scholarly journals Stakeholder Perceptions of Policy Tools in Support of Sustainable Food Consumption in Europe: Policy Implications

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (17) ◽  
pp. 7161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nína M. Saviolidis ◽  
Gudrun Olafsdottir ◽  
Mariana Nicolau ◽  
Antonella Samoggia ◽  
Elise Huber ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Consumption ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food Policy ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Policy Tools ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Governmental Institutions ◽  
The Uk

Transitioning agri-food systems towards increased sustainability and resilience requires that attention be paid to sustainable food consumption policies. Policy-making processes often require the engagement and acceptance of key stakeholders. This study analyses stakeholders’ solutions for creating sustainable agri-food systems, through interviews with a broad range of stakeholders including food value chain actors, non-governmental organizations, governmental institutions, research institutions and academic experts. The study draws on 38 in-depth, semi-structured interviews conducted in four European countries: France, Iceland, Italy and the UK, as well as three interviews with high-level EU experts. The interviewees’ solutions were analysed according to a five-category typology of policy tools, encompassing direct activity regulations, and market-based, knowledge-based, governance and strategic policy tools. Most of the identified solutions were located in the strategic tools category, reflecting shared recognition of the need to integrate food policy to achieve long-term goals. Emerging solutions—those which were most commonly identified among the different national contexts—were then used to derive empirically-grounded and more universally applicable recommendations for the advancement of sustainable food consumption policies.

scholarly journals Moving towards sustainable food systems: A review of Indian food policy budgets

2021 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
pp. 100462
Author(s):  
Kerry Ann Brown ◽  
Nikhil Srinivasapura Venkateshmurthy ◽  
Cherry Law ◽  
Francesca Harris ◽  
Suneetha Kadiyala ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Food Policy ◽  
Sustainable Food Systems ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Indian Food

Agricultural and Food Policy

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Abiodun Elijah Obayelu ◽  
Simeon Olusola Ayansina
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Food Policy ◽  
Policy Intervention ◽  
Sustainable Food Systems ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Adequate Food ◽  
System Sustainability ◽  
Sustainable Food System

Policy plays significant role in defining the food system of any country, and a sustainable food system is necessary for food security. This chapter maps out the causal interactions between food systems, food security and policy, and the challenges in transition to a sustainable food system while respecting the rights of all people to have access to adequate food in Nigeria. Explicit, rigorous, and transparent literature search was undertaken and many articles were assessed and reviewed. Although the results established a mutual relationship between food system and food security, existing literature have widely failed to take interactions between food systems, food security and policy into account. While food production is used as an entry point to improving food system sustainability, the quest for food security are undermining transition towards sustainable food systems. It was found that without right policies in place, it may be difficult to have food systems that are sustainable and ensure food security. This chapter provides a useful contribution to policy, and research on transitions towards sustainable food system. Any policy intervention to address one part of the food systems will impact on other parts and will determine whether a country is food secure or not. Enabling policy environment is therefore essential in ensuring a sustainable food system and for the attainment of food security.

Exploring local and organic food consumption in a holistic sustainability view

2018 ◽  
Vol 120 (4) ◽  
pp. 749-762 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Luisa Scalvedi ◽  
Anna Saba
Keyword(s):  
Food Consumption ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Eating Habits ◽  
Sustainable Consumption ◽  
National Sample ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Self Transcendence ◽  
Organic Food Consumption ◽  
Sustainability Standards

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify sustainability aspects that overlap with local and organic consumer profiles in order to provide evidence that can be used to promote both kinds of foods in a sustainable food consumption (SFC) integrated framework. Design/methodology/approach Discriminant analysis was applied to a national sample of 3,004 respondents in Italy to separately depict local and organic consumers’ profiles based on personal values, eating habits, food purchase motivations, and involvement. Findings Organic consumption showed a lower penetration compared to local consumption. However, organic consumers adhered to more sustainable consumption principles. Adopting healthy diets and sharing self-transcendence values emerged as common traits of both consumers. Regular consumption made both consumers’ profiles look similar by sharing more sustainability-related traits. Research limitations/implications Only two out of the different types of foods promoted as sustainable were considered. Further insights could be made regarding fair trade foods and food promoted by voluntary sustainability standards. Practical implications The overlapping motivations of the two consumer profiles provided evidence of the potential efficacy of joint promotion in favour of sustainability and demonstrated that a synergic approach among food systems could foster more sustainable consumption. Originality/value This study identified common sustainability motivations among different consumer groups, based on sustainable food categories, adopting a holistic vision of SFC.

scholarly journals Towards resolving the phosphorus chaos created by food systems

AMBIO ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (5) ◽  
pp. 1076-1089 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul J. A. Withers ◽  
Kirsty G. Forber ◽  
Christopher Lyon ◽  
Shane Rothwell ◽  
Donnacha G. Doody ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Value Chain ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Regional Governance ◽  
Total System ◽  
P Efficiency ◽  
Sustainable Food Systems ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
System P ◽  
Chaotic Distribution ◽  
Highly Correlated

Abstract The chaotic distribution and dispersal of phosphorus (P) used in food systems (defined here as disorderly disruptions to the P cycle) is harming our environment beyond acceptable limits. An analysis of P stores and flows across Europe in 2005 showed that high fertiliser P inputs relative to productive outputs was driving low system P efficiency (38 % overall). Regional P imbalance (P surplus) and system P losses were highly correlated to total system P inputs and animal densities, causing unnecessary P accumulation in soils and rivers. Reducing regional P surpluses to zero increased system P efficiency (+ 16 %) and decreased total P losses by 35 %, but required a reduction in system P inputs of ca. 40 %, largely as fertiliser. We discuss transdisciplinary and transformative solutions that tackle the P chaos by collective stakeholder actions across the entire food value chain. Lowering system P demand and better regional governance of P resources appear necessary for more efficient and sustainable food systems.

Who and what set the price of walnuts for small-scale farmers in Southwest China?

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mei Yan ◽  
Anne Terheggen ◽  
Dagmar Mithöfer
Keyword(s):  
Value Chain ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Tree Planting ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Village Level ◽  
Small Scale Farmers ◽  
The Village

Purpose Domestic demand for walnuts has been on the rise for the last decades. Consumption outstrips domestic production capacities, which led to increasing prices until recently. Small-scale farmers are at the centre of walnut tree planting and walnut collection efforts. Farmers are now integrated into rapidly expanding agrifood value chains. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the walnut value chain originating in Yunnan (the dominant producer of walnuts in China). The authors are especially interested in the position of small-scale farmers in the chain and the factors affecting the price that they receive. Design/methodology/approach Price and intra-chain governance information were collected through structured interviews with value chain actors like certified and conventional small-scale farmers, traders, processors, food manufacturers and wholesalers. The resultant price data set was analysed using a multiple regression analysis. Findings Timing of harvest, distance to market and sales volume are correlated with the village-level price. Farmers are in a market governance segment of the chain. Lead firms (e.g. supermarkets) are price-setters and determine the value distribution, with farmers receiving a smaller share relative to downstream actors’ shares. Research limitations/implications Improved connectivity to markets, transparency of standards and price (formation), processing and certification could improve farmers’ profits. Originality/value The authors contribute to the growing literature of value chain studies focussing on farmers’ integration into food systems at different scales. The authors investigated the price determinants at the village level and additionally provide information on an organic marketing arrangement.

scholarly journals Food Systems Resilience: Towards an Interdisciplinary Research Agenda

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bob Doherty ◽  
Jonathan Ensor ◽  
Tony Heron ◽  
Patricia Prado
Keyword(s):  
Value Chain ◽  
Interdisciplinary Research ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Food Studies ◽  
General Concept ◽  
Systems Research ◽  
Analytical Potential ◽  
The Uk

In this article, we offer a contribution to the ongoing study of food by advancing a conceptual framework and interdisciplinary research agenda – what we term ‘food system resilience’. In recent years, the concept of resilience has been extensively used in a variety of fields, but not always consistently or holistically. Here we aim to theorise systematically resilience as ananalyticalconcept as it applies to food systems research.  To do this, we engage with and seek to extend current understandings of resilience across different disciplines. Accordingly, we begin by exploring the different ways in which the concept of resilience is understood and used in current academic and practitioner literatures - both as a general concept and as applied specifically to food systems research. We show that the social-ecological perspective, rooted in an appreciation of the complexity of systems, carries significant analytical potential. We first underline what we mean by the food system and relate our understanding of this term to those commonly found in the extant food studies literature. We then apply our conception to the specific case of the UK. Here we distinguish between four subsystems at which our ‘resilient food systems’ can be applied. These are, namely, the agro-food system; the value chain; the retail-consumption nexus; and the governance and regulatory framework. On the basis of this conceptualisation we provide an interdisciplinary research agenda, using the case of the UK to illustrate the sorts of research questions and innovative methodologies that our food systems resilience approach is designed to promote.

scholarly journals How to guarantee food supply during pandemics? Rethinking local food systems from peri-urban strategic agents’ behaviour: The case study of the Barcelona Metropolitan Region

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sònia Callau-Berenguer ◽  
Anna Roca-Torrent ◽  
Josep Montasell-Dorda ◽  
Sandra Ricart
Keyword(s):  
Food Supply ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Food Policy ◽  
Local Food ◽  
Metropolitan Region ◽  
Mutual Aid ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Strategic Agents ◽  
Agricultural Areas

The Covid-19 pandemic has acted as a warning for the world’s current food system, especially in urban contexts with global food dependence. This article aims to analyse the food system behaviour of the Barcelona Metropolitan Region (in the northeast of Spain) during the first stage of the pandemic by deepening the behaviour of different peri-urban agricultural areas in which local food supply is promoted. Semi-structured interviews to 11 entities and institutions located in the peri-urban area of the BMR based on its productive and management profile have been carried out from March to May 2020. The results obtained highlight the socio-economic, environmental, and health perspective of food supply during the pandemic. Main results show 1) shortcomings in the operation and logistics of the metropolitan food system; 2) the complicity between the local producer and the urban consumer through new sales and distribution initiatives, 3) the role of peri-urban agricultural areas for ensuring food supply and land preservation, and 4) the need to initiate cooperation and mutual aid activities between the different agents involved in the food system. Furthermore, agents underlined the need for rethinking the agroeconomic model to strengthening the producer-consumer nexus and promoting local food policy based on food sustainability, sovereignty, and governance.

scholarly journals Beyond conceptual understanding of barriers to national adaptation policy: A comparative analysis of South Korea and the UK

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seunghan Lee ◽  
Jouni Paavola ◽  
Suraje Dessai
Keyword(s):  
South Korea ◽  
Conceptual Understanding ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Adaptation Policy ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Adaptation Processes ◽  
Common Barriers

Abstract Despite progress with national adaptation policies, the adaptation deficit is growing. Barriers to adaptation are a key reason for the adaptation deficit. Past research on barriers only offers a conceptual understanding of the barriers, with limited insight into real adaptation processes. Common causality, interrelationships and dynamics of the barriers remain under-researched. Examining the cases of South Korea and the UK, this research aims to improve our understanding of the common barriers to national adaptation policy. Drawing from semi-structured interviews and documentary material, we identify 54 common factors in the two countries (17 barriers, 17 origins, 20 influences), and eight key barriers: conflicts between government departments, frequent rotating of civil servants, lack of political will, unclear range of participants in national adaptation policy, low priority of adaptation, uncertainty about the effectiveness of adaptation policy, differences between adaptation and election timelines, and lack of understanding of adaptation. We explain the origins and links between factors and the common causal mechanisms of barriers to national adaptation policy, as well as their influences by mapping them. Based on the mapping, we argue that there are barriers that are easier to address than others, and that there is a need to focus on them to reduce the adaptation deficit effectively. We conclude by discussing the policy implications of our findings.

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