8: Alternative food networks and Karl Polanyi
Alternative food networks have elicited significant attention from anthropologists and other social scientists. Many use the ideas of economic anthropologist Karl Polanyi to analyze such efforts to counteract conventional food provisioning. Yet, while Polanyi's concepts are productive, they have the...
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| Formaat: | Online |
| Taal: | Engels |
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Edward Elgar Publishing
2026
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| Online toegang: | https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/171006 |
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| _version_ | 1869516988549693440 |
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| author | Gillette, Maris Boyd |
| author_browse | Gillette, Maris Boyd |
| author_facet | Gillette, Maris Boyd |
| author_sort | Gillette, Maris Boyd |
| collection | Directory of Open Access Books |
| description | Alternative food networks have elicited significant attention from anthropologists and other social scientists. Many use the ideas of economic anthropologist Karl Polanyi to analyze such efforts to counteract conventional food provisioning. Yet, while Polanyi's concepts are productive, they have their shortcomings, not least in the analysis of alternative food movements. In this entry I argue that scholars might also find inspiration in Polanyi's insistence on the importance of political decisions and institutions in enacting societal change and his relentlessly historical and empirical approach. As Polanyi cautioned in The Livelihood of Man, we should “beware of the abstract generalizations in things economic that tend to obscure and oversimplify the intricacies of actual situations, for these actualities alone are our concern” (1977, xlvii). Drawing on ethnographic research from diverse European, North American, and Chinese contexts, I reflect on Polanyi's contributions to the study of alternative food networks. |
| format | Online |
| id | doab-20.500.12854ir-171006 |
| institution | Directory of Open Access Books |
| language | eng |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| publisher | Edward Elgar Publishing |
| publisherStr | Edward Elgar Publishing |
| record_format | ojs |
| spelling | doab-20.500.12854ir-1710062026-01-20T14:46:19Z 8: Alternative food networks and Karl Polanyi Gillette, Maris Boyd Capitalism; Direct marketing; Multi-level marketing; Seafood; Halal food; Health food JHMC KCB GBC Alternative food networks have elicited significant attention from anthropologists and other social scientists. Many use the ideas of economic anthropologist Karl Polanyi to analyze such efforts to counteract conventional food provisioning. Yet, while Polanyi's concepts are productive, they have their shortcomings, not least in the analysis of alternative food movements. In this entry I argue that scholars might also find inspiration in Polanyi's insistence on the importance of political decisions and institutions in enacting societal change and his relentlessly historical and empirical approach. As Polanyi cautioned in The Livelihood of Man, we should “beware of the abstract generalizations in things economic that tend to obscure and oversimplify the intricacies of actual situations, for these actualities alone are our concern” (1977, xlvii). Drawing on ethnographic research from diverse European, North American, and Chinese contexts, I reflect on Polanyi's contributions to the study of alternative food networks. Published 2026-01-20T14:46:16Z 2026-01-20T14:46:16Z 2025-11-20 chapter 9781035312573 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/171006 eng image/jpeg Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/gbp/elgar-encyclopedia-of-economic-anthropology-9781035312566.html https://www.elgaronline.com/display/book/9781035312573/chapter8b.xml Edward Elgar Publishing Edward Elgar Publishing 10.4337/9781035312573.00035 10.4337/9781035312573.00035 01ceac28-75b4-492a-8eec-f9b98bc6b28c https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ 9781035312573 Edward Elgar Publishing Cheltenham, UK open access |
| spellingShingle | Capitalism; Direct marketing; Multi-level marketing; Seafood; Halal food; Health food JHMC KCB GBC Gillette, Maris Boyd 8: Alternative food networks and Karl Polanyi |
| title | 8: Alternative food networks and Karl Polanyi |
| title_full | 8: Alternative food networks and Karl Polanyi |
| title_fullStr | 8: Alternative food networks and Karl Polanyi |
| title_full_unstemmed | 8: Alternative food networks and Karl Polanyi |
| title_short | 8: Alternative food networks and Karl Polanyi |
| title_sort | 8 alternative food networks and karl polanyi |
| topic | Capitalism; Direct marketing; Multi-level marketing; Seafood; Halal food; Health food JHMC KCB GBC |
| topic_facet | Capitalism; Direct marketing; Multi-level marketing; Seafood; Halal food; Health food JHMC KCB GBC |
| url | https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/171006 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT gillettemarisboyd 8alternativefoodnetworksandkarlpolanyi |