Li Zhang, Gubo Qi. 2019. Bottom-up self-protection responses to China's food safety crisis. Revue canadienne d'études du développement, 40(1): 113-130

Bottom-up self-protection responses to China's food safety crisis

Li Zhang, Gubo Qi

Corresponding authors: Li Zhang, email: lili439666@126.com

Revue canadienne d'études du développement, Vol.40, No.1, 2019

Abstract: Food safety became a major concern in China since 2000, triggering movements by peasants and urban consumers for self-protection. Drawing on participant observation, semi-structured interviews and examination of government documents in two rural communities, I analyse the drivers, character, potential and challenges of “bottom-up” self-protection movements. These originate with peasants, while scholars, social activists and some urban middle class consumers combine with peasant cooperatives to reconstruct mutual trust and promote rural-urban coordinated development. This countermovement has potential to resolve the food safety crisis, but it faces structural pressures from market forces and challenges of governance, consumer awareness and peasant organisation.

Keywords: Food safety; food sovereignty; bottom-up; alternative food networks; China

View full article(PDF)

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/02255189.2018.1504282