Cited by 110Agriculture Sustainability and Environmental ImpactAgriculture, Land Use, Rural DevelopmentSustainability and Climate Change Governance

Research on agro-food sustainability transitions: Where are food security and nutrition?

Open access
El Bilali, Hamid·2019·Food Security

Abstract

The main outcome of sustainable agro-food systems is food and nutrition security. Nevertheless, about half of the global population is affected by food insecurity and malnutrition, a symptom of the dysfunctions of the current food system. This paper provides a review of the state of research on the sustainability of agro-food transitions, and the extent to which and in what ways such research examines food and nutrition security. A search carried out on Scopus in January 2018 yielded 771 documents; 120 of these were included in the systematic review. Agro-food represents a small share of the sustainability transitions research field. Most of the available research focuses on crops and the production stage. In general, it is assumed that a transition to sustainability in the agro-food arena would lead to increased food availability, improved food access, better food utilisation and increased food system stability and resilience. However, scholars also point out that the quest for food security (especially through intensification) may undermine transition towards sustainable agriculture and food systems. Likewise, it is assumed that a transition towards sustainable food systems implies changes in dietary patterns and nutrition habits. Nevertheless, food security and nutrition are still marginal topics in the literature on agro-food sustainability transitions. Furthermore, transformation of food systems, which should guide agro-food sustainability transitions, is the exception rather than the rule in the research field. This systematic review represents a useful contribution to research on transitions towards sustainability in agriculture and food sectors, and provides insights into how such research can contribute to addressing the grand challenges of food insecurity and malnutrition. The paper suggests the need to move beyond silos by fostering cross-sectoral collaboration and the integration of the agro-food sustainability transitions and food security research fields.

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  • Food security policies are market-oriented and ecological outcomes or SB farmer livelihoods are not of prime consideration.

    “Furthermore, food security policies are market-oriented and ecological outcomes or SB farmer livelihoods are not of prime consideration [7,8].”

    From Agroecological Transition: A Territorial Examination of the Simultaneity of Limited Farmer Livelihoods and Food Insecurity (2022) · cites this paper as [8]

    Section 4.1 reports that food-security strategies in India and Nepal rely heavily on technological innovation and fail to valorise agro-ecological resources. It also describes a tension between affordability and sustaining local agriculture in Montreal seasonal markets. These examples support a narrower concern about ecological priorities, but do not establish that food-security policies generally are market-oriented or that SB farmer livelihoods are not a prime consideration. No page number is available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.79)

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4 of the 221 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 7

  1. Costa, D. (2013). Food sustainability transitions : what citizen-consumer role for the Transition movement? Master thesis, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen.
  2. FAO, & WHO. (2014). Conference outcome document: Rome Declaration on Nutrition. Second International Conference on Nutrition, 19-21 November 2014, Rome.
  3. Gazheli, A., Antal, M., & van den Bergh, J. (2012). Behavioural aspects of sustainability transitions. In 3rd International Conference on Sustainability Transitions; Track E BTheory Development and Critical Perspectives^(pp. 337-359). Copenhagen.
  4. Gitz, V. (2015). Sustainable diets and sustainable food systems. In A. Meybeck, S. Redfern, F. Paoletti, & C. Strassner (Eds.), International workshop Bassessing sustainable diets within the sus- tainability of food systems -Mediterranean diet, organic food: New challenges^; 15-16 September 2014, Rome (pp. 131-136). Rome: FAO.
  5. Libert, B. (1997). The transition of Baltic agriculture. Ambio, 26(7), 473- 475.
  6. Truffer, B., & Markard, J. (2017). Transition studies: A PhD guide into the wild. In 2 nd PhDs in Transitions Conference. Lausanne. https:// www.ethz.ch/content/dam/ethz/.../sustainability.../Truffer_ Markard_2017.pdf. Accessed 14 Mar 2018
  7. UNSCN. (2016). Investments for healthy food systems. a framework for analysis and review of evidence on food systems investments for improving nutrition. Geneva.

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Authors
El Bilali, H.
Venue
Food Security
Published
2019-05-16
Volume
11
Issue
3
Pages
559-577
ISSN
  • 1876-4517 (ISSN-L)
  • 1876-4525
OpenAlex
W2946502135
Cited by
110
References
221
Citations by year
2026: 12 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 23 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 22 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 4
FWCI
8.42
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Food Security (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Funders
University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Agriculture Sustainability and Environmental Impact
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › General Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Agriculture, Land Use, Rural Development
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Sustainability and Climate Change Governance
Keywords
nutrition, food system transformation, sustainable food systems, food availability, food access, food utilization, food system resilience, agricultural intensification, dietary habits, intersectoral collaboration

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