Miriam Greenwood
PhD work
Governance in the UK seafood chain - how well does current supply/commodity chain theory explain it?
Education
- BA (Social Anthropology)
- MSc (Sociology of Health and Sickness)
- MA (Food Policy)
The study
There is a considerable body of studies on food supply chains/commodity chains emanating from a number of disciplines including economics, geography and politics yet very little of this work has dealt with fish or shellfish. The study aims to fill a notable gap by examining supply chains for seafood in Britain, and asking the question: How far do theoretical approaches to supply/commodity chains explain seafood chains in Britain & what contribution can knowledge of the seafood supply chain in Britain make to supply/commodity chain theory? In order to approach the issue the research focuses on how quality, food safety, traceability and sustainability are handled in seafood supply chains.
This qualitative study is providing information from two approaches. In the first, documentary sources have been used to present a picture of the British seafood industry across a variety of companies over the whole country. The second consists of elite interviews with key people in companies operating in the middle of the chain which carry out processing and/or distribution functions, concentrating on specific regions. Interviews with agencies relevant to seafood are also part of the study. The aim is to obtain an insight into the dynamics of how the supply process functions in practice which can be used to reflect on relevant theory.
Why it matters for food policy
The importance of seafood for nutrition has been increasingly recognised in recent years while at the same time the question of supply from both wild and farmed sources has become very controversial. How do supply chains for seafood in Britain operate in this situation and what are the consequences?
For more information please contact Miriam Greenwood on m.greenwood@zen.co.uk