Alternative food networks in the metropolis of São Paulo: proximity movements between farmers and consumers in pandemic times

Movimentos de proximidade entre agricultores e consumidores em tempos de pandemia

Abstract

A significant growth of initiatives in alternative food networks has been generating new relations of production, distribution and consumption. With the Covid-19 pandemic, the urgency of transforming agrifood systems in favor of more sustainable practices became evident. This article presents an analysis of the qualitative changes in the relationship of proximity and shared values between farmers and consumers in organic food chains in the city of São Paulo. A literature review and field research were conducted, which included semi-structured interviews with farmers from organic cooperative and structured questionnaires with two responsible consumption networks. The commercialization of organic foods was punctually impacted in the most critical months of Covid-19; however, this period brought innovations in the ways of disposing of production and being in contact with consumers. If, on the one hand, the pandemic limited physical proximity in alternative food networks, on the other, it generated a greater awareness of the importance of healthy eating, and its interrelationship with agroecology and human, animal and environmental health.