Business as usual or transformative change? While the global agro-industrial food system is credited with increasing food production, availability and accessibility, it is also credited with giving birth to ‘new’ challenges such as malnutrition, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation. We reviewed the potential of underutilized indigenous and traditional crops to bring about a transformative change to South Africa’s food system. South Africa has a dichotomous food system, characterized by a distinct, dominant agro-industrial, and, alternative, informal food system. This dichotomous food system has inadvertently undermined the development of smallholder producers. While the dominant agro-industrial food system has led to improvements in food supply, it has also resulted in significant trade-offs with agro-biodiversity, dietary diversity, environmental sustainability, and socio-economic stability, especially amongst the rural poor. This challenges South Africa’s ability to deliver on sustainable and healthy food systems under environmental change. The review proposes a transdisciplinary approach to mainstreaming underutilized indigenous and traditional crops into the food system, which offers real opportunities for developing a sustainable and healthy food system, while, at the same time, achieving societal goals such as employment creation, wellbeing, and environmental sustainability. This process can be initiated by researchers translating existing evidence for informing policy-makers. Similarly, policy-makers need to acknowledge the divergence in the existing policies, and bring about policy convergence in pursuit of a food system which includes smallholder famers, and where underutilized indigenous and traditional crops are mainstreamed into the South African food system.

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Global food production systems are currently under scrutiny, in particular the health, nutrition, and environmental impacts of livestock-derived food (LDF). Despite South Africa's recent socioeconomic transformation and increased per-capita LDF consumption, the triple burden of malnutrition persists. Policy responses to such complex problems often fail because of linear thinking with short-term goals. However, a systems approach helps identify root causes, feedback mechanisms, potential unintended consequences, and opportunities for integrated, durable solutions. Participation in the systems-thinking process improves

The study applied a combination of categorical and continuous explanatory variables via logistic regressions to model the probability of quality, defined as marketability, of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) fruits subjected to different pre-harvest (biocatalyst application) and post-harvest treatments: (i) dipping in tap water, chlorinated water or anolyte water (ii) thin film packaging versus no packaging, and (iii) storage at 13 °C or in ambient temperature. Fungi, bacteria, coliforms, total soluble solids (TSS), glucose, fructose and ascorbic acid were determined in a 30-day full factorial experiment. The effects of each quality variable on the marketability of tomato fruits were explored. A multiple logistic regression model, consisting of both the continuous and the categorical variables, was then derived to evaluate the effectiveness of the anolyte water as dipping treatment. The simple logistic models showed that storage time, fungi, aerobic bacteria and coliform population are negatively related to the probability of marketability. In contrast, TSS, glucose and fructose are positively related to the probability of marketability. No significant relationship was observed between the probability of marketability and ascorbic acid content or pre-harvest biocatalyst application. The multiple logistic regression model showed that the probability of marketability was higher when the tomatoes were subjected to anolyte dipping treatment, packaging and storage at 13 °C. The study presented new insights into the interpretation of post-harvest quality defined as probability of marketability of the stored fresh produce.

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