This book presents URBAL, an approach that applies impact pathway mapping to understand how food system innovations in cities, and their territories, change and impact food system sustainability. Around the world, people are finding innovative ways to make their food systems more sustainable. However, documenting and understanding how these innovations impact the sustainability of food system can be a challenge. The Urban Driven Innovations for Sustainable Food Systems (URBAL) methodology responds to these constraints by providing innovations with a simple, open-source, resource-efficient tool that is easily appropriated and adaptable to different contexts. URBAL is designed to respond to the demands of field stakeholders, whether public or private, to accompany and guide them in their actions and decision-making with regard to sustainability objectives. This book presents this qualitative and participatory impact assessment method of food innovations and applies it to several cases of food innovation around the world, including the impact of agricultural districts in Milan, chefs and gastronomy in Brasilia, e-commerce in Vietnam, eco-friendly farm systems in Berlin and The Nourish to Flourish governance process in Cape Town. The book demonstrates how food innovations can impact different dimensions of sustainability, positively and negatively, and identify the elements that facilitate or hinder these impacts. The volume reflects on how to strengthen the capacity of these stakeholders to disseminate their innovations on other scales to contribute to the transition towards more sustainable food systems. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars working on sustainable food systems, urban food, food innovation and impact assessment, as well as policymakers, practitioners and funders interested in these areas.

Sustainable Food System Assessment provides both practical and theoretical insights about the growing interest in and response to measuring food system sustainability. Bringing together research from the Global North and South, this book shares lessons learned, explores intended and actual project outcomes, and highlights points of conceptual and methodological convergence. Interest in assessing food system sustainability is growing, as evidenced by the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact and the importance food systems initiatives have taken in serving as a lever for attaining the UN Sustainable Development Goals. This book opens by looking at the conceptual considerations of food systems indicators, including the place-based dimensions of food systems indicators and how measurements are implicated in sense-making and visioning processes. Chapters in the second part cover operationalizing metrics, including the development of food systems indicator frameworks, degrees of indicator complexities, and practical constraints to assessment. The final part focuses on the outcomes of assessment projects, including impacts on food policy and communities involved, highlighting the importance of building connections between sustainable food systems initiatives. The global coverage and multi-scalar perspectives, including both conceptual and practical aspects, make this a key resource for academics and practitioners across planning, geography, urban studies, food studies, and research methods. It will also be of interest to government officials and those working within NGOs. The Open Access version of this book, available at https://www.routledge.com/Sustainable-Food-System-Assessment-Lessons-from-Global-Practice/Blay-Palmer-Conare-Meter-Battista-Johnston/p/book/9781032083933, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

The food system is responsible for some of society’s most pressing sustainability challenges. Diets are currently unsustainable in many countries as evidenced by the growing burden of malnutrition, degradation of natural resources, contributions to climate change, and unaffordability of healthy diets. There is an urgent need to address the gaps in understanding of what a sustainable food system means across varying populations and geographies and how we can better measure these systems, while identifying how dietary choices impact on human health and the environment. However, decision makers and experts are questioning whether it is possible to meet environmental, social, and economic goals simultaneously, or whether trade-offs are necessary. Thus, the development of better measurements and indicators to clearly understand the benefits and considerations for healthy and sustainable food systems is needed.

This book focuses on the contested nature and competing narratives of food system transformations, despite it being widely acknowledged that changes are essential for the safeguarding of human and planetary health and well-being. The book approaches food system transformation through narratives, or the stories we tell ourselves and others about how things work. Narratives are closely connected with theories of change, although food system actors frequently lack explicit theories of change. Using political economy and systems approaches to analyze food system transformation, the author focuses on how power in food systems manifests, and how this affects whom can obtain healthy and culturally appropriate food on a reliable basis. Among the narratives covered are agroecology, food sovereignty and technological innovation. The book draws on interviews and recorded speeches by a broad range of stakeholders, including international policymakers, philanthropists, academics and researchers, workers in the food and agricultural industries and activists working for NGOs and social movements. In doing so, it presents contrasting narratives and their implicit or explicit theories of change. This approach is vitally important as decisions made by policymakers over the next few years, based on competing narratives, will have a major influence on who will eat what, how food will be produced, and who will have a voice is shaping food systems. The overarching contribution of this book is to point toward the most promising pathways for achieving sustainable food systems and refute pathways that show little hope of achieving a more sustainable future. This book will be of great interest to students, scholars and policymakers interested in creating a sustainable food system which will ensure a food secure, socially just and environmentally sustainable future.

This annual report monitors and evaluates agricultural policies in 54 countries, including the 38 OECD countries, the five non‐OECD EU Member States, and 11 emerging economies. It finds that despite some modest declines in recent years, support to agriculture has remained close to recent historical highs. While changes in support have been limited, agricultural policies have been both reactive and proactive, boosting the sector’s capacity to respond to current challenges while aiming to ensure that food systems are fit for purpose as future conditions evolve. This year’s report focuses on policies fostering sustainable productivity growth in agriculture. Governments are applying a large variety of approaches to improve productivity while preserving natural resources and reducing agricultural greenhouse gas emissions. The report notes, however, that clearly defined targets related to sustainable productivity growth and measurable indicators of progress are important to ensure that policies achieve their stated objectives. The report also notes that making more effective use of producer support to promote innovation and environmental sustainability on the farm, and refocusing overall support towards targeted R&D, can better leverage public spending to deliver public goods and sustainable productivity growth. In line with the 2022 OECD Agriculture Ministerial Declaration, the report identifies a seven-point policy agenda for making agriculture more sustainable, productive and resilient, and for improving the effectiveness and efficiency of agricultural support and markets.

The book examines sustainable food procurement policy and practice in the European Union and beyond, exploring the extent to which sustainability objectives have been achieved and evaluating the new developments taking place at both EU and national levels. While there is a growing recognition that public authorities can use public procurement as a policy tool to pursue multiple environmental, health and socio-economic objectives, contracting authorities still face many challenges. This volume investigates the scope for pursuing sustainable objectives in public procurement of food and catering services, examining different regulatory contexts and organisational models to answer the overall question of how to integrate sustainability concerns into the various phases of public food procurement processes. Contributions in the book examine the policy and legal procurement framework and practices for sustainable public catering in three EU Member States: Italy, France and Spain. There is a comparative survey of the Baltic Region, including Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Poland and Russia, and moving beyond the EU, there is examination of the UK and Brazil, as well as a cross country comparison of the UK with Denmark and Sweden. Drawing on the expertise of an interdisciplinary and intersectoral team of contributors allows the book to benefit from the insights of different disciplines, including business sciences, anthropology and law. Tapping into the global discussion on public food procurement as a means to achieve multiple social and environmental goals, this work will stimulate readers looking for new creative ways to create value through public food purchasing. This book will be of great interest to students, researchers, policymakers and public- and private-sector representatives interested in public procurement, food policy and law, sustainable food sourcing and supply chain management.

This book presents a practical guide to help businesses navigate the complex topics of sustainability in the food industry. The book takes you on a journey along the food value chain, from farm to fork, exploring key opportunities to increase positive impacts and circularity at each step of the journey. Written by a team of authors with decades of experience in the food industry and academia, it provides guidance on how to analyse sustainability across the value chain and life cycle of a food product and how to design, implement and communicate strategies to customers. Furthermore, the book shows that there are not always straightforward solutions, but rather choices and trade-offs that require an understanding of what is best suited to the product, customers and business in question. It demystifies a variety of topics, such as local sourcing, regenerative agriculture, plant-based protein and the environmental impact of meat production, and draws on a wide range of case studies from across the globe, to provide concrete, real-world examples. While a perfect food system may not exist, informed decisions can go a long way to reshape and transform the food industry as we know it. This book will be of great interest to professionals working in the food and agriculture industries, as well as students and scholars of sustainable food systems and sustainable business.

This thought-provoking, accessible book critically examines the dominant food regime on its own terms, by seriously asking whether we can afford cheap food and by exploring what exactly cheap food affords us. The author shows why today's global food system produces just the opposite of what it promises. The food produced under this regime is in fact exceedingly expensive. Many of these costs will be paid for in other ways or by future generations and cheap food today may mean expensive food tomorrow. By systematically assessing these costs the book delves into issues related, but not limited to, the food system, the environment, sustainable development, health, and social justice. In this new edition the author brings all data and citations fully up to date. Increased coverage is given to many topics including climate change, vertical agriculture, global pandemics, geopolitical instability, agriculture 4.0, alternative proteins, and food justice. Detailing the numerous ways that our understanding of food has narrowed, such as its price per ounce, combination of nutrients, yield per acre, or calories, the book argues for a more contextual view of food when debating its affordability. Expanding an innovation introduced in the second edition, concrete case studies of collective mobilization can be found throughout all chapters to support a narrative that balances being critical with being hopeful. This book is essential reading for those interested in critical food studies, food and agriculture, and a sustainable and socially just food system.

Understand the future of food packaging with this timely guide Food packaging is a vital part of the food industry. It contributes to food safety and quality throughout the supply chain, reduced product loss, allows high-quality goods to be shipped safely to underserved regions, and more. Smart food packaging systems, which can sense or detect changes in the product or packaging, are at the forefront of this field, and show potentially revolutionary promise. Smart Food Packaging Systems offer a comprehensive overview of the fundamental principles and practical applications of Active food packaging and Intelligent food packaging systems. The book incorporates the latest research developments and technologies in active and intelligent packaging systems that supplement food supply lines worldwide. It is a must-own for researchers and industry professionals looking to understand this key new tool in the fight against world hunger. Smart Food Packaging Systems readers will also find: Case studies on life cycle assessments of specific smart packaging systems Detailed discussion of topics including additives, antimicrobial and other functional agents, and biopolymers in active food packaging Use of sensors and indicators to monitor quality, temperature, and freshness of the packaged food Smart Food Packaging Systems is ideal for professionals, researchers, and academics in food science, food technology, and food packaging, as well as manufacturers, developers, government officials, and regulators working on supply chain and food distribution aspects.