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This article reviews recent research into alternative systems of food provision. It considers, first, what the concept of`alternativeness' might mean, based on recent discussions in economic geography. Informed by this, it discusses food relocalization and the turn to `quality' food production, arguing that both are `weaker' alternative systems of food provision because of their emphasis on food. It then examines some `stronger' alternative systems of food provision, which emphasize the networks through which food passes. Lastly, the paper reflects on the concept of alternativeness in the context of food supply chains, and suggests some possible directions for future research.

Rural entrepreneurship has become an important research issue with great development potential in the face of intense socio-economic changes in rural areas. However, few significant studies cover this topic in Polish and foreign literature. In this article, the authors attempt to review and evaluate the current research on rural entrepreneurship emphasising the Polish literature and including geographical studies. The article describes and organises theoretical research achievements to date and offers a definition of rural entrepreneurship and the directions and prospects for further research.

Terroir is a concept referring interactions of natural (topography, lithology, climate, soil etc.) and human (economic conditions, traditions, cultivation practices, etc.) factors; therefore, terroir is spatially delimited and subjected to environmental, socio-economic, and temporal changes. The geoecological background of wine districts are considered more stable among them, but, because of its natural diversity and the spatial changes of production sites, changes in abiotic terroir components might occur too. In this study the spatial changes of grape production sites in Eger Wine District (Hungary) across two and a half centuries (1784 to 2018), and their consequences on the composition of the geoecological factors (lithology, topography, soil characteristics) were analyzed. Modernization of cultivation, urbanization and increase of builtup areas around the central settlement resulted in decreased concentration, i.e. increased spatial dispersion to more remote vineyards further from Eger. It also has consequences on the lithological and topographical composition of the production sites. Besides the slightly increasing extent of vineyards (from 5346 ha to 7413 ha) we found a distinct decrease of vineyards at higher elevations and a substantial increase at lower elevations. Distribution according to slope gradient changed also remarkably, with the share of vineyards on <5 % slopes from 38 % to 65 %. These changes resulted in transformations of pedological characteristics according to the comparison of vineyard’s extent with soil map data: vineyards shifted to slightly acidic, more fertile (i.e. deeper soil layer with higher organic carbon content) soils. The share of vineyards with different lithology and parent material also changed: loose, calcareous Tertiary sediments decreased almost to half, and the share of vineyards over acidic volcanics and their weathered regoliths almost doubled. Comparing these two dominant lithological types and soil profiles derived from them, different pedological characters and taxonomic status were found (Phaeozems and Vertisols). However, comparison of these two lithological types based on main topsoil characteristics (pH, SOC, carbonates, depth of fertile soil layer, N, P, K content) according to 25 randomly chosen surficial soil samples at production sites, showed no significant differences.. In the case of this particular wine district, spatial changes of the production sites affected mostly the distribution by elevation, by slope gradient, but did not alter significantly the surface soil character of the terroir. Der Begriff Terroir steht im Weinbau für den originären Charakter eines Weinbauareals durch das Wirkungsgefüge naturräumlicher (Topografie, Lithologie, Klima, Boden usw.) und menschlichen (wirtschaftliche Bedingungen, Traditionen, Anbaupraktiken usw.) Faktoren. Das Terroir ist räumlich begrenzt, unterliegt aber ökologischen, sozioökonomischen und zeitlichen Veränderungen. Zwar gilt der geoökologische Hintergrund der Weinbaugebiete als relativ stabil, aber aufgrund der natürlichen Vielfalt und der räumlichen Veränderungen der Produktionsstandorte können auch Verschiebungen der abiotischen Terroirkomponenten auftreten. In dieser Studie wurden die räumlichen Veränderungen der Weinbauflächen im Weinbaugebiet Eger (Ungarn) über zweieinhalb Jahrhunderte (1784 bis 2018) und ihre Auswirkungen auf die Zusammensetzung der geoökologischen Faktoren (Lithologie, Topografie, Bodeneigenschaften) analysiert. Die Modernisierung des Anbaus, die Verstädterung und die Zunahme der bebauten Areale im zentralen Siedlungsbereich führten zu einer stärkeren räumlichen Streuung auf weiter entfernte Weinberge in der Nähe von Eger. Der Anteil der Weinberge mit unterschiedlicher Lithologie und unterschiedlichem Ausgangsmaterial hat sich dadurch verändert: lockere, kalkhaltige tertiäre Sedimente gingen fast auf die Hälfte zurück, und der Anteil der Weinberge über saurem Vulkangestein und dessen verwitterten Regolithen hat sich fast verdoppelt. Beim Vergleich dieser beiden vorherrschenden lithologischen Typen wurden unterschiedliche bodenkundliche Merkmale und ein unterschiedlicher taxonomischer Status festgestellt (Phäozeme und Vertisole). Ein Vergleich dieser beiden lithologischen Typen anhand der wichtigsten Oberbodenmerkmale (pH, SOC, Karbonate, Tiefe der fruchtbaren Bodenschicht, N-, P- und K-Gehalt) anhand von 25 zufällig ausgewählten oberflächlichen Bodenproben ergab allerdings keine signifikanten Unterschiede. Im Fall der untersuchten Weinbauregion wirkten sich räumliche Veränderungen der Produktionsstandorte vor allem auf die Verteilung nach Höhenlage und Hangneigung aus, veränderten aber nicht wesentlich den Charakter des Oberbodens.

Agriculture has substantial socioeconomic and environmental impacts that vary between crops. However, information on how the spatial distribution of specific crops has changed over time across the globe is relatively sparse. We introduce the Probabilistic Cropland Allocation Model (PCAM), a novel algorithm to estimate where specific crops have likely been grown over time. Specifically, PCAM downscales annual and national-scale data on the crop-specific area harvested of 17 major crops to a global 0.5-degree grid from 1961 to 2014. To do this, pixels are assigned into probability clusters based upon crop-specific pixel suitability (based on mean climate and soil characteristics) and gridded historical agricultural areas. PCAM maps compare relatively well with an existing gridded dataset of crop-specific areas circa 2000 (simple matching coefficient value >0.8 for all crops). PCAM estimates compare less well with time series county-level agricultural census data for the United States. Importantly, deviations between census data and PCAM benchmark estimates (driven by soil and climate suitability) can be used to infer the importance of other factors of agricultural production (e.g. labor, agricultural policy, extreme climate) in future work. Our results provide new insights into the likely changes in the spatial distribution of major crops over the past half-century.

Food security and environmental conservation are two of the greatest challenges facing the world today. It is predicted that food production must increase by at least 70% before 2050 to support continued population growth, though the size of the world's agricultural area will remain essentially unchanged. This updated and thoroughly revised second edition provides in-depth coverage of the impact of environmental conditions and management on crops, resource requirements for productivity and effects on soil resources. The approach is explanatory and integrative, with a firm basis in environmental physics, soils, physiology and morphology. System concepts are explored in detail throughout the book, giving emphasis to quantitative approaches, management strategies and tactics employed by farmers, and associated environmental issues. Drawing on key examples and highlighting the role of science, technology and economic conditions in determining management strategies, this book is suitable for agriculturalists, ecologists and environmental scientists.

Chinese food is one of the most recognizable and widely consumed cuisines in the world. Almost no town on earth is without a Chinese restaurant of some kind, and Chinese canned, frozen, and preserved foods are available in shops from Nairobi to Quito. But the particulars of Chinese cuisine vary widely from place to place as its major ingredients and techniques have been adapted to local agriculture and taste profiles. To trace the roots of Chinese foodways, one must look back to traditional food systems before the early days of globalization. Food and Environment in Early and Medieval Chinatraces the development of the food systems that coincided with China's emergence as an empire. Before extensive trade and cultural exchange with Europe was established, Chinese farmers and agriculturalists developed systems that used resources in sustainable and efficient ways, permitting intensive and productive techniques to survive over millennia. Fields, gardens, semiwild lands, managed forests, and specialized agricultural landscapes all became part of an integrated network that produced maximum nutrients with minimal input-though not without some environmental cost. E. N. Anderson examines premodern China's vast, active network of trade and contact, such as the routes from Central Asia to Eurasia and the slow introduction of Western foods and medicines under the Mongol Empire. Bringing together a number of new findings from archaeology, history, and field studies of environmental management,Food and Environment in Early and Medieval Chinaprovides an updated picture of language relationships, cultural innovations, and intercultural exchanges.

The authors give us a newly documented account of the dissemination of agriculture, and rice cultivation in particular, into southern China and beyond. From the central and eastern Yangtze it spread in two prongs – east to Guangdong, Taiwan and island Southeast Asia and south to Guangxi and Vietnam.

Agricultural geography changed dramatically during the last decades of the 20th century, reflecting the transformation of the farming industry itself. This text embraces these changes, applying ideas and methods from contemporary social science.

The scaling of agricultural land is a trend in land use transformation and is important for modernizing agriculture. Therefore, the reasons for large-scale agricultural land formation should be explored. The spatial distribution of large-scale agricultural land and the factors for its formation vary between different regions. Currently, the exploration of the formation mechanism of large-scale agricultural land from the perspective of heterogeneity is not yet sufficient. Therefore, the main objectives of this article are as follows: first, analyze the spatial pattern characteristics of large-scale agricultural land; second, explore the spatial heterogeneity characteristics of influencing factors from both global and local perspectives; third, explore the mechanism of the formation of large-scale agricultural land from the perspective of heterogeneity. The results indicate the following: (1) The large-scale agricultural land distribution pattern in the Wuling Mountains area was high in the east and low in the west. (2) Natural conditions, production factors, and location conditions all significantly impacted large-scale agricultural land, but with differences in their degree of influence. From a local perspective, the influences of various factors in different regions also exhibited spatial heterogeneity. These two types of heterogeneity can be attributed to the differences in regional development stages. (3) Natural conditions, location conditions, and production factors had negative, positive, and positive effects on the agricultural land scale, respectively, but the influence of the first two decreased with the improvement in the regional development stages. The influence of different factors on production factors was related to the regional development stage, and production factors that were suitable for the regional development stage had a greater impact. The conclusion can provide differentiated policy support for regional land use in practice.