southern Italy), the study allowed us to identify a r…
Food community networks as sustainable self-organized collective action: A case study of a Solidarity Purchasing Group
The spread of Food Community Networks (FCNs) is mainly due to new and confirmed policies for consumption, testing new social paradigms aimed at promoting sustainable development in rural areas through the active reorganization of the agricultural and food industry. As a result, there is a set of rules deriving from complex relational structures competing to define self-organized collective action for sustainability. This paper analyses the structure of relations within FCNs. With this end in view, research on the experience of FCNs has been done, in particular of Solidarity Purchasing Groups (henceforth SPGs) in Sicily (Southern Italy). By applying Social Network Analysis, the article ident…
The production and marketing of organic wine in Sicily
This paper aims at a better knowledge of the organic wine sector in Sicily. In the last few years regulations 2078/92 and 2092/91 have had a wide diffusion in the agricultural regional context; a rapid increase of areas and farms justify the attention paid by the European union policies. Two aspects of the sector have been examined: the influence on the implementation of Reg. 2078/92 with regard to diffusion of the organic wine sector in Sicily; and a group of farms in the west of Sicily have been analysed to verify the scenario of organic wine, and the strategy used in the commercialization of organic production. The results show a very interesting framework for organic wine. This is a sec…
Organic food consumption: The relevance of the health attribute
During the last decades, organic food products have become the main sustainable alternative to conventional food consumption. Among the several organic food attributes that consumers recognize in organic food, healthiness has been reported as the primary motivation to buy products certified as organic. The objective of the current study is to assess the relative weight of the health attribute among other recognized organic food attributes. To achieve this aim, a multiple price list (MPL) methodology is adopted to elicit consumers&rsquo
Production and trade marketing policies regarding organic olive oil in Sicily
This research analyses the main structural factors of the organic olive oil sector in Sicily, and the effects of the European sustainable development policy (EEC Regulation 2092/91, EEC Regulation 2078/92). It examines the trade marketing of organic producers of olive oil like the initiatives to exploit European branding, typicalness, and European recognition of PDO (protected denomination of origin).
Effect of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Table Olives on the ImmuneInflammatory Responses: Potential Clinical Applications
Background and Objective: Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is the common element among the Mediterranean countries. It can be considered a nutraceutical and functional food, thanks to its bioactive compounds. It can act and modulate different processes linked to ageing and age-related diseases related to a common chronic low grade inflammation. Depending on the cultivar, the growth conditions, the period of harvesting, the productive process and time of product storage, EVOO could contain different amount of vegetal components. Of course, the same is for table olives. Methods: The aim of our review is to summarize the effects of EVOO and table olives on the immunemediated inflammatory respons…
Quality determinants of avocado fruit consumption in italy. Implications for small farms
In recent years there has been an increasing consumer interest towards tropical fruits due to the desire of consumers for healthy eating while experiencing new and exotic flavours. Within this consumer trend, avocado fruit presents great potential in order to meet the requirements desired by consumers due to its high nutritional value and particular quality characteristics. The aim of the present study is to understand which quality determinants influence consumers’ decision making to consume avocado fruit in Italy. In the literature, avocado is a fruit few investigate from a consumers’ quality perception perspective. Therefore, understanding consumer preference for avocado fruit may be con…
What olive oil for healthy ageing
The olive tree originated in Asia Minor around 6000 years ago and then spread to all the Mediterranean basin. Olive oil is extracted from the pulp of its fruits [1–3]. Many studies show that the nutritional pattern of the so-called Mediterranean Diet is associated with a lower incidence of age-related diseases related to inflammation and oxidative stress, such as cardiovascular disease, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and cancer [4–7]. It is now clear that olive oil, as a main source of fat, must play a key role in explaining the health benefits of the Mediterranean Diet.