Towards the Three Dimensions of Sustainability for International Research Team Collaboration: Learnings from the Sustainable and Healthy Food Systems Research Programme

This paper highlights the potential for learning and virtual collaboration in international research teams to contribute towards sustainability goals. Previous research confirmed the environmental benefits of carbon savings from international virtual conferences. This paper adds the social and economic dimensions by using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to measure the constraints and benefits for personal development, economic costs, efficiency and team learning of holding international virtual conferences (VCs). Using the Sustainable and Healthy Food Systems (SHEFS) research programme as a case study, we analysed VC participant survey data to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of VCs. We estimated ‘saved’ GHG emissions, costs, and time, of using VCs as an alternative for a planned in-person meeting in Chennai, India. Hosting VCs reduced North–South, gender, and researcher inclusivity concerns, financial and travelling time costs, and substantially reduced emissions. For one international meeting with 107 participants, changing to a virtual format reduced the per capita GHG emissions to half the annual global average, and avoided 60% of travel costs. The benefits of VCs outweighed weaknesses. The main strengths were inclusivity and access, with 20% more early/mid-career researchers attending. This study identified opportunities for international research partnerships to mitigate their carbon footprint (environmental benefit) and enhance inclusivity of early/mid-career, women and Global South participants (social benefit), whilst continuing to deliver effective collaborative research meetings (economic benefit). In doing so, we present a holistic view of sustainability opportunities for virtual collaboration.

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Understanding the Political Challenge of Red and Processed Meat Reduction for Healthy and Sustainable Food Systems: A Narrative Review of the Literature

International Journal of Health Policy and Management ◽

10.34172/ijhpm.2020.238 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Katherine Sievert ◽

Mark Lawrence ◽

Christine Parker ◽

Phillip Baker

Keyword(s):

Food Systems ◽

Food System ◽

Ghg Emissions ◽

Narrative Review ◽

Processed Meat ◽

Meat Industry ◽

Systems Research ◽

Production And Consumption ◽

Political Challenge ◽

Red And Processed Meat

Background: Diets high in red and processed meat (RPM) contribute substantially to environmental degradation, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and the global burden of chronic disease. Recent high-profile reports from international expert bodies have called for a significant reduction in global dietary meat intake, particularly RPM, especially in high-income settings, while acknowledging the importance of animal-sourced foods to population nutrition in many lower-income countries. However, this presents a major yet under-investigated political challenge given strong cultural preferences for meat and the economic importance and power of the meat industry. Methods: A theoretically-guided narrative review was undertaken. The theoretical framework used to guide the review considered the interests, ideas and institutions that constitute food systems in relation to meat reduction; and the instrumental, discursive and structural forms of power that actors deploy in relation to others within the food system. Results: High production and consumption levels of RPM are promoted and sustained by a number of factors. Actors with an interest in RPM included business and industry groups, governments, intergovernmental organisations, and civil society. Asymmetries of power between these actors exist, with institutional barriers recognised in the form of government-industry dependence, trade agreement conflicts, and policy incoherence. Industry lobbying, shaping of evidence and knowledge, and highly concentrated markets are key issues. Furthermore, prevailing ideologies like carnism and neoliberalism present embedded difficulties for RPM reduction. The literature noted the power of actors to resist meat reduction efforts exists in varying forms, including the use of lobbying, shaping of evidence and knowledge, and highly concentrated markets. Conclusion: There are a number of political challenges related to RPM reduction that contribute to policy inertia, and hence are likely to impede the transformation of food systems. Research on policy efforts to reduce RPM production and consumption should incorporate the role of power and political feasibility.

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Food systems are responsible for a third of global anthropogenic GHG emissions

Nature Food ◽

10.1038/s43016-021-00225-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

M. Crippa ◽

E. Solazzo ◽

D. Guizzardi ◽

F. Monforti-Ferrario ◽

F. N. Tubiello ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Food Systems ◽

Ghg Emissions

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Exploring Food Literacy Domains in an Adult Samoan Population

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18073587 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (7) ◽

pp. 3587

Author(s):

Grace Kammholz ◽

Dana Craven ◽

Ramona Boodoosingh ◽

Safua Akeli Amaama ◽

Jyothi Abraham ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Food Systems ◽

Food System ◽

Communicable Disease ◽

Healthy Food ◽

Food Storage ◽

Policy Action ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Convenience Sample ◽

Environmental Interventions ◽

Food Literacy

Samoan food systems have undergone a dramatic nutrition transition, with dietary patterns changing concurrently with increased rates of obesity and non-communicable disease. Whilst policy action and environmental interventions play an important role in improving access to and consumption of healthy food, the success of these relies on a greater understanding of individuals’ food knowledge and behaviours. This study aimed to explore these behaviours using the construct of food literacy in an adult Samoan population. A cross-sectional interviewer-administered questionnaire of a convenience sample of 150 adult Samoans (≥20 years) assessed the four domains of food literacy: plan/manage, select, prepare, and eat. Participants generally plan to include healthy food (87%) and budget money for food (87%). The majority know where to find nutrition labels (68%), of which 43% always use them to inform their food choices. Participants were mostly confident with cooking skills, although food storage practices require further investigation. Over 90% agreed or strongly agreed that food impacts health, although understanding of the Pacific Guidelines for Healthy Living was lacking. Understanding the ability of Samoans to plan/manage, select, prepare, and eat food is an important consideration for future interventions aiming to assist this population in navigating the modern-day food system.

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Associations between Food Policy Councils and Policies That Support Healthy Food Access: A National Survey of Community Policy Supports

Nutrients ◽

10.3390/nu13020683 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 683

Author(s):

Samantha J. Lange ◽

Larissa Calancie ◽

Stephen J. Onufrak ◽

Katherine T. Reddy ◽

Anne Palmer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

National Survey ◽

Food Access ◽

Food Systems ◽

Food Policy ◽

Healthy Food ◽

Farmers Markets ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Food Policy Councils ◽

Nationally Representative ◽

Healthy Food Access

Food policy councils (FPCs) are one form of community coalition that aims to address challenges to local food systems and enhance availability, accessibility, and affordability of healthy foods for local residents. We used data from the 2014 National Survey of Community-Based Policy and Environmental Supports for Healthy Eating and Active Living, a nationally representative survey of US municipalities (n = 2029), to examine the prevalence of FPCs and cross-sectional associations between FPCs and four types of supports for healthy food access (approaches to help food stores, practices to support farmers markets, transportation-related supports, and community planning documents). Overall, 7.7% of municipalities reported having a local or regional FPC. FPCs were more commonly reported among larger municipalities with ≥50,000 people (29.2%, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 21.6, 36.8) and western region municipalities (13.2%, 95% CI: 9.6, 16.8). After multivariable adjustment, municipalities with FPCs had significantly higher odds of having all four types of supports, compared to those without FPCs (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) range: 2.4–3.4). Among municipalities with FPCs (n = 156), 41% reported having a local government employee or elected official as a member, and 46% had a designated health or public health representative. Although FPCs were uncommon, municipalities that reported having a local or regional FPC were more likely to report having supports for healthy food access for their residents.

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Learning and Designing Smart and Sustainable Food Systems: Research Fronts for Emerging Agricultural Education

10.1109/icaie53562.2021.00114 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Han-Teng Liao ◽

Chung-Lien Pan ◽

Cong Cao ◽

Qin-ling Chen

Keyword(s):

Agricultural Education ◽

Food Systems ◽

Sustainable Food Systems ◽

Sustainable Food ◽

Systems Research ◽

Research Fronts

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Assessing Sustainable Food and Nutrition Security of the EU Food System—An Integrated Approach

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su10114271 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (11) ◽

pp. 4271 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Monika Zurek ◽

Aniek Hebinck ◽

Adrian Leip ◽

Joost Vervoort ◽

Marijke Kuiper ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Science Communication ◽

Food Systems ◽

Food System ◽

Sustainable Food ◽

Food And Nutrition Security ◽

Nutrition Security ◽

Systems Research ◽

Nutrition And Diet ◽

Food And Nutrition ◽

The Eu

Steering the EU food system towards a sustainability transformation requires a vast and actionable knowledge base available to a range of public and private actors. Few have captured this complexity by assessing food systems from a multi-dimensional and multi-level perspective, which would include (1) nutrition and diet, environmental and economic outcomes together with social equity dimensions and (2) system interactions across country, EU and global scales. This paper addresses this gap in food systems research and science communication by providing an integrated analytical approach and new ways to communicate this complexity outside science. Based on a transdisciplinary science approach with continuous stakeholder input, the EU Horizon2020 project ‘Metrics, Models and Foresight for European SUStainable Food And Nutrition Security’ (SUSFANS) developed a five-step process: Creating a participatory space; designing a conceptual framework of the EU food system; developing food system performance metrics; designing a modelling toolbox and developing a visualization tool. The Sustainable Food and Nutrition-Visualizer, designed to communicate complex policy change-impacts and trade-off questions, enables an informed debate about trade-offs associated with options for change among food system actors as well as in the policy making arena. The discussion highlights points for further research related to indicator development, reach of assessment models, participatory processes and obstacles in science communication.

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Exploring, measuring and enhancing the coproduction of health and well-being at the national, regional and local levels through comparative case studies in Sweden and England: the ‘Samskapa’ research programme protocol

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2019-029723 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (7) ◽

pp. e029723 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Sofia Kjellström ◽

Kristina Areskoug-Josefsson ◽

Boel Andersson Gäre ◽

Ann-Christine Andersson ◽

Marlene Ockander ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Case Studies ◽

Quantitative Methods ◽

Social Care ◽

Knowledge Exchange ◽

Research Programme ◽

Well Being ◽

Explanatory Models ◽

Longitudinal Case Study ◽

Health And Social Care ◽

Health And Well Being

IntroductionCocreation, coproduction and codesign are advocated as effective ways of involving citizens in the design, management, provision and evaluation of health and social care services. Although numerous case studies describe the nature and level of coproduction in individual projects, there remain three significant gaps in the evidence base: (1) measures of coproduction processes and their outcomes, (2) mechanisms that enable inclusivity and reciprocity and (3) management systems and styles. By focusing on these issues, we aim to explore, enhance and measure the value of coproduction for improving the health and well-being of citizens.Methods and analysisNine ongoing coproduction projects form the core of an interactive research programme (‘Samskapa’) during a 6-year period (2019–2024). Six of these will take place in Sweden and three will be undertaken in England to enable knowledge exchange and cross-cultural comparison. The programme has a longitudinal case study design using both qualitative and quantitative methods. Cross-case analysis and a sensemaking process will generate relevant lessons both for those participating in the projects and researchers. Based on the findings, we will develop explanatory models and other outputs to increase the sustained value (and values) of future coproduction initiatives in these sectors.Ethics and disseminationAll necessary ethical approvals will be obtained from the regional Ethical Board in Sweden and from relevant authorities in England. All data and personal data will be handled in accordance with General Data Protection Regulations. Given the interactive nature of the research programme, knowledge dissemination to participants and stakeholders in the nine projects will be ongoing throughout the 6 years. External workshops—facilitated in collaboration with participating case studies and citizens—both during and at the end of the programme will provide an additional dissemination mechanism and involve health and social care practitioners, policymakers and third-sector organisations.

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