\r\n\tAnimal food additives are products used in animal nutrition for purposes of improving the quality of feed or to improve the animal’s performance and health. Other additives can be used to enhance digestibility or even flavour of feed materials. In addition, feed additives are known which improve the quality of compound feed production; consequently e.g. they improve the quality of the granulated mixed diet.
\r\n\r\n\tGenerally feed additives could be divided into five groups:
\r\n\t1.Technological additives which influence the technological aspects of the diet to improve its handling or hygiene characteristics.
\r\n\t2. Sensory additives which improve the palatability of a diet by stimulating appetite, usually through the effect these products have on the flavour or colour.
\r\n\t3. Nutritional additives, such additives are specific nutrient(s) required by the animal for optimal production.
\r\n\t4.Zootechnical additives which improve the nutrient status of the animal, not by providing specific nutrients, but by enabling more efficient use of the nutrients present in the diet, in other words, it increases the efficiency of production.
\r\n\t5. In poultry nutrition: Coccidiostats and Histomonostats which widely used to control intestinal health of poultry through direct effects on the parasitic organism concerned.
\r\n\tThe aim of the book is to present the impact of the most important feed additives on the animal production, to demonstrate their mode of action, to show their effect on intermediate metabolism and heath status of livestock and to suggest how to use the different feed additives in animal nutrition to produce high quality and safety animal origin foodstuffs for human consumer.
",isbn:"978-1-83969-404-2",printIsbn:"978-1-83969-403-5",pdfIsbn:"978-1-83969-405-9",doi:null,price:0,priceEur:0,priceUsd:0,slug:null,numberOfPages:0,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"8ffe43a82ac48b309abc3632bbf3efd0",bookSignature:"Prof. László Babinszky",publishedDate:null,coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/10496.jpg",keywords:"Technological Feed Additives, Feed Industry, Quality of Compound Feed, Non-Antibiotic Growth Promoter, Product Quality, Additive Enzymes, Digestibility of Nutrients, NSP Enzymes, Farm Animals, Livestock, Immunity, Microbiome",numberOfDownloads:null,numberOfWosCitations:0,numberOfCrossrefCitations:null,numberOfDimensionsCitations:null,numberOfTotalCitations:null,isAvailableForWebshopOrdering:!0,dateEndFirstStepPublish:"November 24th 2020",dateEndSecondStepPublish:"December 22nd 2020",dateEndThirdStepPublish:"February 20th 2021",dateEndFourthStepPublish:"May 11th 2021",dateEndFifthStepPublish:"July 10th 2021",remainingDaysToSecondStep:"2 months",secondStepPassed:!0,currentStepOfPublishingProcess:4,editedByType:null,kuFlag:!1,biosketch:"Professor Emeritus from the University of Debrecen, Hungary who authored 297 publications (papers, book chapters) and edited 3 books. Member of various committees and chairman of the World Conference of Innovative Animal Nutrition and Feeding (WIANF).",coeditorOneBiosketch:null,coeditorTwoBiosketch:null,coeditorThreeBiosketch:null,coeditorFourBiosketch:null,coeditorFiveBiosketch:null,editors:[{id:"53998",title:"Prof.",name:"László",middleName:null,surname:"Babinszky",slug:"laszlo-babinszky",fullName:"László Babinszky",profilePictureURL:"https://mts.intechopen.com/storage/users/53998/images/system/53998.jpg",biography:"László Babinszky is Professor Emeritus of animal nutrition at the University of Debrecen, Hungary. From 1984 to 1985 he worked at the Agricultural University in Wageningen and in the Institute for Livestock Feeding and Nutrition in Lelystad (the Netherlands). He also worked at the Agricultural University of Vienna in the Institute for Animal Breeding and Nutrition (Austria) and in the Oscar Kellner Research Institute in Rostock (Germany). From 1988 to 1992, he worked in the Department of Animal Nutrition (Agricultural University in Wageningen). In 1992 he obtained a PhD degree in animal nutrition from the University of Wageningen.He has authored 297 publications (papers, book chapters). He edited 3 books and 14 international conference proceedings. His total number of citation is 407. \r\nHe is member of various committees e.g.: American Society of Animal Science (ASAS, USA); the editorial board of the Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica, Section A- Animal Science (Norway); KRMIVA, Journal of Animal Nutrition (Croatia), Austin Food Sciences (NJ, USA), E-Cronicon Nutrition (UK), SciTz Nutrition and Food Science (DE, USA), Journal of Medical Chemistry and Toxicology (NJ, USA), Current Research in Food Technology and Nutritional Sciences (USA). From 2015 he has been appointed chairman of World Conference of Innovative Animal Nutrition and Feeding (WIANF).\r\nHis main research areas are related to pig and poultry nutrition: elimination of harmful effects of heat stress by nutrition tools, energy- amino acid metabolism in livestock, relationship between animal nutrition and quality of animal food products (meat).",institutionString:"University of Debrecen",position:null,outsideEditionCount:0,totalCites:0,totalAuthoredChapters:"1",totalChapterViews:"0",totalEditedBooks:"0",institution:{name:"University of Debrecen",institutionURL:null,country:{name:"Hungary"}}}],coeditorOne:null,coeditorTwo:null,coeditorThree:null,coeditorFour:null,coeditorFive:null,topics:[{id:"25",title:"Veterinary Medicine and Science",slug:"veterinary-medicine-and-science"}],chapters:null,productType:{id:"1",title:"Edited Volume",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"},personalPublishingAssistant:{id:"185543",firstName:"Maja",lastName:"Bozicevic",middleName:null,title:"Ms.",imageUrl:"https://mts.intechopen.com/storage/users/185543/images/4748_n.jpeg",email:"maja.b@intechopen.com",biography:"As an Author Service Manager my responsibilities include monitoring and facilitating all publishing activities for authors and editors. From chapter submission and review, to approval and revision, copyediting and design, until final publication, I work closely with authors and editors to ensure a simple and easy publishing process. I maintain constant and effective communication with authors, editors and reviewers, which allows for a level of personal support that enables contributors to fully commit and concentrate on the chapters they are writing, editing, or reviewing. I assist authors in the preparation of their full chapter submissions and track important deadlines and ensure they are met. I help to coordinate internal processes such as linguistic review, and monitor the technical aspects of the process. As an ASM I am also involved in the acquisition of editors. Whether that be identifying an exceptional author and proposing an editorship collaboration, or contacting researchers who would like the opportunity to work with IntechOpen, I establish and help manage author and editor acquisition and contact."}},relatedBooks:[{type:"book",id:"7144",title:"Veterinary Anatomy and Physiology",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"75cdacb570e0e6d15a5f6e69640d87c9",slug:"veterinary-anatomy-and-physiology",bookSignature:"Catrin Sian Rutland and Valentina Kubale",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/7144.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"202192",title:"Dr.",name:"Catrin",surname:"Rutland",slug:"catrin-rutland",fullName:"Catrin Rutland"}],productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"1591",title:"Infrared Spectroscopy",subtitle:"Materials Science, Engineering and Technology",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"99b4b7b71a8caeb693ed762b40b017f4",slug:"infrared-spectroscopy-materials-science-engineering-and-technology",bookSignature:"Theophile Theophanides",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/1591.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"37194",title:"Dr.",name:"Theophanides",surname:"Theophile",slug:"theophanides-theophile",fullName:"Theophanides Theophile"}],productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"3092",title:"Anopheles mosquitoes",subtitle:"New insights into malaria vectors",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"c9e622485316d5e296288bf24d2b0d64",slug:"anopheles-mosquitoes-new-insights-into-malaria-vectors",bookSignature:"Sylvie Manguin",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/3092.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"50017",title:"Prof.",name:"Sylvie",surname:"Manguin",slug:"sylvie-manguin",fullName:"Sylvie Manguin"}],productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"3161",title:"Frontiers in Guided Wave Optics and Optoelectronics",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"deb44e9c99f82bbce1083abea743146c",slug:"frontiers-in-guided-wave-optics-and-optoelectronics",bookSignature:"Bishnu Pal",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/3161.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"4782",title:"Prof.",name:"Bishnu",surname:"Pal",slug:"bishnu-pal",fullName:"Bishnu Pal"}],productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"72",title:"Ionic Liquids",subtitle:"Theory, Properties, New Approaches",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"d94ffa3cfa10505e3b1d676d46fcd3f5",slug:"ionic-liquids-theory-properties-new-approaches",bookSignature:"Alexander Kokorin",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/72.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"19816",title:"Prof.",name:"Alexander",surname:"Kokorin",slug:"alexander-kokorin",fullName:"Alexander Kokorin"}],productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"1373",title:"Ionic Liquids",subtitle:"Applications and Perspectives",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"5e9ae5ae9167cde4b344e499a792c41c",slug:"ionic-liquids-applications-and-perspectives",bookSignature:"Alexander Kokorin",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/1373.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"19816",title:"Prof.",name:"Alexander",surname:"Kokorin",slug:"alexander-kokorin",fullName:"Alexander Kokorin"}],productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"57",title:"Physics and Applications of Graphene",subtitle:"Experiments",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"0e6622a71cf4f02f45bfdd5691e1189a",slug:"physics-and-applications-of-graphene-experiments",bookSignature:"Sergey Mikhailov",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/57.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"16042",title:"Dr.",name:"Sergey",surname:"Mikhailov",slug:"sergey-mikhailov",fullName:"Sergey Mikhailov"}],productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"371",title:"Abiotic Stress in Plants",subtitle:"Mechanisms and Adaptations",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"588466f487e307619849d72389178a74",slug:"abiotic-stress-in-plants-mechanisms-and-adaptations",bookSignature:"Arun Shanker and B. Venkateswarlu",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/371.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"58592",title:"Dr.",name:"Arun",surname:"Shanker",slug:"arun-shanker",fullName:"Arun Shanker"}],productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"878",title:"Phytochemicals",subtitle:"A Global Perspective of Their Role in Nutrition and Health",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"ec77671f63975ef2d16192897deb6835",slug:"phytochemicals-a-global-perspective-of-their-role-in-nutrition-and-health",bookSignature:"Venketeshwer Rao",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/878.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"82663",title:"Dr.",name:"Venketeshwer",surname:"Rao",slug:"venketeshwer-rao",fullName:"Venketeshwer Rao"}],productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"4816",title:"Face Recognition",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"146063b5359146b7718ea86bad47c8eb",slug:"face_recognition",bookSignature:"Kresimir Delac and Mislav Grgic",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/4816.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"528",title:"Dr.",name:"Kresimir",surname:"Delac",slug:"kresimir-delac",fullName:"Kresimir Delac"}],productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}}]},chapter:{item:{type:"chapter",id:"72823",title:"Helicopter Parenting and Adolescent Development: From the Perspective of Mental Health",doi:"10.5772/intechopen.93155",slug:"helicopter-parenting-and-adolescent-development-from-the-perspective-of-mental-health",body:'Parenting and parenting style are crucial determinants of an individual’s upbringing and later functioning. Parenting style constitutes a myriad of attitudes and a pattern of behavior through which parental authority is conveyed to the child across a variety of settings and situations. This in turn helps to provide the emotional environment where the child learns and models how to perceive and act in the larger macrocosm of society [1]. Supportive and sensitive parenting contends healthy behavioral and emotional development of children [2]. The word parenting is derived from the Latin verb “parere,” which means “to bring forth, develop, or educate.” Hence, parenting has been defined as “purposive activities aimed at ensuring the survival and development of children.” It is considered as an activity that nurtures a child and fosters the development of their overall personality. The influence of parenting is everlasting and related to various aspects of the development of child [3]. Parental behavior influences the development of the child by demonstrating the patterns of rules, discipline, and other behaviors. According to Okpaka [4], parenting is an act of parenthood for the purpose of child upbringing and child education. Each parenting style affects the overall development of child. The present chapter highlights the associated aspects of helicopter parenting and related issues of adolescents, raised by helicopter parenting. The chapter also highlights the important psychological intervention for parents and adolescence.
To raise the children, parents adopt a set of strategy that has a lifelong impact on the development of child. Parental investment begins right from pregnancy and continues throughout the rest of parent’s life without a break. The ultimate goal of parenting is to develop children into well adjusted, productive, caring, and happy member of society. Parenting style represents standard strategies, which are used in child rearing practices. These practices are varied, and parents adopt a myriad of strategies to socialize and control their children [5, 6].
Baumrind in her seminal study identified four major types of parenting styles, that is, authoritative, neglectful, permissive, and authoritarian. These were categorized along a continuum of responsiveness (parental warmth) and demand (parental control). Parental control belongs to set realistic rules for their children. Various factors influence the development of adolescence, but parenting style counted as the most influential one, compared to other socializing factors. Parental warmth is also known as parental responsiveness. This behavior encapsulates the acceptance of and being responsible toward the behavior of children than being rejected and unresponsive [7].
This refers to a parenting style that is a combination of control, warmth, and autonomy. This is characterized by flexibility, rational discipline, exercising control only when required, and allowance of freedom to children so that they act responsibly and independently. Parents who adopt this style are rational in using the set rules while simultaneously explain the same to their children. Authoritative parents set high standards and clear expectations, as well as use discipline based on proper reasoning, and monitor their children’s behavior. This parenting style also involves sharing the parent’s experiences to encourage the children to take rational decision [8].
It is characterized with strict discipline, punitive style. Authoritarian parents provide their children with restrictive and strict directives to prompt them to follow the set rules. The overall appearance of such parents is cold, not open to discuss with their children, rejectable and emphasizes on strict discipline and values over independent behavior. Such parenting style leaves children with feeling of unhappy, anxious, and low self-esteem along with rebellious attitude and dependent traits [8, 9].
It is characterized by less control and high warmth as well as a tendency to allow children to take the decision by themselves even if they are not capable enough of doing so. The mindset that is reflected in such a parenting style is that love may be expressed solely by providing full freedom to their children and fulfilling whatever they wish for. Permissive parents love and are openly effective; however, they have no limit settings despite children’s safety is at stake [10]. These parents are warm and passive but not demanding. They make very few demands from their children but allow the children’s freedom to behave in any manner they please. Children of these parents develop a sense of insecurity, fear, aggression and anxiety.
This involves parents displaying low responsiveness and little communication and may entail rejection and neglecting their children. These parents are not only uninvolved and disengaged but also unresponsive and do not put any demands on their offspring. The children of these parents become disobedient, low in self-control, demanding, low frustration tolerance, and difficulty in planning [8, 10].
While parenting styles today are still understood largely in the context of the aforementioned styles, the turn of the century led to focusing on a new style of parent-child interaction that appeared to emerge. By the 1990s, American media identified a pattern of interaction and parenting practices that were based on a consistent pattern of “hovering” and hence that were dubbed as “helicopter parents” [11]. According to Hirsch and Goldberger [12], “helicopter parenting is a process of distinctive parent that never allowed their children to make mistakes and trapped in the cave of stress.” Such parenting style involves behaviors wherein the parents constantly nurture their children, providing them with support and minimal space that may impede development of problem-solving skills and decision-making skills. These parents are overprotective and authoritative such that they decide the present and future steps of their children, without demonstrating and teaching their children the adequate skills so that they can be independent. The notion of helicopter parenting has received frequent controversial debates in western culture in between the psychologist, parents, and school teachers. Dr. Haim Ginott [13] first described helicopter parenting in his book “parent and teenagers.” According to him, the parents hover like helicopter carefully and observe each and every movement of their children. This style of parenting is a type of “over-parenting in which parents apply overly involved and developmentally inappropriate tactics to their children”.
The primary motivation for the parent’s “hyperinvolvement” appears to stem from parental anxiety about negative outcomes that their child might face [14]. Such parenting practices have been found to lead to greater degree of internalizing disorders not only in young children but also in middle children [15, 16]. Within young adults, helicopter parenting was found to be related to greater degrees of neuroticism, lower openness to experience, and greater dependency as well as reduced psychological wellbeing [17]. While primarily believed to have long-term negative outcomes, there still exists a dearth of research with regard to the phenomenon [18].
Parenting styles and parenting behaviors do not develop in isolation. Each form of parenting has a base that strengthens and nurtures the style the parent adopts. Literature has implicated certain causal factors, such as parental regret, parental anxiety, gender, and culture as contributing to the development of helicopter parenting. Furthermore, the consequences of this style of child rearing on various aspects that range from physical, social, and psychological wellbeing of emerging adults have been elucidated [7]. Parental traits of overparenting (i.e., utilization of parental assistance, directiveness, problem solving, and aid at a level that is developmentally inappropriate for the child) not only have been found to have strong consequences on the later behavior and development of the child but also have seen as being derived from parental and child characteristics. This implies that there exists certain trait that may lead the latter to engage in overparenting practices.
The overprotectiveness and enmeshment that are seen in the course of helicopter parenting are often believed to have evolved as a result of parental anxiety. The parental characteristic of anxiety predisposes the parent to view their offspring as more vulnerable and unlikely to be able to cope with the demands of daily life. Child’s vulnerability toward the outside world makes the parents worried and therefore results in behaviors such as overinvolvement in their child’s life to assuage their own anxiety [14, 15]. Due to parental anxiety, there are more restrictions for participating in outdoor play activities, walking alone to school, staying till late evening at friend’s place, and also not allowing for night outs. These types of restriction hamper healthy physical and social development of the child [16, 17, 18, 19]. Due to projection by the parent of their worries on to their child and the consequent solution, overprotection occurs [20]. However, it must be noted that overprotection is not the sole element that constitutes overparenting. Rather, a primary motivation that is seen as determining overparenting practices is that of harm reduction.
Parental anxiety can occur due to social factors such as child abuse, addiction, and bullying; therefore, parents are more concerned about their child’s safety and hence unknowingly become overprotective. In an analysis by Nelson [21], greater degree control in parenting was observed in those parents who showed greater preoccupation with environmental dangers. For instance, if child hurt himself while playing, parent can become conscious toward their child’s safety and would accompany next time child goes out to play. As children grow and proceed for college, the parents experience separation anxiety. They sense feeling of insecurity and nondetachability, which turn into greater psychological control on child despite knowing that their child has grown-up. Parent’s reaction and intensity of emotions can heighten the anxiety in children as well [22].
Apart from parental anxiety, another determining factor in the phenomenon of overparenting is that of parental regret. Meta-analytic reviews [23] have identified regret in the domain of parenting as the fourth most commonly experienced regret. The occurrence of parental regret is further compounded by what is known as the principle of lost opportunity. This principle proposes that an individual faces a greater degree of regret when presented with an opportunity to correct the same. In the context of parenting, as the child grows older, the opportunities for direct control over his/her life reduce and the child finds himself veering toward psychological separation and individuation. A reaction to this separation from the family of origin may result in a reaction on part of the parents wherein they find themselves becoming increasingly involved and responsible for the child’s wellbeing, expressing lament over perceived failure in fostering the child’s development as well as regret about the time lost. Furthermore, parents experiencing greater degrees of regret might find themselves vicariously trying to obtain fulfillment and self-actualization by way of the child [24]. Additionally, parental projection of their own goals on to the growing child further may promote helicopter parenting. This regret operates indirectly, by augmenting parental anxiety and thereby leading to greater degrees of overcontrol. For example, lack of opportunities to fulfill own personal goals (e.g., parent’s unfulfilled desire to become a surgeon) as well as realization of lost opportunities to fulfill parenting goals (e.g., the realization that the child going off to college will leave the parent with less time to interact with him/her) leads to an increase in personal anxiety. Furthermore, the personal goals of the parent become enmeshed with his/her goals for his child, and to manage their own anxiety, it becomes projected on the child, and hyperinvolvement is chosen as the way for them to manage and control their own anxiety [25].
People generally realize the lack of satisfaction in their job around at the age of 40. No matter how much they want to fulfill their dreams in the middle age, the abundance of responsibilities makes it difficult to do so. Therefore, parents treat their children as an individual they drive to fulfill their dreams through their child. To ensure the accomplishment of their unfulfilled dreams, parents participate in every decision-making step of their child’s life, whether it be academic pursuits, such as school or university as well as every little thing that makes them more anxious. Parental regret makes parents anxious that makes them more involved in their children’s life [26]. Other than the past unfulfilled desires of parents, the phase of transition is also a contributing factor of helicopter parenting. In post-adolescent phase when child move out to live independently, parents experience the guilt. No matter how much involved they are with their children, the realization of not spending more time bothers them a lot; hence, they regret of not spending more quality time with their children. Thus, parental regret is indirectly related to helicopter parenting.
Culture drives the formation and sharing of beliefs across individuals. People belonging to similar cultures share similar belief system and display similar behavioral tendencies. The individual’s sociocultural context also guides their personal and social lives [27]. The cultural heritage of country and family may also be viewed as a causal influence in the development of the parenting style practiced by parents.
The literature suggests the existence of different types of parenting style in eastern and western culture as people have different set patterns of behavior according to their cultural norms. Studies suggest that parents who belong to eastern culture prefer interdependence while raising their children, whereas on the other side, the parents of western culture follow independence in their parenting style [28]. Therefore, the values, belief, and ethnicity of parents affect the parenting style.
The comparative studies on parents belong to deferent origin but staying in another country concluded of following the parenting practices that were followed in their native country. Comparative cultural studies on Asian-American and Caucasian-American parenting style suggest the ill effects of Asian parenting style on psychological wellbeing of the child [29]. Asian-American parents focus on obedience, reliable, family-oriented, well-manners, and social obligation by following the cultural style control. Similar to helicopter parenting, the Asian parents also practice the authoritarian parenting. In western culture, Asian parenting and helicopter parenting are considered harmful for the growth of child. Studies on Korean-American parents suggest the higher academic expectations from their children [28]. Hence, the belonging and root of parents lead them toward a particular style of parenting that later affects the development of the child. However, cultural difference in helicopter parenting style is controversial [28] and requires more research work.
Evidence from gender-based studies talks about the different individual traits and sets the behavior of raising child. Parenting by mothers and fathers is experienced differently by children [30, 40]. The literature suggests the use of empathy, warmth, and kindness, while rearing girls is more common, whereas with boys, more of aggressive, physical punishment, and dominance is used [44]. Mother’s over parenting is perceived caring and with freedom than father by boys; however, the daughters perceive it as controlling and over involved [31, 42]. The perception of parenting also varies in different genders. Generally, young adults prefer to communicate with their mothers and also more connected than father. Due to high inclination toward their mother, there are higher chances of absorbing the traits of becoming a helicopter parent in future [17, 19].
As society has set different roles and responsibilities for both genders, the scenario is changing but not completely [41]. The children also tend to perceive the same. The general thinking is that raising a child is female’s responsibility; hence, there are more expectations from mother. Therefore, mostly father’s hovering can be seen as protective and involved, whereas the over parenting of mother can be perceived, overwhelming, and suffocating [30].
Every parent wants to raise their child with love, support, and care. While taking care of their children, they use different kinds of approaches. This used approach invokes a range of responses and reactions in children and later impacts the psychological, emotional, social, and interpersonal development. The helicopter parenting can influence child in a negative, positive, or mixed manner. Children of helicopter parenting have been found with higher life satisfaction and better psychological wellbeing [28]. On the other hand, the children raised with helicopter parenting style have been observed to display a difficulty in decision making [19].
Theoretically, greater degree of parental involvement, help, and directiveness leads the child to develop the belief that they are worthy of intensive care and attention from others and impede the development of age appropriate coping skills. As evidenced by Kohut [31], explication of the role of parenting in the development of narcissism, the enmeshed boundaries, and overinvolvement on part of the parent leads to preventing the child from experiencing failures and preventing development of a self that is independent and self-reliant, leading to the child’s constant reassurance and approval seeking. These include the experiencing of higher satisfaction by the young adults during college life. Children also end up with better psychological wellbeing and higher life satisfaction. The research studies suggest positive correlation with psychological and behavioral control with parental involvement and, however, negatively associated with school engagement and parental autonomy [32]. Children of helicopter parenting have been found with educational gains and satisfaction in academics with the help of parental engagement [33].
Majorly, children coming from a background of parental overprotectiveness display a greater tendency to utilize dysfunctional emotion focused on coping strategies (such as fantasizing and greater self-preoccupation). Thus, due to overabundance of intervention and problem solving on part of the parent, the child does not face the developmentally appropriate challenges that aid the building of necessary coping skills. However, there exist several factors that further mediate the relationship between parental overcontrol and consequent childhood anxiety. This is further corroborated by reports evidencing higher degree of neuroticism among children whose parents display helicopter parenting [34]. These factors primarily constitute the competencies within the child, such as maladaptive cognitive beliefs regarding their own sense of autonomy and ability to perform tasks. Parental overcontrol is linked to reduce self-perceived confidence and psychological wellbeing that influence the development of adequate coping skills [35]. Longitudinal studies concluded difficulty in emotional regulation at the age of 2, difficulty in inhibitory control at the age of 5, and more emotional and school problems at the age of 10. Parenting style even during toddlerhood impacts self-regulatory skills that later affect the adjustment of child into adolescence [29].
Young adults reared with helicopter parenting style have been observed to be more prone to developing separation anxiety and panic attacks. The separation anxiety leads by parents and by the child often leads to homesickness at the campus during night [36, 37]. Studies have also acknowledged the chances of social anxiety among young adults as a result of hover parents over protectiveness. During college life, parental intrusion and control affect the autonomy of young adults leading to a sense of lack of autonomy and control over their life. Over and above affect the child psychologically and increase the chances of anxiety disorder [28]. The incapability of solving day-to-day problems can also lead adolescents toward anxiety. Maladaptive cognitive schema and impaired autonomy were resulted through over controlling nature of mother [14]. The constant efforts and investing quality time of helicopter mother for updating the child’s intelligence may lead to high anxiety in the child [19]. The study by Schiffrin et al. [29] suggests that insisting by parents on perfectionism in children heightens the certainty of anxiety disorders among young adults and adolescents.
Parents having higher expectations regarding academic performance from their children often lead to behaviors that convey that whatever their child is doing is never good enough. Therefore, children of such parents often experience greater emotional distress when they make some mistakes and also tend to be more anxious, more self-critical, and depressed. This tendency of getting afraid while making a mistake and blaming themselves for not being perfect termed as “maladaptive perfectionism” [41]. Research highlights that the anxiety can be triggered among the kids who already facing some social issues by helicopter parenting. In a research (done on parents and their children), the children were given 10-minute time period to complete as many puzzles as possible. Parents were given freedom to help their children; however, at the same time, they were not encouraged to do. It was noticed that the children with social issues were helped by their parents often than the other parents did. Even when the children did not ask the parents to step in, they were not negative or critical. The findings suggested that parents of children with social issues perceive challenging situation more threatening than children. Moreover, it diminishes the ability of a child to succeed on their own and increases the anxiety [29, 38].
Studies focusing on maternal involvement suggested the same as being an important factor in developing healthy behavior among children at the adolescent stage. The positive effects of increased autonomy by mother on self-worth, reading grades, and control understanding in children have been reported in the literature. More school involvement by mothers was associated with increased acting-out behaviors and learning problems. Hence, parental involvement has been found associated with the mental health (externalizing behavioral problems) of children entering into adolescence [39]. Children of helicopter parents describe their parents as emotionally supportive and involved although they also report of having a feeling that they were not given sufficient autonomy support by their parents [40]. The wellbeing of children of autonomy supportive parents is high as autonomy is considered one of the basic psychological need that helps children in problem-solving and decision-making processes [41, 42].
Low self-efficacy, lack of trust among peers, and alienation from peers were associated with helicopter parenting. Helicopter parenting was also found to be associated with low self-esteem that made children dependent on family members. Children of helicopter parenting are prone to depression in adulthood [43, 44, 45, 46]. Helicopter parenting is found to have lower quality of parent-child communication and lower family satisfaction [22]. Poor self-regulation was seen as another outcome of helicopter parenting.
A study investigating the role of helicopter parenting and parental involvement concluded that children of helicopter parents were dependent on their parents to solve the problems due to having habit of getting help by their parents in every minor task. On the contrary, the normal parenting style found to be associated with adjustment and competence. Helicopter parenting affects child’s learning and development that result into poor self-regulation and childhood anxiety. Higher anxiety, depression, stress, and poorer academic adjustment were reported by children of authoritarian and permissive parents. Higher level of depression was reported by the children whose parents are controlling and do not provide tee privacy [47, 48].
Three theories of developmental psychology explain the process of helicopter parenting and relation with offspring [49].
Self-determination theory highlights three needs that are innate and necessary for the healthy development and functioning of human being. These needs are the need for autonomy, the need for competence, and the need for relatedness (Figure 1).
The negative effects on psychological wellbeing according to self-determination theory.
There is sense of greater satisfaction when all these psychological needs are met. Helicopter parenting may reduce child’s sense of autonomy and competence and also undermine their relationship with their children. The theory suggests the violation of these psychological needs, which is associated with the negative outcome of controlling parenting style [50].
Three family dynamics, that is, cohesion, flexibility, and communication, are used in this model. According to this model, the family members share emotional bonding [49]. Model highlights the four levels of cohesion, that is, disengaged, separated, connected, and enmeshed. There are four levels of flexibility, that is, flexibility, rigid, structured, and chaotic, which have an important share in parenting style.
According to the model, problems emerge when the cohesion of family or the boundaries of family members are either enmeshed (extremely close) or detached (disengaged). With helicopter parenting style, the family cohesion is likely to be at the extremely high-cohesion level (enmeshed) because the little independence is granted and boundaries are thin. Four levels of flexibility of circumplex model of family systems suggest the balance in family functioning. Extreme levels of flexibility either extremely high or extremely low usually have problems with helicopter parenting rigid level of flexibility, or extreme inflexibility exists. Therefore, helicopter parenting is an unbalanced family system wherein the imbalance hampers children.
According to family differentiation theory, the balance of family interaction is important for healthy development of child. When the interpersonal boundaries are blurred, the sense of autonomy and individuality does not build up. With helicopter parenting, the boundaries are blurred; hence, it affects behavioral, cognitive, and emotional development and psychosocial adjustment during adolescence [49].
The phenomenon of helicopter parenting is one, which is still under developing study and research. Research regarding intervention strategies to help ease and reduce the over-involvement practices is still in its nascent stage. Before providing the intervention, the several domains of parenting associated with children should be assessed. Hence, a detailed assessment helps therapist to deal with the parental behavior and children’s as well. The assessments can include as follows:
family dysfunctions
communication pattern
personality assessment
Allow the child to participate independently in age-appropriate activities offering support and “can-do” encouragement.
Allow the child to learn from mistakes and react with empathy and support when the consequences are experienced.
Encourage the child to solve problems alone or with minimal guidance only when requested.
Utilize the techniques of positive discipline to facilitate responsible behavior and independent thinking.
Offer the unconditional love for the child that is not based on behavior or accomplishments.
Encourage the child to plan for the future by setting long- and short-term personal goals.
Identifying inappropriate and expensive fears regarding the child’s welfare and the development of more realistic expectations: Therapist needs to understand parent’s behavior and role as a parent along with the set boundaries as well. Therapist also needs to have a contextual understanding of the roots of parental-over involvement. Strategies to be followed: (a) Reviewing the parent’s histories and their concerns about their child’s needs and definition of their role in the parent-child dyad. This helps identifying further strategies to be employed (e.g., parental regret would be addressed in a manner different from anxiety, at a cognitive level) [11, 53]. (b) Psychoeducation about “positive” parenting versus overprotective parenting and how they may play a role in child pathology.
Hyperinvolvement and over protectiveness of parents toward the child: The rationale of this target behavior is to help parents identify behaviors that maybe contribute to maintenance of dependency in child and build an insight into the parenting practice. Psychotherapeutic strategy for such behavior is monitoring and identifying behaviors that constitute “overparenting” and thoughts surrounding the situation.
Discuss the benefits of allowing the child to gain wisdom from the experience of making mistakes: Targeting this behavior works on bringing an insight into parents regarding their overinvolvement in child’s life. Therapist assists the parents in creating a list of the benefits to both the parent and the child, allowing the child to learn from mistakes (e.g., child learns to accept responsibility for the outcome of both good and bad decisions). Therapy sessions also target on teaching parents to express empathy and understanding when the child struggles with the result of poor judgment or irresponsible behavior without interfering to prevent the teaching value of the consequence.
Outline circumstances in which the child can safely learn from the consequences of a mistake or poor decision: The rational of targeting this behavior is to allow the client to gain a gradual confidence in his/her ability to handle problems independently. The strategies are to be used. (a) Barnstorming with the parents help children to learn from the consequences of a poor decision without creating significant danger, destruction, or distress. (b) Assign the parents to identify the circumstances in which they have allowed their child to struggle with the consequences of a personal mistake or poor judgment.
Implement strategies at home designed to foster responsible behavior: The rational here is to allow the child to develop gradual independence and foster beliefs in the self-reliance of the child. Sessions aim on instructing the parents to facilitate responsibility in the child by: (a) giving the child a manageable task; (b) allowing any mistake to become a learning opportunity; (c) using consequences to teach appropriate behavior; and (d) giving the same task again to check for learning.
Parental anxiety prompting overprotective behaviors: The goal is to help parents target and alter potential contributing cognitions that may lead to the parental overinvolvement. The useful psychotherapeutic strategies to target parental anxiety and overprotective behaviors are cognitive reframing and reattribution.
Besides the aforementioned description, there is another therapeutic model that can also be utilized to improve dysfunctional parenting practices.
Positive parenting program (PPP) was developed by Sanders [1, 54]. This triple P is a multilevel parenting and family support system. The main goal of this intervention is to increase knowledge, skills, and confidence of parents. The program conceptualized five developmental periods from infancy to adolescence, and at each period, range of program either can be broad and target the entire population or can be specific and target only at risk children.
The primary principles of this therapy are as follows:
ensuring a safe, engaging environment;
taking care of oneself as a parent;
creating a positive learning environment;
using assertive discipline; and
having realistic expectations.
The specific goals of the therapy are as follows:
promoting self-sufficiency of parents;
increase parental self-efficacy;
using self-management tools such that parents may change parenting practices for the better (self-assessment, setting goals, and choosing child management techniques);
promoting personal agency; and
promoting problem solving.
Levels of modules: The module covers five levels that have been developed to extend across a variety of specific situations (Figure 2).
The levels of positive parenting program module.
The module works on specific situation differently by using the suitable therapeutic technique. Overall, the psychoeducation, parental behavior, emotional resilience, mental gym, cognitive restructuring, promoting constructive coping, and so on all included in the module that works differently in every therapy session according to the problem [50, 51].
“Sarah was a 24 year graduate of a BTech program from a reputed public college. She recently moved towns to pursue a job at an IT company. Sarah was worried about the impact of her decision to move on her mother, who having divorced her father when Sarah was just 7 years old, was close to retirement. Sarah’s mother was a middle-school teacher, who had dedicated her entire life to raising her daughter post her divorce. Sarah described herself as being a shy child, who would often get bullied at school for her stutter. Although sessions with a speech therapist had reduced her speech impediment and growing up, she gained a greater deal of self-confidence, she often grappled with anxiety attacks. Sarah described her mother, saying that although she was extremely caring and patient towards her, she felt that her mother would often be excessively cautious and would limit Sarah from going out and enjoying with her friends. This often led to disagreements between the two, and Sarah reported often times feeling guilty post the arguments as she felt that her mother was only trying to look out for her. When Sarah began college, she noticed the disagreements between her mother and herself began to increase. She recalled being extremely annoyed with her mother for questioning her every time she wanted to hang out with her friends, and when she would go on to check her phone. Sarah described being mortified when once her mother went to speak to her teacher about a missed assignment, and recalled worrying about her classmates thinking of her as incompetent at dealing with something as talking to a professor. She gradually began feeling resentful towards her mother, especially when the latter involved herself in Sarah’s break up. This prompted Sarah to take up the job in the other city, stating that she wanted some time away from her mother’s ‘constant nagging.’ However, she also felt guilty and was worried whether she would be able to independently handle things. Although at the start of her new job, Sarah felt optimistic, she found herself being increasingly walked over at office, and began taking on more work than necessary. This made her feel burdened and stressed and she began feeling an increase in her anxiety levels. Furthermore, she began to feel that people at her office did not treat her as nicely as they should and she began feeling that perhaps they did not think highly of her. Because of an increased work load, Sarah found it difficult to handle her domestic affairs as well. When she shared these difficulties at work with her mother, she was shocked to see her mom deciding to come to live with her so as to help her out with her problems. Sarah found herself feeling increasing apprehensive about her mother’s arrival and upon recurrent anxiety attacks at the thought of her mother going to talk to her boss, Sarah decided to seek out professional help.”
“John was a 36 year old single-father of a 16 year old boy. Having had a child at the young age of twenty and being cut off by his family, John was forced to quit medical school and seek out a job to support his family. John had worked several odd jobs and finally found a stable job as a car salesperson. When his son was 4 years old, he had lost his wife in an accident and was forced to raise his son on his own. John described his son as having had a weak immune system as a child, and would fall ill often. As a result, John would constantly worry about his son falling severely ill and hence growing up would stop his child from playing outdoors as often as his peers. This resulted in his son often reacting angrily and asserting that John did not care about him like other parents. John’s son was academically above average and won several accolades from school. John found himself hoping that his son would become a surgeon and make a name and a comfortable living for himself. However, John’s son stated he was not particularly interested in medicine. John stated that since early childhood he would try to fulfill all the desires of his son. He reported that he would not reprimand his son in case he caused mischief, often times defending his son and blaming the school authorities for mismanagement. Lately, John reported noticing that his son has become increasingly arrogant towards others and would even talk back to John if he does not fulfill his demands.”
Parenting and parenting style are an intricate and complex phenomenon that is determined by a number of factors, both individual and contextual. Furthermore, parenting choices not only yield a here-and-now result but also have long-lasting implications on the psychophysiological health of the child. From the original conceptualization of parenting style as constituting only four typologies, that is, authoritarian, authoritative, permissive, and negligent, the terrain of parenting styles has greatly evolved. The turn of the twentieth century demonstrated the phenomenon of another approach to parenting, dubbed “overinvolved or helicopter” parenting. Helicopter parenting not only was seen as evolving from the parent’s own anxiety but was also mediated by their regrets and factors within the child (such as his or her vulnerabilities). These anxieties, shaped by sociocultural beliefs about parenting practices and the parent’s gender, prompt the parent to engage in practices that involve hyperinvolvement, problem solving, and directiveness toward the child. Such behaviors yield several potential consequences on the development of the child. Research has been mixed in the determination of the impact of helicopter parenting. While certain studies have evidenced a greater deal of satisfaction by young adults during their college life, there has also been a great deal of studies implicating an increase in mental health difficulties (such as anxiety, depression, and malignant narcissism) as well as poorer self-regulatory and coping skills in the individual. Mediated and understood through the lens of theories such as self-determination and circumplex model, the helicopter parenting is a phenomenon that provides several avenues of research and early intervention strategies to mitigate potential negative consequences.
The authors would like to acknowledge the help of Ms. Megha Kar, MPhil trainee at AIBHAS-AUUP in organizing the related content.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
All the figures are originals. To make the content impressive, these are prepared by author in smart art format word document.
For decades, global and centralized food supply chains and supermarkets have served as a one-stop shopping outlet and provided the consumers with the convenience of accessing a variety of products all year round. Due to globalization, advanced technologies, and economies of scale in the transportation of mass volumes of products, consumers across the globe can access a variety of products all year round. The global food production and distribution system brought forward some concerns for the society, economy, and environment for acceleration of the disappearance of local agriculture [1]. Supermarkets had taken control of about 80% of the food consumption market in Britain [2]. Conventional food systems were challenged, and consumers questioned the food quality provided by conventional food networks. Also, the sustainability of industrialized farming was also called in question [3]. With little knowledge of the place of origin and methods of production, some consumers of the globalized network found it uncomfortable to deal with [3].
\nRecent years have shown increasing interest in the local food system. In both North America and Europe, the number of farmers market has grown rapidly since the 2000s. For instance, in 2008, there were 508 farmers’ market registered across Canada, while in 2014, this number increased to 653 [4]. The US has even more farmers’ market than Canada. The number of farmers’ market in the US in 2004 increased 53% compared with the number in 1994 [5]. In the UK, Miller [6] reported that the number of farmers’ market was about 800.
\nMany European countries started to find alternatives for regional food supply solutions [7]. Local food networks, along with fair trade, forms part of alternative food networks (AFNs) [8]. Johnson and Endres [9] described the local food movement as a push back against the globalization of food system. Contrary to global food supply chains, short food supply chains, also referred to AFNs, have facilitated the mobilization of locally produced fresh products [10] by connecting suppliers, e.g., farmers, with consumers [11].
\nAFNs emerged as a result of political, cultural, and historical processes [12]. It was the uneven development of participants in a commercial food supply network that gives rise to the nurturing of AFNs. These chains can be categorized into three kinds: direct sales by individuals, e.g., U-picks and farm gate sales; collective direct sales, e.g., farmers market; and partnerships, e.g., Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs) [13]. At the very beginning of the twenty-first century, CSA was not as commonly known as today in the US. CSA was still a growing social movement at its earliest stage when industrialized farming was dominating the market [3]. CSA is a form of partnership which secures the amount demanded by customers, and therefore, the risks and benefits of production are shared by both farmers and consumers [13]. With a contractual agreement between producers and consumers, shareholders and stakeholders at the same time, CSAs are an ideal solution to build a long-term relationship with mutual trust [3].
\nIn the US, Departments including Agriculture, Commerce, Health and Human Services, and Urban development have initiatives to promote the development of farmer’s market [14]. Food cooperatives and farmers’ markets are vibrant constituents enabling the whole domestic food system to prosper. Direct farmer-to-consumer food distribution channels, regardless of type, provide short food miles, reduce the number of intermediaries in the food supply chain, and connect producers with consumers. The elimination of numerous intermediaries secures the farmers’ fairer share and ensures the traceability and higher quality standards of the products. Also, the firm support from consumers reflects the position of short food supply chains. In a conventional chain, the imbalance between bargaining powers of farmers and distributors made many small farmers hard to make a profit [13]. While large chain stores and farmers’ markets are the top choices for grocery shopping [15], the level of competition between these two venues is not clear.
\nSupports from the state and consumer’s willingness facilitate the growth of the local food economy, and more local food communities and systems are created with increased link between consumers and producers. Farmers’ markets are important channels of direct marketing for locally grown foods in Canada, the US, and Europe. What made the farmers’ market stand out of the crowd is the quality of food, either product-based or process-based [16]. From food safety perspective, during an era of increasing globalization, the origin of fertilizers, seeds, and feeds used by small farms is likely to be from all over the globe, and contamination is liable to come from these sources [17]. Opportunities lie in the support of cooperatives and society since more resources were invested in food safety education and better system and management [17]. Also, food suppliers have more opportunities to communicate directly to customers for any feedbacks.
\nFarmers’ markets are self-organized and locally controlled. Their size can depend on the local demand and supply, and they are formed by local values and culture [18]. In Canada, farmers’ market is prevalent and has gained a great success; it has a strong consumer base with the demands of fresh, healthy fruits, vegetables, and baked foods. Farmers’ markets in Canada provide a large set of diverse choices to consumers, and consumers are highly motivated to buy local foods. They visit farmers’ markets regularly which helps those markets to thrive.
\nNumerous scholarly papers have focused on specific aspects of short food supply chains. By deploying a systematic review approach, this chapter provides a holistic exploration of alternate food networks which contributes to further mobilization of locally produced products. Specifically, the constituents of short food supply chains, namely, food citizenship (e.g., [19]), sustainability and food democracy (e.g., [20]), embeddedness social, and human capital (e.g., [21]), food quality and safety concerns (e.g., [22]), defining local food (e.g., [15]), investigating the relationship between level of participation in AFNs and consumers’ demographics (e.g., [23]), consumers’ motivations to engage in buy-local activities (e.g., [24]), vendors’ perspective on selling products in farmers’ market (e.g., [25]), and the development of short food supply chain in the Canadian context (e.g., [26]) are studied in this chapter.
\nLocal food does not have a universally accepted definition. The notion of local food is identified by the geographic dimension, which means the distance between food producer and consumer [27]. However, people hold different opinions on defining the distance of local food. Based on the survey, people’s perceptions on local are varied; some of them believe local to be in the same province or state, some believe local is the region within 100 kilometers, and some others cannot describe precisely and just think local is nearby counties [28]. Although there are some controversies that exist on defining local food, the movements of local food are emerging and become one of the most prevalent topics in food sector.
\nDespite that different European countries have their respective understanding of short food supply chain, the need for reasonable comparability forced EU to come to a publically recognized definition. On the other hand, local food system is much harder to be generalized since the term local food is relatively subjective [13]. Also, there are different ranges for the definitions of local in different Canadian provinces. Defining local food can be tricky for the suppliers at farmers’ markets, which makes the consumers question the products’ authenticity [15].
\nCurrent theoretical frameworks such as solidarity buying groups, consumer co-ops, or collective urban gardening initiatives are still not a perfect solution for problems incurred by conventional global food networks [19]. Although AFNs lack a set of clear standards, and a boundary between them and conventional food networks is ill-defined, the emergence and development of AFNs are a good interpretation of a new type of producer-consumer cooperation focusing on the perspective of sustainable consumption apart from sustainable rural development.
\nConsumer co-operatives and buying groups in some European countries, for instance, are more than channels for direct-selling and producer-initiated activities [19]. The transition from passive end-consumers to proactive citizen-consumers clearly represents a new type of relationship between the producers and consumers of food. For these producers, this means the transition from supplying the market with food in bulk to directly supply the community with more sustainable and organic food.
\nUnlike the uncommon existence in the European literature, the concept of food citizenship occurs quite often in North America. It was introduced into Canada to criticize the fading food skills of citizens and corporate control. Also, compared with conventional food networks, the existence of power relationship is less evident in these civic food networks since the disappearance of the intermediaries between producers and consumers [29].
\nRenting et al. [19] argues that society-based and civil forms of governance is an important concept to understand to better promote food citizenship, especially in times of several political and economic crises [19]. Wittman et al. [15] also suggest that the rebuilding of linkages between civil society and markets, and the creation of new connections can be interpreted as the governance mechanisms.
\nThe significance of AFNs is not limited to providing communities with access to locally sourced fresh and organic food, but also allowing consumers to contribute to the pillars of sustainability, e.g., economic and environmental, by supporting sustainable food production and distribution systems [30]. The environmental dimension of sustainability is particularly urged by many stakeholders, and the changes these businesses about to make are challenging [31]. The dominant philosophy of such changes can be hard for the senior management of a firm to accept. The public and the companies perceive the domain of sustainability differently. Also, the customers are aware of sustainability, but they think the companies are responsible for the necessary expenditure [31].
\nConsumers are becoming more conscious about environmentally friendly production and distribution systems [32], and are interested in finding out about the origin of their food [16, 33]. The transparent and domestic origin of the food products distinguishes them from their counterparts sold in conventional supermarkets [16]. Researchers believed that this kind of desire derives from the decline of consumer’s trust on the standardized foods, and they have more concerns about the production methods and ethical issues of those imported foods [34, 35]. This kind of mistrust can be eliminated by locally produced food, because locally produced food builds a closer connection between buyers and producers. Consumers can easily access the whole process of local food from the farm to their table, and that reduces their ethical and environmental concerns of the food production. In terms of environmental benefits, local food economy shortens the distance of food and reduces the carbon emissions incurred in the transportation process. Meanwhile, it also encourages farmers to adopt organic farming, which is more environmentally friendly and promotes the consumer’s preference of organic food [1]. However, Brown [22] argued that the relationship between farmers’ market and the growth of organic food market was not documented, but she also agreed that farmers’ market is the major source of organic and exotic foods. In another study, M. D’amico et al. [36] pointed out that participants, who were selected from three Italian regions to better represent the target consumers, favor the food items circulated through short food supply chain because of the quality and lower environmental impact. This study tried to figure out the main features and aspects of the direct selling of wine through analyzing the main factors that directly influence consumers’ choice and purchasing behavior.
\nHamprecht et al. [20] demonstrated how enterprises could control the sustainability through managing the economic, social, and environmental performance of the supply chain [20]. In the process of tracking supplies of the production, a controlling framework was used to assess the economic, social, and environmental performance aspects of milk and cereal factories [20]. Another initiative was a wave of organic farming activities which took place in Czech Republic, and it was aimed at reducing environmental impacts and improving alternative food quality [16]. Contrary to the agro-industrial model, short food supply chain is an ideal alternative in reconnecting production and consumption with quality and values, which also promotes sustainable agriculture [8].
\nAs direct channels of distributing food, AFNs drew these participants closer, and they enabled the redistribution of power across the food chain [29]. Critics doubt these networks’ ability to bring structural changes on a greater scale [29]. Either Food democracy or civic agriculture represents a certain academic perspective in understanding all these food networks [29]. With the direct involvement in distributing and selling the food produced, the AFNs in France and Brazil have greater control over the economic actions downstream. Initiatives in both countries matter to the food democracy, as their members share the decision-making power [29].
\nOther than farmers’ market which has brought more hope in pursuing an alternative solution for a stable supply of quality food, an urban garden project called community gardens (contributing to building communities) was created with a goal of promoting the social and cultural nature of AFNs [16]. While the literature available on AFNs is primarily stressing on quality, locality, and ecology, Sage [37] analyzed the case of good food network in South West Ireland, using an approach of more qualitative insight into understanding the relationship between the participating members of a short food supply chain. They suggest that this food network is an economy of regard reflected through personal relations and social connection. Deeply embedded in local communities, social capital and embeddedness are commonly used in the literature discussing the benefits of the collaboration between members of an AFN being the knowledge exchange and social relations and learning [21]. Collaborative CSAs, also known as cCSAs, as another example, are different from single farmer CSAs, and other than financial incentives, several capitals, notably social capital, are the core values of cCSAs apart from democracy in food provisioning [38]. Human capital is another benefit of CSAs through the accumulation of hands-on knowledge and experiences [38].
\nWittman et al. [15] discuss farmers’ market as an example of social economy in North America. As part of the social economy, the farmers’ markets in western Canada are not after a greater amount of profit, but to fulfill the social objectives and reinvest the profit generated into further investments in the markets’ infrastructure [15]. The economic influence of the farmers’ markets is not despised by their social mission. These markets had enjoyed a significant growth in operating revenue, created by direct sales, and resulted in multiplier effects three times greater [15].
\nAFNs are a representative of economy of quality, with food quality and safety as a prerequisite [8]. With support from the national level, short food supply chains have been rediscovered for their diverse forms of businesses. In an industry-wide crisis in agri-food networks, Taylor [39] used the value chain analysis technique in the study of two pork supply chains in the UK. The pressing need to become more integrated urges the red meat chains to make unprecedented changes to their traditional business model [39] and build trust between different echelons in their supply chains and establish cooperation between the supply chain members to attract consumers to choose the domestically produced pork products than imported.
\nLocal food production is more accessible to consumers, and this increases the health and security of the food [22]. The popularity of short food supply chain in Belgium is another sign of its influence in Europe. Similarly, short food supply chains are also potentially prone to contamination in the environment where the food was produced or harvested. Microbiological safety and quality aspects of the chains are specifically concerned with the microbiological safety aspects of food and food production [17]. Even short food supply chains with a lower level of complexity have links which can potentially pose some threats to the food safety. While practices and policies such as Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), European Hygiene Legislation, Hazardous Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP), and Good Manufacturing Practices are enforced, but still, sources of contamination are likely to undermine the safety of at least of the links of the supply chains [17].
\nCurrently, the farmers in SFSCs have individual experiences with selecting the quality of raw materials, and they also keep an eye on the production that takes place. Therefore, the microbiological risks can be contained in most cases. Shorter chain and smaller scale help farms reduce the cycle of turnover, and consumers can purchase the food items in a short time after production. Smaller farms have fewer kinds of food being produced, therefore lower the possibility of cross-contamination. Additionally, smaller farms have a tradition of maintaining food safety and quality [17]. On the other hand, some farms have both fresh plant and animal productions, which are more likely to lead to cross-contamination through irrigation water or crops [17]. Also, the lack of professional food safety knowledge is potentially undermining the farmers’ ability to avoid microbiological risks.
\nFrom the consumer’s perspective, local food reduces the risk of food safety and security to them, because local foods are usually less processed and fresher and there is a high level of transparency. Consumers can either reach their sites of production or talk to growers to obtain information about local grown foods [40].
\nPeople started to realize that local food system can substantially benefit a variety of local actors. For instance, it promotes the development of the local economy, reduces the distance of transportation, and facilitates the sustainable development [41]. Abate [1] believes that the local food economy can connect and involve the different local actors in the local community, revitalize businesses that may be hardly surviving and provide them with business opportunities, and also promote the sense of identity which is similar to the viewpoint of Oberholtzer and Grow [42]. It can also create job opportunities, increase the local income, and diversify the local economy. Feenstra et al. [43] argued that the farmers’ market provided the best opportunity for farmers to develop their businesses, improved their skills on dealing with customer relations and other marketing practices, and also encouraged them to add values to their products or services which also benefit their customers. Hughes and Boys [44] also discussed about the economic impacts of local food. They believe that the local food system will bring multiple benefits to different actors in the system, such as vendors, local labors, and farmers’ markets. Furthermore, the localization can also contribute to the higher quality of life, because he believed that the regional growth has been a new economic development pattern in the modern world. Meanwhile, the localization of food as a marketing strategy can promote the local businesses and entrepreneurism.
\nThe motivators of consumers to attend the farmers’ market is also of interest for researchers to study. From theoretical perspective, Conner et al. [45] believed that local food basically creates three values for consumers. First is the shortened distance of travel from the production place to the market. Second is the higher quality of food which mainly indicates the freshness. Third is the social interactions that refer to face to face communication. Also, the perceptions of quality are different in the various regions, ranging from environmental sustainability and animal welfare to rural tradition, local knowledge, and culture [13]. A number of studies have shown the consumers’ interest in foods with local attributes. Generally, researches constantly showed the strong willingness of consumers to buy in farmers’ markets, and those shoppers have similar demographic characteristics, but their motivating factors can be slightly different between different regions. Based on the research in different regions of the US, Baker et al. [5] suggested that the most important reasons of consumers using farmers’ markets are accessing fresh local foods and supporting local agriculture. But consumers in Manitoba, Canada, have demonstrated different motivations, based on the research by Food Matters Manitoba [46]; the major driver of attending farmers’ markets of consumers in Manitoba was to support the local economy, and the second most important is to help local farmers. The interest in the food quality was only placed at third. However, based on the research for consumers across the whole country, they perceive the top motivator for buying local food products was freshness of food, and supporting local agriculture business was reported as the second most important factor [46]. Therefore, Manitoban consumers have more concern on the community development than other places in Canada. Byker et al. [24] argues that based on the studies in different areas, some motivating factors to participate in AFNs are consistent, including freshness and high quality of food, food safety and security, pesticide-free, support local agriculture, and social interactions. Some other factors can vary from different regions or different consumers; for instance, convenience is an important factor for some consumers but not for all. The price of a product was also concerned by a part of consumers. Conner et al. [45] found similar phenomenon; some consumers perceived local foods as high quality and willing to pay more for the benefit. However, some consumers think local foods should have lower price. Specific lifestyle also motivates some consumers to shop at farmers’ markets, such as cooking, baking, or interest in some specific types of food.
\nBesides those factors, Hunt [47] linked the demographic factors with the motivating factors to shop in farmers’ market. He believed that the social interaction is a significant motivator for consumers based on their demographic characteristics. His research was based on more than 200 consumers in the farmers’ market. About 98% of the respondents agreed that they had fun while interacting with other people in farmers’ market, 94% of them talk with vendors, and 81% of people meet people they know in the market. Therefore, farmers’ market can be a platform for those seniors to interact with people and increase their satisfaction of shopping experience. He also claimed that 45% of them know the farmers’ market by word of mouth. This can also be an effective marketing strategy of those farmers’ markets. In another study, Wittman et al. [15] suggests that personal interactions between vendors and consumers is partially why farmers’ markets are one of the most important market channels for local food. Some respondents prefer more choices of marketing channels, but the authentic relationships built through direct marketing can hardly be paralleled by other channels [15]. Such direct communication allows vendors to better share the stories behind the fresh produces, enabling the patrons to be more knowledgeable about the total cost of the produces, and therefore the reason for these patrons to pay a premium price becomes more justified [15].
\nA number of researchers had put their efforts on characterizing farmers’ market consumers. From the demographic perspective, National farmers’ market impact study report from 2009 [48] suggested that 72% of consumers are female while 28% are male in Canada, and 70% of them are 40 years and older, and about 30% of them are between 50 and 64. Byker et al. [24] found that the percentage of female consumers in different states of the US was ranging from 64 to 77%, and their average age was over 40 years old. Researchers also found most of consumers are well-educated regardless of their age and gender. The study by Conner et al. [45] on consumers showed that the average education level was college. Hunt [47] also had similar outcomes on his research. Brown [22] described most consumers as middle aged, middle income or above, well educated women. In another study, it is reported that younger people from age 21 to 29 are not interested in supporting local farmers, and people with lower incomes even have no perceptions of farmers’ markets [49].
\nJohnson and Endres [9] reported consumer’s desire for fresh, high quality, and pesticide-free foods as the top reasons for purchasing locally produced food products. Second is to minimize the environmental footprint in the production process and reduce transportation emissions. Third is to reduce the cost of farmers in transportation, processing, and packaging foods and help them to achieve a higher profitability.
\nFrom managerial point of view, based on the survey conducted by Oberholtzer and Grow [42], most managers of farmers’ market believed that the impacts brought by farmers’ market to the community can be in many aspects. They described that a farmers’ market provides a platform for all kinds of social and economic practices. This benefits to the form of community and increases the individuals’ sense of belonging to the community. Meanwhile, its basic function also enables it to provide consumers with fresh and inexpensive food.
\nAlthough researches have reported growing consumer interest in local food, most statistics has shown that the sales volume of farmers’ market continuously represent only a small portion of total food sales. Onozaka et al. [50] found that 83% of consumers believed their primary source of buying foods is supermarket. The conventional retailers are still primary channel for consumers to buy foods [18]. This fact shows inconsistency with the benefits associated with farmers’ markets in the community and high demand and willingness of consumers on shopping in farmers’ market. In addition, based on the Canadian survey on vendors in 2008, 42% of vendors reported more than a half of their incomes are generated in the farmers’ market. In other words, income from the farmers’ markets is not major a source of income for most farm owners in Canada.
\nSome researchers described that the primary motivator of local food movement is to reduce the carbon emission and promote community development and improve reciprocity [40, 51]. As an essential constituent of the economy, the agricultural sector in Greece, for example, was primarily located in isolated rural areas with scarce resources contributing significantly to the sustainable rural development, but still face economic difficulties [52]. Researchers also found that the vendors’ interests on selling their products in local market are not aligned with the consumers’ demands to buy local. Schneider and Francis [41] conducted a survey that examined the consumers’ interests on local food and vendors’ interest on selling local. Their result showed that more than a half (50.7%) of consumers are very interested in farmers’ market and 12.9% of the total consumers are extremely interested. However, in terms of farmers’ interest, 65.2% of them are not interested in selling products through farmers’ market, and only 2.7% of them are extremely interested. The results indicated that the farm owners prefer to sell their crops in other regions rather than in local market.
\nPrevious studies indicated that there are both benefits and challenges for farmers to sell their products in farmers’ markets. In terms of benefits, from vendor’s perspective, first, to sell in local market can shorten the distance they travel, which means it reduces the transportation cost [47]. Second, selling in local market enables them to have more interactions with consumers, and improve their operations by understanding consumers’ demands. Based on the Canadian vendor survey, 25% of vendors agreed the farmers’ markets provide them with a friendly and attractive environment to market their products [48]. Moreover, they believe that farmers’ markets provide them with more business opportunities which help them to thrive. Hunt [47] suggested that farmers who sell in the farmers’ markets prioritized the social interactions over the profits. Based on his study of vendors in farmers’ markets, the most important motivator for them to sell in farmers’ market is to build relationship between consumers, then is to generate profit. Actually, he found that 94% of shoppers in farmers’ markets would talk to vendors, two-thirds of them would make friendly gossip, more than a half (55%) of them discuss the production methods with vendors, and 44% of them had dialogues about sampling products. Social interactions also incorporate communications between vendors. Beckie et al. [18] claimed farmers’ market plays a role of clustering vendors in western provinces of Canada. They suggested that in western Canada, vendors collaborate with each other to achieve their common goals including improved profitability, diversified customer bases, or increased creativity in marketing practices. This kind of clustering enables them to exchange their knowledges, which provides the knowledge mobilization. Knowledge mobilization is particularly important in food sector because it comes with health and safety concerns as well as environmental concerns. It also broadens the labor base and involves more actors in the supply chain. Those interactions have a lot of implications to vendors. First, it can help vendors build solid connections with consumers and improve their loyalty. Second, interactions with consumers and farmers in local market can promote social learning, lead to the innovation on farming practices, and help vendors improve the quality of products [53].
\nNevertheless, some papers also identified some challenges and barriers for farmers to sell in the local market. Robinson and Farmer [25] claimed that for vendors, the biggest challenge is consumers’ perception. As mentioned previously, some consumers are not willing to pay premium for the benefits of local food. But in fact, their cost can be higher than those nonlocal producers as farmers’ markets charge them membership fee. They are also struggling on marketing their foods which are also costly, and if they cannot maintain their sales volume at a certain level, they may not be able to cover their costs. Attending farmers’ markets will cost vendors in different forms [4]. They argued that major costs include time, gas, equipment and supplies, and different kinds of fees like insurance, permit fees, etc. This is one of the reasons that the consumers in farmers’ markets are always more educated and with higher income. Because they are more likely to pay premium for the local foods. Therefore, based on the Robinson and Farmer’s [25] description, the first challenge for vendors is to convince more potential consumers to pay for their products with price premium. The second barrier is the gap between consumer demand and supply in terms of season. Research suggests that most of the consumers in farmers’ markets are loyal consumers and they visit farmers’ market frequently, spend a lot in there, and have solid personal relationships with vendors [45]. Canadian researches on consumers also indicated that consumers are not satisfied with the limited season and hours for the farmers’ markets because their demands cannot be fulfilled. But due to the limitation of technique and knowledge for most small-scale farm owners, they are not capable for the season extension practices. This limitation increases the potential of losing loyal customers. The third is the limited ability to promote the awareness to a larger base of population. Farmers’ Markets Canada [48] also found that the top two reasons for people to not shop at farmers’ markets are the inconvenience of location and the lack of awareness, and according to Colasanti et al. [49], the major reasons for less awareness of farmers’ markets are largely due to the ineffective promotion strategy and the inconvenience of location. According to Wittman et al. [15], many customers would choose to support locally sourced food when there is a greater variety of products and easier accessibility for shopping.
\nThe primary challenges facing farmers’ markets in Canada are exerted by the conventional food networks, competitive prices and scaling-up of production, and an unpredictable environment [15]. As a labor-intensive industry with its ethical standards, vendors at farmers’ markets must pay a living wage to their employees, and at the same time, the investment in environmentally sustainable practices further raises the cost of production [15]. Specific constraints are exerting pressure to the further development of SFSC, primarily in the shortage of necessary knowledge and skills, lack of entrepreneurial culture in farmers, or administrative burden which may baffle small farmers [13].
\nConner et al. [45] conducted a research based on 70 farmers’ markets, 3174 shoppers, and 487 vendors across the country. They found that in Canada, Farmers’ markets are making significant contributions to the economy and communities ranging from $1.55 million to $3.09 million annually. They are the key players in promoting Canadian agricultural products, facilitating vendors’ capabilities and developing labor improvement and accessibility. However, they found that there are still growth opportunities for them since a majority of consumers are using grocery stores rather than farmer’s market.
\nWittman et al. [15] surveyed some farmers’ markets in Alberta and British Colombia. These markets are identified as strategic venues linking producers and consumers of local food. Different from conventional food networks in the organization of production, distribution, and consumption, the farmers’ markets in North America are also examples of the social economy. With the support from private sector and the government, many Canadian farmers’ markets are a combination of the local food system and social economy [15]. The constraints on the term “local” are not strictly defined, as situations in these two provinces are varied when compared with their counterparts in Europe. The qualified vendors in a Canadian farmers’ market must meet the requirements of producing food in a local region. Some say their scale limits the further development of farmers’ markets. However, scholars disagree with this common misconception. Scaling up farmers’ markets could benefit them from economies of scale, but such action could potentially bring negative power disparities and environmental impacts resulting from conventionalization [15]. Like the situation in the United States, the amount of organic food distributed through direct sales outlets was under 10% in 2006 [15]. One major obstacle facing the development of farmers’ markets in Canada was the disparity between policy and practice [15]. The restriction on the local and authenticity is a perfect example of this disparity.
\nWittman et al. [15] analyzed the potential barriers and challenges undermining the potential growth of farmers’ markets in Alberta and British Colombia provinces. The participants were interviewed with two overarching questions, “How can farmers’ markets in western Canada scale up their role in supporting the advancement of local food systems within a social economy framework?” and “What are the barriers impeding farmers’ markets from acting as transformational agents for a more sustainable food system?”. The feedback from the participants reflected a diverse way of understanding the local food systems. For instance, the way how participants perceive the role of farmers’ markets was largely determined by the dynamics of supply and demand relationship and the definition of boundaries of authenticity in the farmers’ markets [15].
\nSelect Nova Scotia is a local food program initiated by the government to promote the food grown in this province [26]. To discover the actual effectiveness of this program, Knight conducted an online survey to assess the awareness of Select Nova Scotia and particularly the respondents’ perception of the local benefits and barriers as well as purchase motivation and behavior [26]. As one out of at least four Canadian provinces supporting local food initiatives, Select Nova Scotia has been financially supported by the provincial government since 2007. Through sponsoring various campaigns and events, it not only aims to promote and educate consumers about local food, but also exploits development opportunities of the regional food program [26]. Knight evaluated the effectiveness of this program, particularly the awareness levels and impacts it has on consumer preferences and consumption [26]. Based on several economic assessments, this case study works as a benchmark for the future studies of Select Nova Scotia. Primary or shared grocery shoppers residing in Nova Scotia were chosen, and randomization was applied to eliminate possible biases [26]. The respondents were divided into six focus groups based on three types of profiles: food skills and interest, social, and social-demographics.
\nA third of the respondents were already aware of the Select Nova Scotia and knew about this initiative through primarily retail venues such as farmers’ markets followed by advertisements on mass media. Through factor analyses, benefits were categorized into four groups: societal, attribute, social, and price [26]. Respondents with a different demographic background and food skills and interests would position every single one of the four types of benefits rather poles apart. Also, gender is another influencing factor. Availability, price, location, and appearance are the four aspects of barriers which would affect consumers’ decisions to buy locally sourced food. Similarly, respondents with different characteristics would perceive the significance of each of these barriers differently. Based on the frequency of buying, different respondents can be divided into three buy-local groups, high, medium and low. Respondents initially aware of the program are more likely to be in the high group, while other social-demographic aspects also affect the categorization of these respondents. Using multinomial logistic regression method, it was found out that the respondents’ awareness of this initiative contributed positively to their motivation to buy locally [26]. The respondents’ awareness of this initiative was as good as stated goals, regardless of its short history. Some critics doubted that the respondents that primarily covered the buy-local groups were already aware of the initiative. However, the cross tabulations suggest that only less than half respondents in the high group were already aware of it, while the other two groups had a lower percentage. It is recommended in this study that initiatives such as Select Nova Scotia should put greater emphasis on targeting medium and low buying groups through better managing the benefits and barriers.
\nWith a rich history of farming, fishing, and artisan production, Nova Scotians have a habit of visiting and shopping at farmers’ markets [54]. The farmers’ markets in Nova Scotia had enjoyed significant growth since 2004.
\nAn economic impact study on Nova Scotia Farmers’ Markets was carried out in 2013 to figure out the reasons behind the three-fold growth in less than a decade. Twenty-one out of 43 Nova Scotian Farmers’ Markets participated in this study. A number of patrons visited, and the average amount of money they spent was collected on the day. The dominant motivations behind these patrons’ shopping behavior were supporting local businesses and demand for locally sourced, sustainable food [54].
\nFarmers’ markets in Nova Scotia take various forms as they are in both rural and urban areas, opening in specific seasons or all year round [54]. Participating markets are grouped with their respective sizes; small ones have less than 20 vendors, and large ones can have over 40 vendors altogether [54]. The average attendance at large markets are correspondingly higher than those of medium- and small-sized ones. Among all the large markets, attendance at the Farmers’ Market in Sydney, Cape Breton, ranked the third lowest [54]. The number of shopping groups counted is not limited to a group of patrons or households, but individuals as well. On average, a market can generate $22,654 worth of revenue for the region [54]. By market, Halifax Seaport enjoys highest average spending, equivalent to $50 per shopping group, and Cape Breton Farmers’ Market in Sydney ranks the 11th in all the participating markets.
\nVendor mix also has a huge impact on the average spending per shopping group [54]. It stands for the selection of vendors and products, which therefore lead to a higher spending of the patrons. If the farmers’ markets could provide more complementary products, they could potentially generate more sales since many of the patrons have limited time for grocery shopping. Compared with the total shopping group, or household, spending on food, the farmers’ market could have better growth.
\nThe economic impacts farmers’ markets can generate are both direct, direct sales made in the markets, and indirect, money spent at surrounding businesses. The total economic impact is estimated to be $1,881,573, calculated by multiplying the average dollar amount by average market attendance [54]. Small markets enjoyed greater indirect economic impact as they are more common in smaller regions, in which patrons often shop at one time, therefore help to boost the sales of nearby stores.
\nForty-five percent of respondents suggest that supporting local food movement was their primary reason for shopping, followed by 30% found that shopping was a fun and social experience [54]. Also, the quality products farmers’ markets provide, and the unique selection of products than elsewhere is also important factors for patrons to shop at the markets [54]. More importantly, the patrons at the market were not very price sensitive. They expect a higher value rather than lower price. Crawford [54] suggested that these farmers’ markets should get their stakeholders increasingly involved through meetings, presentations, to explore opportunities for their future development.
\nRecent years have shown increasing interest in short food supply chains or alternative food networks (AFNs) [4, 5, 7, 8, 24]. As direct channels of food distribution, AFNs drew the participants closer and enabled the redistribution of power across the food chain [29].
\nAFNs can be categorized into three kinds: direct sales by individuals, e.g., U-picks and farm gate sales; collective direct sales, e.g., farmers market; and partnerships, e.g., Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs). Contrary to global food supply chains, AFNs have facilitated the mobilization of locally produced fresh products [10] by connecting suppliers, e.g., farmers, with consumers [11]. The transition from passive end-consumers to proactive citizen-consumers clearly represents a new type of relationship between the producers and consumers of food [19]. Furthermore, consumers are becoming more conscious about environmentally friendly production and distribution systems [32], and interested in finding out about the origin of their food [16, 33]. In terms of environmental benefits, local food economy shortens the travel distance of food [45] and reduces the carbon emissions incurred in the transportation process. Furthermore, Abate [1] believes that the local food economy can connect and involve different local actors in the local community, revitalize businesses that may be hardly surviving and provide them with business opportunities, and also promote the sense of identity which is similar to the viewpoint of Oberholtzer and Grow [42]. It can also create job opportunities, increase the local income, and diversify the local economy.
\nBased on the research in different regions of the US on consumers’ motivations to buy local, Baker et al. [5] suggested that the most important reasons of consumers using farmers’ markets are access to fresh local foods and support local agriculture. But consumers in Manitoba, Canada, demonstrated different motivations based on the findings from the Food Matters Manitoba research study [46]; the major driver for attending farmers’ market in Manitoba was to support the local economy, and the second most important factor was to help local farmers. The interest in the food quality was only placed at third. However, based on the research conducted on different consumers from across the country, i.e., Canada, it was discovered that consumers perceive freshness of food as the top motivator for buying local food products, followed by supporting local agriculture businesses as the second most important factor [48]. Besides these, Hunt [47] linked the demographic factors with the motivating factors to shop in farmers’ market. He believes that social interaction is a significant motivator for consumers based on their demographic characteristics. His research was based on more than 200 consumers in the farmers’ market. About 98% of the respondents agreed that they had fun while interacting with other people in farmers’ market; 94% of them talk with vendors and 81% of people meet people they know in the market. Johnson and Endres [9] reported consumer’s desire for fresh, high quality, and pesticide-free foods as the top reasons for purchasing locally produced food products. Second is to minimize the environmental footprint in the production process and reduce transportation emissions. Third is to help farmers achieve higher profitability by supporting their food production and distribution system which requires less investment in processing and packaging of food products. From a food safety perspective, the local food system reduces the risk of food safety and security because locally produced food items are usually fresher and less processed, and there is a high level of transparency. Consumers can either reach their sites of production or talk to growers to obtain information about local grown foods [40]. From managerial point of view, based on the survey conducted by Oberholtzer and Grow [42], most managers of farmers’ market believe that the impacts brought by farmers’ market to the community can be in many aspects. They described that a farmers’ market provides a platform for all kinds of social and economic practices. This contributes to the formation of linked community and increases the individuals’ sense of belonging in the community. Meanwhile, its basic function also enables it to provide consumers with fresh and inexpensive food.
\nThere are both benefits and challenges for farmers to sell their products in farmers’ markets. In terms of benefits, from vendors’ perspective, first, selling food products in local markets shortens the distance they travel, which implies reduced transportation costs [47]. Second, selling in local markets enables them to have more interactions with consumers and improves their operations by understanding consumers’ demands. Based on the Robinson and Farmer’s [25] description, the first challenge for vendors is to convince more potential consumers to pay a premium price for their products. The second barrier is the gap between consumer demand and supply in terms of season. Farmers’ Markets Canada [48] also found that the top two reasons for people to not shop at farmers’ markets are the inconvenience of location and the lack of awareness. According to Colasanti et al. [49], the major reasons for less awareness of farmers’ markets are largely due to the ineffective promotion strategy and the inconvenience of location. According to Wittman et al. [15], many customers would choose to support locally sourced food when there is a greater variety of products and easier accessibility for shopping.
\nIn the past decade, there has been a growing interest in sustainable food production and distribution systems which promote food citizenship, food democracy, social capital and embeddedness, and sustainability. By deploying a systematic review approach, this chapter provides a holistic exploration of Alternate Food Networks (AFNs) which contributes to further mobilization of locally produced products as well as informing the channels of distribution in short food supply chains.
\nOur research demonstrates that there is a common set of motivating factors for consumers to engage in AFNs; however, there is disparity in the significance level of these factors to consumers in different regions. The implication of this finding mainly concerns the selection of a channel by consumers to participate in buy-local activities. For instance, if the social interaction aspect of buying local is not of high importance to some consumers in a specific region, they may consider shopping from an online farmers’ market with a delivery or pick-up option instead of farmers’ market. This phenomenon can lead to transformation or addition of business practices in currently existing platforms which connect suppliers, e.g., farmers, with consumers. In this regard, farmers’ market in some regions may consider adding different channels of distribution including online ordering with delivery option to their platform.
\nBesides investigating the economic and societal benefits of AFNs and consumers’ motivations to participate in buy-local activities, we also explore the farmers’ perspectives on engaging in sell-local activities. Farmers suggest that reduced transportation costs, more interactions with consumers, and improving their marketing strategies as well as operations by understanding consumers’ demands are among the benefits of selling at farmers’ market [18, 47]. Furthermore, farmers’ markets provide farmers with a friendly and attractive environment to market their products [48] and facilitate their collaboration with other vendors to achieve their common goals including improved profitability [18]. Besides, this clustering enables them to exchange their knowledge which provides the knowledge mobilization. The implications of those interactions are helping vendors build solid connections with consumers, promote social learning, lead the innovation on farming practices, and improve the quality of products [18]. In terms of challenges of selling local, Robinson and Farmer’s [25] suggest that vendors need to convince more potential consumers to pay a premium price for their products. The second barrier is the gap between consumer demand and supply in terms of season. Farmers’ Markets Canada [48] also found that the top two reasons for people to not shop at farmers’ markets are the inconvenience of location and the lack of awareness. Overcoming these challenges can enhance consumers’ access to fresh and locally produced products.
\nFarmers’ markets are established venues for mobilization of locally produced food products with societal benefits such as supporting community economic development and sustainable food production and distribution systems in addition to promoting food democracy, food citizenship, social and human capital, and facilitating knowledge mobilization between farmers and vendors.
\nThe social interaction aspect of participating in alternative food networks (AFNs) has been cited in the literature as one of the motivating factors for farmers to engage in sell-local activities in the farmers’ markets. Similarly, some studies suggest that the social interaction aspect of buying local is a motivating factor for consumers to participate in buy-local activities in farmers’ market. COVID-19 pandemic and the need for social-distancing affected brick and mortar businesses in general, and in our context farmers’ market. There was a shift in selection of a channel to access locally produced food products for safety reasons, and placing online orders with delivery option at the door was offered to consumers. Future research can explore consumers’ preferences on channel selection to participate in buy-local activities post COVID-19 pandemic. To capture one aspect of the potential impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on AFNs, we propose an investigation on whether the social interaction is still an influential factor in consumers decision to buy local, meaning whether consumers will resume their shopping at the farmers’ market post-pandemic. This can have business implications in alternative food networks (AFNs) as it is possible that the importance of the social interaction aspect of buying local will be replaced by the convenience of receiving fresh locally produced food products at consumers’ doorstep via online ordering process.
\nThis chapter includes excerpts from Applied Research Projects submitted to Cape Breton University by Yang Xing and Cheng Zheng in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Business Administration.
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\\n"}]'},components:[{type:"htmlEditorComponent",content:'Copyright is the term used to describe the rights related to the publication and distribution of original Works. Most importantly from a publisher's perspective, copyright governs how Authors, publishers and the general public can use, publish, and distribute publications.
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