Sustainability in agri-food systems: transformative trajectories toward the post-Anthropocene

Abstract

BackgroundCurrent agri-food systems cause severe environmental, socioeconomic, and health-related problems. The ways how food and other agricultural goods are produced, marketed, consumed, and disposed of are leading drivers of environmental degradation and climate change (Campbell et al. 2017;Weis 2010). At the same time, large-scale profit-oriented agri-food corporations exploit economically underprivileged workers and thus help intensifying socioeconomic divides and deprivation in our societies, accompanied by increasing rates of malnutrition and ill-health through unbalanced diets (Gordon et al. 2017;Lindgren et al. 2018;Winson and Choi 2017). Against this background, business as usual is no longer an option. Change is needed, and this change must necessarily be based on bold theoretical thinking and practical economic transformation.This Special Feature gathers scholars from a wide range of academic disciplines and provides them a space for presenting innovative empirical case studies and critical theoretical reflections that together help rethinking how sustainability in agri-food systems can be achieved. The essential idea is to illustrate possibilities of creating agri-food systems that foster biodiversity, provide involved practitioners with prestigious jobs and decent income, and enable consumers to access healthy diets at reasonable prices while reducing society's material and energy footprint. The presented papers will advance existing conceptual approaches, debate innovative practical solutions and stimulate new forms of thinking and doing to extend the debate about sustainability and to open up routes out of the Anthropocene as "human dominated geological epoch" (Lewis and Maslin 2015: 171).

Market power and food loss at the producer-retailer interface of fruit and vegetable supply chains in Germany

“…Reducing food loss is a global challenge to create more sustainable agri-food systems (Keck 2021 ): worldwide one third of food is wasted (Gustavsson et al 2011 ) representing 4.6 billion metric tonnes in annual carbon dioxide emissions or 9% of global greenhouse gas emissions (Poore and Nemecek 2018 ). A total of about twelve million tonnes fresh mass was wasted in Germany in 2015 (Schmidt et al 2019 ).…”

Preservation, modernization, and transformation: contesting bioeconomic imaginations of “manure futures” and trajectories toward a sustainable livestock system

“…This need is underlined by Delanty (2021), who has called for more empirically grounded research regarding the framework and how imaginations shape "trajectories out of the Anthropocene" (cf. Keck 2021). Furthermore, researching imaginations also allows us to reflect on potential challenges associated with these (desired) future states to modify ongoing change processes.…”

Metrology applied to Human Ecology: critical analysis of geospatial data for regionalization of Brazilian Anthromes

“…In a constantly changing world, ecosystem changes are increasingly present (Ellis, 2015;Ellis et al, 2010;Morrison et al, 2021;Mottl et al, 2021;Nowosad et al, 2019). Globally, government entities, non-governmental organizations, research groups and academic centers are dedicated to understanding how ecosystem changes affect the climate, environment, and geology of the planet in the Anthropocene (Brondizio et al, 2016;Crona et al, 2021;Delanty, 2018;Keck, 2021;Louro et al, 2021;Rockström et al, 2009;Ryder et al, 2021). In this context, it is imperative to plan, systematize and adapt the use of spaces and natural resources to ensure a healthy environment for present and future generations (Loft et Entering the ecosystem sustainability framework, the literature suggests that socio-ecological models (Balvanera et Maes et al, 2012).…”