scholarly journals A systems approach to navigating food security during COVID-19: Gaps, opportunities, and policy supports

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Alesandros Glaros ◽  
Chloe Alexander ◽  
Jodi Koberinski ◽  
Steffanie Scott ◽  
Stephen Quilley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Distribution Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Food Distribution ◽  
Fine Tuning ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Production And Distribution ◽  
Community Organizers ◽  
Seasonal Labor

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted a series of concatenating problems in the global production and distribution of food. Trade barriers, seasonal labor shortages, food loss and waste, and food safety concerns combine to engender vulnerabili­ties in food systems. A variety of actors—from academics to policy-makers, community organizers, farmers, and homesteaders—are considering the undertaking of creating more resilient food sys­tems. Conventional approaches include fine-tuning existing value chains, consolidating national food distribution systems and bolstering inventory and storage. This paper highlights three alternative strategies for securing a more resilient food system, namely: (i.) leveraging underutilized, often urban, spaces for food production; (ii.) rethinking food waste as a resource; and (iii.) constructing produc­tion-distribution-waste networks, as opposed to chains. Various food systems actors have pursued these strategies for decades. Yet, we argue that the COVID-19 pandemic forces us to urgently con­sider such novel assemblages of actors, institutions, and technologies as key levers in achieving longer term food system resilience. These strategies are often centered around princi­ples of redistribution and reciprocity, and focus on smaller scales, from individual households to com­munities. We high­light examples that have emerged in the spring-summer of 2020 of household and community efforts to reconstruct a more resilient food system. We also undertake a policy analysis to sketch how government supports can facilitate the emergence of these efforts and mobilization beyond the immediate confines of the pandemic.

scholarly journals Less than half of the European dietary recommendations for fish consumption are satisfied by national seafood supplies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anneli Lofstedt ◽  
Baukje de Roos ◽  
Paul G. Fernandes
Keyword(s):  
Fish Consumption ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Distribution Systems ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
National Level ◽  
Dietary Recommendations ◽  
Balance Sheets ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Production And Distribution ◽  
Per Capita

Abstract Purpose To review the seafood dietary recommendations of European countries and compare them to national seafood supplies. Methods Current seafood dietary recommendations were collated from national health authorities across Europe. Food balance sheets were downloaded from the FAO, and appropriate conversion factors were applied to each seafood commodity. Average net per capita seafood supplies from 2007 to 2017 were derived from data on imports and production for food from both capture fisheries and aquaculture, accounting for exports. Results Both national dietary recommendations and seafood supplies varied considerably throughout Europe. At a national level, on a per capita basis, only 13 out of the 31 of European dietary recommendations for fish consumption were satisfied by national seafood supplies. Most of the countries with coastal access, as well as those with traditional fish-eating cultures, such as France and countries in Northern Europe, had adequate seafood supplies to meet their recommendations. The landlocked countries of Central and Eastern Europe did not have enough seafood supplies to satisfy their recommendations. Conclusions Our findings emphasise the need to not only consider consumer health outcomes when developing and advocating dietary recommendations, but also the sustainability of food production systems. As many foods are not necessarily locally sourced but traded as part of global production and distribution systems, it is important to consider greater consistency between national dietary recommendations to facilitate more sustainable marine food systems.

scholarly journals Our people, our food, our planet

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cath Conn ◽  
Radilaite Cammock ◽  
Katrina Ford ◽  
Gloria Faesen Kloet ◽  
Shoba Nayar
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Dietary Practices ◽  
Sustainable Food Systems ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Integrated Policy

Video link: Our people, our food, our planet: Sustainable food systems policy in the Pacific Pacific Island Countries and Territories are facing a health crisis with non communicable diseases (NCDs) currently accounting for more than 80% of deaths. In the 21st century, advances in health intervention and policy render this figure unacceptable. Multiple risk factors contribute to the NCD crisis; a leading driver being obesity due to changing dietary practices arising from the global food system. A system  which is dominated by processed foods high in starch and sugars. This situation is compounded by changes in the natural and built environments relating to climate change. Tackling this issue is beyond the sole domain of public health and is, therefore, more suited to a planetary health approach. This paper applies a sustainable food systems approach to analysing NCD policy developments in the Pacific region. In particular, three domains of policy which impact diets in the Pacific are examined: food production, climate change and sustainability, and trade. It is argued that countering the NCD crisis demands a global multisectoral approach, with governments leading the way, to develop integrated policy and interventions that will secure the future wellbeing and protection of our people, our food, our planet.

scholarly journals Are Local Food Systems Vectors of Sustainable Choices?

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (3) ◽  
pp. 73-82
Author(s):  
Corina Ene ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Local Food ◽  
Special Kind ◽  
Local Food Systems ◽  
Determining Factors ◽  
Nutritional Needs ◽  
Global And Local ◽  
The Way

In the last few years, but even more so given the context the COVID-19 pandemic, a large series of global and local changes have occurred in all areas of life, including the way food is perceived and procured. The orientation towards local food as a preferred choice has gained more followers which are interested in economic, social and environmental effects of the way the world uses all kinds of resources to meet its nutritional needs. Local food involves a special kind of food systems approach in terms of determining factors and resulting implications for all actors involved. The paper deals with emphasizing different aspects of local food systems, including both agri-food producers and consumer’s drivers together with the effects of rethinking the way people choose to procure their food. The link to sustainable development is clearly highlighted using the multiple implications of this agri-food system upon different sectors and dimensions.

scholarly journals Future and recent developments in the retail vegetable category – a value chain and food systems approach

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Fredrik Fernqvist ◽  
Caroline Göransson
Keyword(s):  
Value Chain ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
A Value ◽  
Future Challenges ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Comprehensive Picture

In this study, the value chain perspective was combined with a food systems approach to assess food system responses in the value chain and external drivers from environmental and socioeconomic perspectives. The research object was the Swedish value chain for vegetables, with the aim of providing a comprehensive picture of current trends and drivers and identifying future developments important for vegetable growers, producer organizations, wholesalers and retailers. The empirical data is based on in-depth interviews with key-decision makers in the Swedish value chain, constituting a single case. The point of departure is that key actors in this chain, from producer organizations to retailers, can provide a comprehensive picture on the category’s past development and future directions. A combined food systems and value chain approach has been applied. Drivers and chain responses have been identified and categorized into six main categories related to: (1) health; (2) consumer interest for food and variation; (3) convenience; (4) origin; (5) sustainability; and (6) urbanization. Value chain responses and future challenges as well as aspects on value chain dynamics and sustainability issues in the food system are presented and discussed.

scholarly journals From tensions to transformation: Teaching food systems in a graduate dietetics course

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Ng ◽  
Donald C Cole
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Dietetic Education ◽  
Critical Reflexivity ◽  
Migrant Farm ◽  
Field Report ◽  
The Impact

Dietitians are deeply embedded within food systems, so food systems concepts are becoming an essential component of dietetic education in Canada. Yet how can we, as educators, better prepare future dietitians to embrace the complexity of food systems and be forces of change towards equity?  In an effort to explore this question in a practical way, we integrated food systems concepts into a mandatory course of a public health graduate dietetics program. This field report shares our experiences teaching food systems over five years based on our notes kept, student feedback, and course evaluations. Our learnings have been in three key areas: intentions, facilitation, and tensions. We recognized that teaching about food systems is value-laden. Hence we have been explicit with the students about our positionality and our intentions in designing the course, partly to meet the management of food systems competency requirements, but also to stimulate thinking about alternative options for purpose, structures, and processes in food systems.  Our facilitation approaches aimed to foster a critical consciousness towards social justice and systems change. Using teaching and evaluation methods such as experiential learning, community projects, and reflection assignments, students have encountered the complexity of food systems and the challenges-opportunities they pose.  As educators, we have grappled with the tensions of challenging dominant positivist discourses in public health nutrition. Politicized topics such as migrant farm-worker regimes, industrial food production, regulation of food marketing, and mitigation of the impact of colonization have generated debates in the classroom about the role and scope of dietetic practice. Most students have situated themselves more explicitly within a food system, and some began to question hidden structures of power. While it remains challenging to address this breadth within the constraints of one course, we believe it worthwhile to model and stimulate critical reflexivity with the next generation of dietitians as critical food learners-teachers themselves. Even though the course is no longer offered using this food systems approach, course components can be integrated throughout the dietetic curriculum.

scholarly journals Community food assessments: combining community action and policy for a more just and sustainable food system

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin Charter
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Community Action ◽  
Policy Action ◽  
Sustainable Food Systems ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Local Residents ◽  
Sustainable Food System

This paper is concerned with the conception of a solution to food insecurity in Canada. I will begin by reviewing the two dominant approaches to food security, the antipoverty approach and the sustainable food systems approach. I will argue that in order to establish a food secure Canada, community action to increase food access and address concerns about production, distribution and consumption needs to happen in conjunction with policy action that seeks to reduce inequality and to promote a more just and sustainable food system. To examine this premise, I will discuss two Canadian Community Food Assessments, which will provide insight into how the food system is playing out in two communities, and what is being done to create a more balanced food system for local residents. I will also provide a discussion of the assessments' recommendations and how they see change coming about in the food system. What needs to happen in order to create food security in Canada? And with who and where are these changes to take place?

Roles of regional production in a global food system

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Christian J. Peters ◽  
Miguel I. Gómez ◽  
Timothy Griffin
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Ecological Niche ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Geographic Area ◽  
Production Volume ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Patterns ◽  
Regional Production ◽  
The Us ◽  
Production And Distribution

Abstract What is the role of Northeastern agricultural products in the US food system? This paper presents a typology that categorizes where agricultural production and distribution of a specific geographic area, in this case a multi-state region, fits within the US food system. The place of each food is defined based on its production volume, scope of distribution, market timing and agro-ecological niche. Six distinct roles that a region might play in supplying food are identified: (a) the region is a national production center, (b) the region is a seasonally important supplier, (c) regional production and distribution is the primary scale for supplying a food, (d) the product occupies an agro-ecological niche, (e) a product is a co-product of another industry in the region, and (f) the product is marketed explicitly for its geographic provenance as a local or regional product. Illustrative examples of each role are provided from the research of the Enhancing Food Security in the Northeast (EFSNE) regional food systems project. The examples draw from a variety of methodological approaches including regional self-reliance analysis, product case studies, supply chain models, and examination of spatial and temporal patterns in crop and livestock production and marketing. While presented in the context of the Northeast, the typology would likely be valuable for characterizing other regions of the country. We need such a typology to better understand and communicate the value of geographically dispersed agricultural production to creating a resilient food system, thereby improving our decisions of how to respond to future agricultural challenges

scholarly journals Metrics to analyze and improve diets through food Systems in low and Middle Income Countries

Food Security ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1085-1105
Author(s):  
Mequanint B. Melesse ◽  
Marrit van den Berg ◽  
Christophe Béné ◽  
Alan de Brauw ◽  
Inge D. Brouwer
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Public Data ◽  
Low And Middle Income

Abstract Taking a food systems approach is a promising strategy for improving diets. Implementing such an approach would require the use of a comprehensive set of metrics to characterize food systems, set meaningful goals, track food system performance, and evaluate the impacts of food system interventions. Food system metrics are also useful to structure debates and communicate to policy makers and the general public. This paper provides an updated analytical framework of food systems and uses this to identify systematically relevant metrics and indicators based on data availability in low and middle income countries. We conclude that public data are relatively well available for food system drivers and outcomes, but not for all of the food system activities. With only minor additional investments, existing surveys could be extended to cover a large part of the required additional data. For some indicators, however, targeted data collection efforts are needed. As the list of indicators partly overlaps with the indicators for the Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs), part of the collected data could serve not only to describe and monitor food systems, but also to track progress towards attaining the SDGs.

scholarly journals Transforming Research and Innovation for Sustainable Food Systems—A Coupled-Systems Perspective

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (24) ◽  
pp. 7176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristiaan P. W. Kok ◽  
Alanya C. L. den Boer ◽  
Tomris Cesuroglu ◽  
Marjoleine G. van der Meij ◽  
Renée de Wildt-Liesveld ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Second Order ◽  
Coupled Systems ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Systems Perspective ◽  
Research And Innovation ◽  
Policy Environments ◽  
Systems Transformation

Current research and innovation (R&I) systems are not equipped to fully serve as catalysts for the urgently needed transformation of food systems. Though research on food systems transformation (first order: ‘what?’) and transformative research (second order: ‘how to’) are rapidly gaining traction in academic and policy environments, current efforts fail to explicitly recognize the systemic nature of the challenges associated with performing transformative second-order research. To recognize these manifold and interlinked challenges embedded in R&I systems, there is a need for a coupled-systems perspective. Transformations are needed in food systems as well as R&I systems (‘how to do the “how to”’). We set out to conceptualize an approach that aims to trigger double transformations by nurturing innovations at the boundaries of R&I systems and food systems that act upon systemic leverage points, so that their multisystem interactions can better support food system transformations. We exemplify this coupled-systems approach by introducing the FIT4FOOD2030 project with its 25 living labs as a promising multilevel boundary innovation at the cross-section of R&I and food systems. We illustrate how this approach paves the way for double systems transformations, and therefore for an R&I system that is fit for future-proofing food systems.

Life-cycle greenhouse gas assessment of Community Supported Agriculture in California's Central Valley

2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 393-405 ◽  
Author(s):  
Libby O. Christensen ◽  
Ryan E. Galt ◽  
Alissa Kendall
Keyword(s):  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Distribution Systems ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Central Valley ◽  
Community Supported Agriculture ◽  
Distribution Data ◽  
Production And Distribution

AbstractMany consumers are trying to reduce their food's environmental impact by purchasing more locally sourced food. One choice for local food is Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), in which farmers provide a share of produce on a regular basis to pre-paying farm members. The number of CSAs in the USA has grown from two in the mid-1980s to perhaps as many as 12,617 according to the latest US census of agriculture (2014). We use a case study approach to investigate the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with five CSA operations in the Sacramento Valley of California. By understanding the GHG emissions of CSAs and the practices that might be improved, we hope to support innovative strategies to reduce GHG emissions in these agricultural production systems. Input, production and distribution data were collected from each farm and reported in CO2e emissions for 1 kg CSA produce at the pickup location. Results show large variation in total emissions, ranging from 1.72 to 6.69 kg CO2e kg−1 of produce with an average of 3.94 kg CO2e kg−1 produce. The largest source of emissions was electricity, contributing over 70% of total CO2e emissions on average. Based on our findings, despite the seemingly similarities between these operations in terms of production site, acreage, customers and production practices, there is still a large amount of variability with regard to total GHG. Thus we argue coming up with a standardized production function for diversified production and deriving GHGs or calculating average total emissions overlooks the heterogeneity of the system. Food systems can never be reduced to a simple binary of local is better and conventional is worse, or its inverse local is worse and conventional is better, because of the complexities of the production and distribution systems and their relationship to GHG emissions. Yet, we can say that localized production systems that are low in electricity use (or use renewable energy sources) and use efficiently-produced compost use have lower GHG emissions than those that do not.

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