The contributions of short food supply chains to territorial development: A study of three Quebec territories

Short food supply chains (SFSCs) have undergone significant developments for roughly a decade, spurring the interest of producers, consumers and governments. A thorough review of the literature shows the various economic, social and environmental benefits associated with SFSCs across much of Europe and North America. However, these benefits have generally been analyzed in isolation from each other, with very few studies attempting to characterize them as a whole in a systemic fashion. This article aims to evaluate the contributions of SFSCs to territorial development in three contrasting Quebec territories. For this, we developed a model that is organized around four dimensions that are interlinked through systemic relations: farmers' welfare, local development, welfare of the community, and environmental protection. For each of these dimensions, we determined criteria and indicators in order to compare, whenever possible, the results obtained in this research with the available provincial data. Overall, our results show that, when considering the indicators chosen for this research, SFSCs mostly have a positive effect on the three territories targeted by our research. The most positive aspects of these systems are job creation, skills development for farmers, job satisfaction, and the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices. The most neutral elements relate to revenues for farmers engaged in SFSCs, the economic weight of SFSCs within the local economy, the influence of SFSCs on the access to fresh and healthy food, and their effects on social cohesion. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.