Alternative food networks in Bengaluru: An empirical study on consumer demand for farm-fresh milk

Abstract

Alternative food networks (AFNs) broadly refer to marketing channels between farmers and consumers that differ from the standardized, industrial or globalized networks that dominate food systems. They can include organic food shops, community supported agriculture, short food supply chains and direct sales between farmers and consumers. AFNs diversify local food systems and are a valuable asset to social-ecological transformations in the agri-food sector. Through an empirical study of direct milk sales in Bengaluru, India, we explore the consumer demand for farm-fresh milk and farmers’ motivations for participating in this AFN. The loss of agricultural land to urbanization in one of the fastest growing cities in the world is causing dramatic changes in the livelihoods of producers and in the local food system. Nevertheless, we find that urban and peri-urban dairying persists in Bengaluru, in part because of the cultural values associated with milk. We interviewed 95 consumers who purchased milk directly from farmers (May to July 2022). Two types of milk AFN consumer groups were identified: those who participate for freshness, quality and convenience, and those who seek milk from indigenous cattle for quality and health reasons. We also interviewed 62 peri-urban and urban dairy farmers who engage in direct milk sales, and divided them based on their location (urban or peri-urban), their dairy cattle breed (indigenous Bos indicus or crossbred of indigenous with exotic Bos taurus breeds) and the type of milk they sell (desi or A2 milk from indigenous cattle and raw milk from crossbred cattle). Farmers producing desi or A2 milk sell their milk exclusively directly, whereas farmers with crossbreed cattle also sell milk through dairy cooperatives or middlemen. Developments in the dairy sector since the 1970s, due in large part to the successes of Operation Flood, have made India the world’s leading milk producer. Simultaneously, milk consumption has quadrupled as part of what many scholars define as the nutrition or food transition in India. Against the backdrop of these high production and consumption figures, farmers and consumers are creating AFNs for milk sales, as consumers lack confidence in the quality of milk sold in conventional outlets. Furthermore, the socio-cultural notions that milk from indigenous cattle is better for health and, in the case of A2, recommended by doctors, has propelled a market for desi and A2 milk that is largely served by AFNs. We argue that these milk AFNs are an example of how such socio-ecological transformations in the food system can foster social and economic sustainability by diversifying marketing channels and directly supporting producers’ livelihoods.