Codesigning a resilient food system

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Global changes, especially the progression of climate change, create a plethora of adaptation needs for social-ecological systems. With increasing uncertainty, more resilient food systems that are able to adapt and shape their operations in response to emerging challenges are required. Most of the research on this subject has been focused on developing countries; however, developed countries also face increasing environmental, economic, and social pressures. Because food systems are complex and involve multiple actors, using codesign might be the most productive way to develop desirable system characteristics. For this study, we engaged food system actors in a scenario-planning exercise to identify means of building more resilient food systems. In particular, the actors focused on determinants of adaptive capacity in developed countries, with Finland as a case study. The brainstorming session followed by a two-round Delphi study raised three main characteristics for effective food system resilience, namely, energy and nutrient sovereignty, transparency and dialogue in the food chain, and continuous innovativeness and evidence-based learning. In addition, policy interventions were found instrumental for supporting such food system resilience. The main actor-specific determinants of adaptive capacity identified included the farmers' utilization of agri-technology and expertise; energy and logistic efficiency of the input and processing industry; and for retail, communication to build consumer trust and environmental awareness, and effective use of information and communication technology. Of the food system actors, farmers and the processing industry were perceived to be the closest to reaching the limits of their adaptive capacities. The use of adaptive capacity as a proxy seemed to concretize food system resilience effectively. Our study suggests that the resilience approach generates new perspectives that can guide actors in developing food systems that are adaptive in uncertainty.

Local Action with a Global Vision: The Transformative Potential of Food Social Enterprises in Australia

“…The practices adopted by social enterprises are capable of increasing resilience as well as sustainability. The community building, the increase in flexibility, social networks and trust, and the democratic decision-making resonate with the descriptions of resilient food systems [3,[47][48][49][50]. The resilience-building of social enterprises allows them not only to emerge but also to persist in their urban food systems, while resisting the pressures of globalised markets.…”

“…The resilience-building of social enterprises allows them not only to emerge but also to persist in their urban food systems, while resisting the pressures of globalised markets. Their operational practices may cope well with unexpected shocks and stresses, such as extreme weather events and climate change [18,47].…”

Food systems for resilient futures

“…We engaged food system actors in an iterative, threestep co-creation exercise to identify means for building more resilient food systems. First, key actors of the Finnish food value chain were in a workshop in 2011 familiarized with imaginary shocks ranging from soaring energy prices to the vast immigration of people with very different diets, as well as with contrasting future food system scenarios varying the leading societal actor and values (Himanen et al 2016;Kumar 1996). Thereafter, in a two-stage Delphi study, the actors considered what kinds of features and means would make the food system perform well in all these different, rapidly emerging conditions.…”

“…Dialogue, market transparency and symmetric information for all actors allow trust and commitment and thus the capacity to rapidly adapt the entire food chain to changes (Himanen et al 2016). Collective learning requires innovativeness and experimentation.…”

“…Much of the resilience literature has focused on developing theory or resilience 'thinking'. Indeed, adopting this systems-oriented viewpoint of sustainability, in complement to resource-use efficiency (Goerner et al 2009;Korhonen and Seager 2008;Ulanowicz et al 2009), is an important starting point for making food systems more robust to disturbances and a step-by-step exercise to resilience thinking has been shown to make a difference in actors' perspectives (Himanen et al 2016). Fortunately, attempts to empirically identify and test the determinants of resilience have also emerged.…”