A Sustainability Compass for policy navigation to sustainable food systems

Hebinck, Aniek; Zurek, Monika; Achterbosch, T.J.; Forkman, Björn; Kuijsten, Anneleen; Kuiper, Marijke; Nørrung, Birgit; Veer, P. van ‘t; Leip, Adrian

doi:10.1016/j.gfs.2021.100546

Cited by 60 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 149 publications

(226 reference statements)

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“…A large and rapidly growing body of literature is now available which proposes various frameworks and/or metrics aiming at defining or measuring food systems' sustainability, e.g., [8,[27][28][29][30]. The majority of these frameworks reflects a holistic approach and embraces the multi-sectoral and multi-outcome nature of food systems.…”

Section: Empirical Food System Sustainability Indices-a Rapid Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The majority of these frameworks reflects a holistic approach and embraces the multi-sectoral and multi-outcome nature of food systems. Yet, while several of those frameworks are based on empirical data, e.g., [31], a larger number of them remain essentially conceptual or theoretical, e.g., [8,27], and as such do not provide the empirical elements which are necessary to measure concretely food systems' sustainability.…”

Section: Empirical Food System Sustainability Indices-a Rapid Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To tackle this challenge, the paper starts by unpacking some of the elements and dimensions of food systems, looking in particular at the potential key determinants of their sustainability, and then explores more thoroughly the respective contributions that each of those different dimensions makes in relation to the system's holistic outcomes. The analysis, however, does not just revisit and expand the many theoretical frameworks that have been proposed recently, e.g., [8,27]. Instead, it aims to ground the discussion more empirically into the real world.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Can economic development be a driver of food system sustainability? Empirical evidence from a global sustainability index and a multi-country analysis

Béné

Fanzo

Achicanoy

et al. 2022

PLOS Sustain Transform

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Despite representing a growing element of the international community’s discourse, the sustainability of food systems and the challenge of its empirical measurement are still highly debated. In this paper, we propose to address this gap by computing a global food system sustainability index which we then use in a cross-country analysis covering 94 countries in low-, middle- and high-income regions. The analysis reveals a strong non-linear but positive correlation between the food system sustainability index and countries’ individual GDP per capita. This relationship suggests some possible degree of endogeneity between food system sustainability and economic development. We then use the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways framework and Individual Conditional Expectations modeling techniques to explore how the sustainability of food systems is projected to evolve in the future as countries move up the economic development ladder. The projections indicate that for lower income countries, the change is usually more significant than for higher income countries. The analysis also reveals that the different dimensions of sustainability will not all contribute equally to future improvements in food system sustainability. In particular, investments targeting social and food security & nutrition dimensions are projected to have a greater effect on the sustainability of food systems than investment/interventions aiming at the environment or economic domains. For countries located at the lower end of the economic development spectrum, this would imply that, even with limited resources, policy-makers could substantially improve the sustainability of countries’ food systems by prioritizing (sub)national policies and interventions focused on social and food security & nutrition domains.

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Section: Empirical Food System Sustainability Indices-a Rapid Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Empirical Food System Sustainability Indices-a Rapid Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Can economic development be a driver of food system sustainability? Empirical evidence from a global sustainability index and a multi-country analysis

Béné

Fanzo

Achicanoy

et al. 2022

PLOS Sustain Transform

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…The current food system is not sustainable and the way food is produced, bought, and consumed needs to be changed in the future (14). Thus, the system is in need of a transformation (3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8). In the past, the food system evolved to meet the growing demand for food worldwide (1).…”

Section: Overview About Current Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The food system faces significant challenges, from meeting the growing demand for food to reducing its environmental impact (1,2). Furthermore, these challenges will continue to rise, and the food system requires a transformation (3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transforming the German Food System – How to Make Start-ups Great!

Ludwig¹,

Profeta²,

Märdian³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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The food system represents a key industry for Europe and particularly Germany. However, it is also the single most significant contributor to climate and environmental change. A food system transformation is necessary to overcome the system's major and constantly increasing challenges in the upcoming decades. One possible facilitator for this transformation are radical and disrup-tive innovations that start-ups develop. There are many challenges for start-ups in general and food start-ups in particular. Various support opportunities and resources are crucial to ensure the success of food start-ups. One aim of this study is to identify how the success of start-ups in the food system can be supported and further strengthened by players in the innovation ecosystem in Germany. There is still room for improvement and collaboration toward a thriving innovation ecosystem. A successful innovation ecosystem is characterised by a well-organised, collaborative, and supportive environment with a vivid exchange between the members in the ecosystem. The interviewees confirmed this, and although the different actors are already cooperating, there is still room for improvement. The most common recommendation for improving cooperation is learning from other countries and bringing the best to Germany.

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