Food Miles and Future Scenario for Local Food Systems: An Exploratory Study in Greece

A global mix of challenges has stimulated the development of alternative food production and distribution systems in an attempt to achieve food sovereignty and minimize the distance (geographical, social and economic) between rural and urban regions and between producers/farmers and consumers/urban dwellers. This paper questions how far our food comes and how well the city is connected to local producers. Using participant observations at five retail venues, the author calculates the food miles for several types of fruit and vegetables and identifies the peri-urban farmers that serve the city. Using a three-stage Delphi technique, she focuses on the most likely future conditions for agro-food production and local food systems. To overcome the effects of the economic crisis and change the dominant role of the agro-food system, farmers believe they can survive without middlemen.