The number of public markets in the United States increased from more than 300 in the 1970s to more than 8,600 by 2016. This increase in markets is related to changes in food production, localism and the local food systems movement, socioeconomic changes, cultural changes, and perceptions of embeddedness. Research on the underlying conditions for the success of public markets is scant in the United States, and especially in the USDA Southwest Region. This study provides analysis of public market locations as compared with non-market locations by drive-time trade areas during a 20-year period, 1996 and 2016, to gain further insights into factors leading to their success. The results from logit regression analyses and simulations of socioeconomic, college-town status, and climate-grid classifications find an increased likelihood of public markets with population, education, college town status, and some climate-grid locations. Median income, surprisingly, has an inverse relationship with public market success. Qualitative data and a literature review point to three types of embeddedness that motivate customers to attend public markets. This study concludes that "local nontradable consumer goods" tied to place are offered at these "nontradable consumption amenities." These amenities are "third places" that promote social interaction and become important places of community, farmer support, and commerce across the Southwest Region.

The main aim of my thesis is to create sustainable local food production in Jaroslavice region. This region is situated near the Austria – Czechia border. The political changes of previous century influenced this rural location a lot. Changes resulted in socioeconomic degradation of this area. My project tends to shorten production connections between producers and consumers. It also takes the part with local farmers and farmer´s market. My architecture proposal is a building of regional food center focused on fruit production. The main fruits are apples, apricots and pitches according to the local climate conditions. The center has three main parts – processing, storage and retail.

<p dir="ltr">Seafood plays a pivotal role in global economies, livelihoods, and nutritional security. However, climate change and global pandemics pose significant threats to seafood harvests, production, supply chains, and marketing channels. The focus of my thesis is to understand the impact of external factors on our seafood resources and explore adaptive strategies in the face of uncertainties. We utilize economics techniques to study human-nature systems by zooming into social elements (government agencies, industry stakeholders, and fish farmers/fishermen) and aquatic resources. The three essays of my thesis delve into this inquiry from the perspectives of government, industry, and market, accordingly.</p><p dir="ltr">The first chapter in my thesis, <i>Climate Change and Snow Crab Harvest - Applying Random Effect Estimators with Instrumental Variable</i>, estimates the snow crab harvest function with unbalanced panel data of eastern Bering Sea snow crab, Canadian snow crab, Japanese snow crab, and Barents Sea snow crab. Specifically, we analyze the relationship between snow crab biomass, stock, and catch. To address the endogeneity of stock in the harvest function, climate change indicators are selected as instrumental variables. We identify that the Arctic Sea ice extent is effective in addressing the endogeneity and the random effects instrumental variable model with error components two stage least squares estimator performs the best to control heterogeneity. We find that a 1% increase in snow crab fishing effort is associated with a 0.42% increase in snow crab harvest, and a 1% increase in snow crab stock causes a 0.98% increase in snow crab harvest. The reported estimates indicate a large stock-harvest elasticity and provide supporting evidence for government fishery agencies to prioritize stock enhancement in policy designs.</p><p dir="ltr">The second chapter, <i>Online Media Sentiment Analysis of Shrimp and Salmon in the United States</i>, employs online media analytics on shrimp and salmon in the US to provide insights into consumer perceptions and potential demand signals for seafood. Search hits and mentions are quantified for top sources, domains, and prevalent terms. In addition, sentiment drivers and sentiment values are identified and calculated using natural language processing tools. The results reveal that the occurrence of peak mentions does not necessarily coincide with the peak of net sentiment, and farmed seafood consistently exhibits lower net sentiments compared to their wild counterparts. Autoregressive modeling is conducted to predict the dynamics of seafood’s net sentiments. The regional analysis demonstrates that public attitudes toward both farmed shrimp and salmon in the East North Central region exhibit a more positive net sentiment, while the New England and Middle Atlantic regions tend to have a lower net sentiment for farmed shrimp and salmon, respectively. The fitted forecast model serves as a supplementary tool for industry stakeholders to quickly respond to future public perceptions. Regional statistics also help the seafood industry tailor business strategies to different regions.</p><p dir="ltr">In the third chapter, <i>Comparative Case Study of Small-Scale Fish Processing for Local Seafood Supply</i><i>,</i> we examine the feasibility of utilizing a shared-use commercial kitchen and on-farm kitchen to support small-scale local fish processing, which helps diversify marketing channels in the US Midwest and supply seafood to local food systems. A case study of each facility type is assessed for economic viability for fish farmers. The financial analysis suggests farmers interested in processing tilapia or rainbow trout from 2,500 lbs to 5,000 lbs per year utilize rental commercial kitchens. A minimum of 15% markup and processing of 10,000 lbs/year tilapia is required to make the on-farm kitchen option more viable. For farmers who process rainbow trout, 10,000 lbs/year with a 10% markup using an on-farm kitchen is a better choice. Factoring in the stochastic variability of raw product prices, rental rates, and set-up costs, we provide simulated ranges for economic metrics including profitability index, payback period, and net present values. The reports of estimated costs, revenues, and breakeven prices, provide fish farmers with suggested selling prices, kitchen choices, and production levels to achieve optimum profits under risks.</p>

Problématique : Marqueur d’inégalités sociales, l’insécurité alimentaire (IA) est un problème de santé publique persistant au Canada. La crise liée à la COVID-19, suivie d’un contexte inflationniste, a entraîné des milliers de Québécois dans l’instabilité financière, augmentant considérablement la prévalence d’IA. Elle a aussi fortement déstabilisé les ressources alimentaires communautaires (RAC), alors que leur recours fait partie des stratégies d’adaptation en situation d’IA. Objectif : Comprendre comment la disponibilité des RAC a influencé l’accès aux aliments et les stratégies d’adaptation des ménages vulnérables à l’IA depuis l’implantation des mesures sanitaires liées à la COVID-19. Méthodologie : Dans cette recherche qualitative, douze entretiens de type récit de vie ont été réalisés auprès de ménages à faible revenu de deux quartiers montréalais contrastés en matière de disponibilité en RAC. Quatre étapes d’analyse ont été effectuées à l’aide du logiciel NVivo. Résultats : Depuis l’implantation des mesures sanitaires, tous les participants ont éprouvé davantage de difficultés d’accès aux aliments et ils ont utilisé plus de stratégies d’adaptation. Les plus vulnérables ont utilisé plus de stratégies de dernier recours, dont les RAC. Trois parcours de vulnérabilité à l’IA ont été identifiés, selon un continuum de gravité des difficultés vécues. La quantité et les types de stratégies d’adaptation, dont l’utilisation de RAC, variaient en fonction des parcours de vulnérabilité plutôt que de leur disponibilité. Discussion : Pour comprendre l’influence de la disponibilité des RAC sur l’accès aux aliments, il est nécessaire de considérer les besoins des ménages en fonction de leur vulnérabilité à l’IA. Une plus grande attention devrait être accordée aux parcours de vie des individus dans la mise en œuvre d’interventions communautaires en sécurité alimentaire. / Problem: A marker of social inequality, food insecurity (FI) is a persistent public health issue in Canada. The COVID-19 crisis, followed by an inflationary context, has dragged thousands of Quebecers into financial instability, considerably increasing the prevalence of FI. It has also destabilized community food resources (CFR), their use being a core of coping strategies in an FI situation. Objective: To understand how the availability of CFR has influenced food access and the use of coping strategies by households vulnerable to FI since the implementation of mitigation strategies for COVID-19. Methodology: In this qualitative research, twelve interviews using the life story method (60 min.) were conducted with low-income households in two Montreal neighborhoods with contrasting CFR availability. Four successive stages of analysis were performed using NVivo software. Results: Since implementation of mitigation strategies, all participants have faced greater difficulties in food access and have used more coping strategies. The most vulnerable relied more last-resort strategies, including CFR. Three paths of vulnerability to FI were identified, according to a severity of food access issues continuum. The quantity and type of coping strategies, including the use of CFR varied according to the paths of vulnerability rather than their availability. Discussion: To understand the influence of CFR on food access, it is necessary to consider the needs of households according to their vulnerability to FI. More attention should be paid to the life course of individuals in the implementation of community-based food security interventions.

Im heutigen globalisierten Ernährungssystem sind Produktion und Konsum von Lebensmitteln weitgehend entkoppelt, was negative Auswirkungen auf Landwirt*innen und Verbraucher*innen haben kann. Alternative Ernährungsnetzwerke (AFNs) haben das Potenzial, diese Verbindung wiederherzustellen. Es fehlt jedoch an Forschung zu den Wiederverbindungsprozessen in AFNs. Die übergeordnete Forschungsfrage dieser Dissertation ist daher, ob und wie AFNs Produktion und Konsum von Lebensmitteln wieder verbinden. Zur Beantwortung wurden (a) Motivationen für die AFN-Teilnahme erforscht, (b) transformative Prozesse in AFNs untersucht, (c) die relevantesten Interaktionen zwischen Konsument*innen und Produzent*innen für die wirtschaftliche Stabilität von solidarischen Landwirtschaftsbetrieben identifiziert und (d) Faktoren für das Vertrauen in solidarische Landwirtschaft ermittelt. Ein Mixed-Method-Ansatz wurde gewählt, um die Forschungsziele zu erreichen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass AFNs zu sechs Arten von Wiederverbindung beitragen: 1. Wiederverbindung von Produzent*innen und Konsument*innen 2. Wiederverbindung von Konsument*innen und Konsument*innen 3. Wiederverbindung von Konsument*innen und Lebensmitteln/ deren Produktion 4. Wiederverbindung von AFNs mit anderen (ernährungsbezogenen) Initiativen 5. Wiederverbindung von AFN-Produzent*inen und -Konsument*innen mit der Ernährungswirtschaft 6. Wiederverbindung von AFN-Produzent*innen und -Konsument*innen mit der Ernährungspolitik Wiederverbindungsprozesse in AFNs fördern das Empowerment von Produzent*innen und Konsument*innen und bieten lokale Lösungen für Probleme des Ernährungssystems. Eine stärkere Vernetzung und Verbreitung von AFNs wäre positiv für einen über die AFN-Nische hinausgehenden Einfluss auf das Ernährungssystem. Als Teil einer gesellschaftlichen Bewegung können AFNs zu einem wertebasierten Ernährungssystem beitragen und im Kleinen ein Beispiel für einen nachhaltigeren Umgang mit Lebensmitteln bieten. / In today’s global food system, food production and consumption are mostly disconnected which has negative implications for producers and consumers. Alternative Food Networks (AFNs) can potentially re-establish links between production and consumption. For a comprehensive understanding of AFNs, more research is needed on how exactly they contribute to reconnection processes. The overarching research objective of this dissertation is, therefore, if and how AFNs reconnect production and consumption. To answer this research question, this dissertation (a) explores what motivates consumers to participate in AFNs, (b) investigates which drivers of transformation occur in AFNs, (c) assesses which consumer-producer-interactions are most relevant for the economic stability of community-supported agriculture farms, and (d) examines which factors determine members’ trust in community-supported agriculture and its farmers. A mixed-method approach is applied to answer these research objectives taking both a producer and consumer perspective into account. The results show that AFNs contribute to six different types of reconnection, namely: 1. Reconnection of producers and consumers 2. Reconnection of consumers and consumers 3. Reconnection of consumers and food (production) 4. Reconnection of AFN with other (food) initiatives 5. Reconnection of AFN participants with the food economy 6. Reconnection of AFN participants with food politics By providing these different types of reconnection, AFNs foster empowerment of producers and consumers and offer spaces to create local-level solutions to existing problems of the dominant food system. For a stronger impact beyond the individual AFN initiative, networking and replication are recommended. As a part of a broader societal movement, AFNs could contribute to creating a value-based food system and be small scale examples of a more sustainable way of food production and consumption.

This paper interweaves narrativized readings and experiential narratives as personal and cultural resources for counterhegemonic cultural critique within our historical context of globalization and ecological crisis. Framed by perspectives on epistemology, everyday life, and place, these reflections seek to engage and revitalize our notions of community, creativity, and the individual, towards visioning the human art of community as a counternarrative to globalization. Such a task involves confronting the meanings we have come to ascribe to work and economy which so deeply determine our social fabric. Encountering the thought of key 19th and 20th century social theorists ranging from William Morris, Gregory Bateson, and Raymond Williams, to Murray Bookchin, Martin Buber, and Wendell Berry, these reflections mark the indivisible web of culture in the face of our insistent divisions, and further, iterate our innate creativity as the source for a vital, sustainable culture that might reflect, in Bateson’s terms, the pattern that connects.