Transformations towards food sustainability using the participatory Food Sustainability Assessment Framework (FoodSAF)

Abstract:

We are facing a global food crisis: the percentage of people with malnutrition are increasing, along with devastating results for the social-ecological environments, showing the unsustainability of the currently dominant food systems. The complex set of food-related problems requires multidimensional perspectives, using inter- and transdisciplinary methodologies, to address social-ecological aspects over a mere focus on productivity. This article introduces a hands-on Food Sustainability Assessment Framework (FoodSAF) that allows non-academic actors to identify pathways for making food systems more sustainable through collective transformations in a “spiral of change”. The emphasis is on making the concept of “food sustainability” operational and applicable, by exploring transdisciplinary methodologies, encourage genuine participation of actors at the local level, and elevate their solutions in the direction of decision-making spaces, where policy makers have a key role in supporting change. The results provide evidence-based scientific knowledge for the promotion of innovation strategies and policy options that improve the sustainability of food systems with the specific aim of strengthening local food systems in a long-term process to co-create transformations.