The political economy of food systems reform

Schutter, Olivier De

doi:10.1093/erae/jbx009

Cited by 119 publications

(92 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…There is urgent need for a transition to food systems that consider objectives beyond food supply and economic performance, to encompass broader societal goals such as environmental protection, social welfare, and food and nutrition security (e.g. Béné et al, 2019;Caron et al, 2018;De Schutter, 2017;IPES-Food, 2016). Ecological intensification (EI) has been proposed as a promising lever for a transition to more sustainable food systems (Bommarco, Kleijn, & Potts, 2013;Doré et al, 2011;Tittonell et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainability transition pathways through ecological intensification: an assessment of vegetable food systems in Chile

Gaitán‐Cremaschi

Klerkx

Duncan

et al. 2020

International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability

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Ecological intensification has been proposed as a promising lever for a transition towards more sustainable food systems. Various food systems exist that are based on ecological intensification and may have potential for a sustainability transition. Little is known, however, about their diversity and about how they perform against dominant systems in terms of the multiple societal goals. The aim of this study is to contribute to knowledge about sustainability transitions in food systems through an empirical analysis of vegetable food systems in Chile. The study (i) characterizes the diversity of vegetable food systems in Chile (ii) evaluates the food systems in terms of multiple societal goals, and (iii) assesses their potential for supporting sustainability transition pathways from the perspective of ecological intensification. Results indicate that among the five vegetable food system types, the agroecological and the small organic have potential to foster a sustainability transition. Nevertheless, these systems are small and localized, and scaling them requires actions to remove barriers in the relations with the agri-food regime and among themselves. The broader relevance of this analysis is that there needs to be awareness in research on transitions about the diversity of food systems present in countries and how they interact.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainability transition pathways through ecological intensification: an assessment of vegetable food systems in Chile

Gaitán‐Cremaschi

Klerkx

Duncan

et al. 2020

International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability

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“…However, in the agri-food chain, the seed sector has a modest economic weight. The major player is the downstream food retail sector, which has a strong influence on the entire agri-food chain [73], but this is often little-known and is rarely taken into account by the general public. Another important aspect to consider in the seed sector is its heterogeneity: it is composed of a few large companies and many SMEs, and crops have very different seed values.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Corporate Concentration and Technological Change in the Global Seed Industry

Bonny

2017

Sustainability

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Abstract:In the past three decades, the seed sector has experienced, and is now again experiencing, corporate concentration trends. The fallout of this consolidation is the subject of numerous concerns. However, the seed sector is rather poorly understood. Thus, it is useful to understand it better and to investigate the potential impact on the agri-food chain of the trend toward increased corporate concentration. The first part of this paper presents the main characteristics of the global seed sector, its stakeholders, and its size in the agri-food chain. Next, the corporate consolidation trends of the seed industry over the past two years are examined. The technological evolution of the seed sector is also briefly presented. In the last part of this paper, the fallout of recent mergers and acquisitions in the seed industry are analyzed. Opposing views are expressed on the impact of these mergers and acquisitions in the agri-food chain: while certain stakeholders worry about the risk of food power by the biggest companies, some others expect useful innovations.

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“…He further elaborates: "Change can be expected neither from government action, nor from business initiatives alone, and grassroots innovations led by ordinary people have a limited impact. Only by connecting these different pathways for reform by food democracy can lasting food systems reform be achieved" (De Schutter, 2017).…”

Section: Of 20mentioning

confidence: 99%

Food and nutrition security and sustainability transitions in food systems

Bilali

Callenius

Strassner

et al. 2018

Food and Energy Security

225

101

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The concepts of food security and food sustainability are two main paradigms in the food system discourse—however, they are often addressed separately in the scientific literature. We argue that this disconnect hinders a coherent discussion of sustainability transitions, which will be necessary to solve problems (environmental, social, economic, and health) generated by conventional food systems. Our review highlights linkages between sustainability transitions and food and nutrition security using the perspective of sustainable food systems. We explore the diversity of food security narratives and food sustainability paradigms in the agro‐food arena, analyze relations between food security and food systems sustainability, and suggest options to foster a transition toward sustainable food systems. It is widely acknowledged that food systems sustainability must entail long‐term food and nutrition security in its availability, access, utilization, and stability dimensions. For food systems to deliver food and nutrition security for present and future generations, all their components need to be sustainable, resilient, and efficient. These linkages between food sustainability and food and nutrition security intersect at global, national, local, and household levels. Different strategies can be pursued to foster sustainability transitions in food systems: efficiency increase (e.g., sustainable intensification), demand restraint (e.g., sustainable diets), and food systems transformation (e.g., alternative food systems). Creating sustainable food systems requires moving from an agriculture‐centered to a food system policy and research framework. This will be fundamental to foster the complex and holistic transformation necessary to achieve sustainable food systems, which is, in turn, a prerequisite to achieving sustainable food and nutrition security.

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The political economy of food systems reform

Cited by 119 publications

References 55 publications

Sustainability transition pathways through ecological intensification: an assessment of vegetable food systems in Chile

Sustainability transition pathways through ecological intensification: an assessment of vegetable food systems in Chile

Corporate Concentration and Technological Change in the Global Seed Industry

Food and nutrition security and sustainability transitions in food systems

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