This paper contributes to the AFN literature in at least
three ways. First, it provides an important complement to
current understandings of AFNs based on experiences in
industrialized market economies, demonstrating a very
different picture of consumer motivations for participating
AFNs in China. Second, it enriches current understanding
of ‘‘alternativeness’’ in AFNs by providing an overview of
previous analyses and an unpacking of ‘‘alternativeness’’
into eight elements (ecological production, healthy food,
small-scale production, ethical production, locally procured food, seasonal food, strengthening of social ties and
personal connections, and also new forms of political
association of AFNs). Third, this unpacking of the
dimensions of alternativeness provides an analytical
framework for characterizing nascent AFNs that have not
developed a full spectrum of alternativeness.