Buying directly from farmers: Tactics of St. Petersburg consumers

This article explores informal practices in the food sector. The practices of St. Petersburg consumers who buy food directly from local farmers via various short food supply chains (on-farm sales, collective purchasing, street trade, etc.) are analyzed in the framework of James Scott's concepts of "everyday resistance" and "moral economy" and Michel de Certeau's notion of "tactics." Consumers' tactics are explored, and informants' attitudes toward conventional retail chains and state agencies are compared to their attitudes to local farmers.