Uncovering food systems logics to identify leverage points fostering healthy and sustainable diets in the EU
While the unsustainability of the food system requires the promotion of sustainable and healthy food consumption in the EU, its complexity poses an important challenge to developing solutions, because several loosely coupled subsystems interact through a large quantity of drivers that together produce societal outcomes. To identify solutions or leverage points in food systems therefore requires understanding these dynamics at least at a relatively high level of abstraction. Within the EU project PLAN’EAT (“Food systems transformation towards healthy and sustainable dietary behaviour”), we have developed a basic stylized EU food systems map based on a state-of-the-art conceptualisation of food systems in five steps: (1) identification of food system trends, (2) description of mechanisms behind EU food system trends based on literature review, (3) development of a first systems map, (4) first adaptation of the systems map based on expert interviews and (5) second adaptation of the systems map and identification of leverage points through focus groups. We identified patterns and leverage points that capture the main functioning of the current food system, beyond the description of food system actors, activities, interactions and outcomes, and call these “food system logics”—parallel to the notion of “institutional logics” in sociology. We describe how these food system logics pervade the food system and how these are amplified by drivers such as innovation, liberalisation and policy.
Date: 19 November 2024, 16:00 (Tuesday, 6th week, Michaelmas 2024)
Venue: Seminar rooms - the venue is accessible
Speaker: Professor Erik Mathijs (KU Leuven)
Organising department: Oxford Martin School
Organiser: Dr Lexi Earl (University of Oxford)
Organiser contact email address: futureoffood@oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk
Hosts: Dr John Ingram (Food Systems Programme Leader, Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford), Dr. Monika Zurek (Environmental Change Institute)
Booking required?: Not required
Audience: Public
Editor: Alexandra Earl