Food as an Entry Point for Sustainability Transformations?
In this article, Kes McCormick at Lund University in Sweden, presents key points and insights from his research and teaching on sustainability transformations and how food is shaping as a defining force — for better or worse.
In his recent book called “Regenesis: Feeding the World Without Devouring the Planet”, George Monbiot dissects the extraordinary damage caused by farming on the planet and how corporatized food systems are struggling to feed the growing global population. The book presents an alarming picture of the state of food production and consumption as well as his thinking on how to create a healthy, sustainable and equitable world.
This book firmly places food in the context of a globalising civilisation, quickly changing climate, and how to respond to wickedly complex societal issues. Solutions to these types of challenges are often or only at the intersection of governance, business, innovation and society. Food systems and farming are therefore both a destructive force but also a possibility for positive global and local change.
The impacts of food systems are staggering. Humanity are “using half of the habitable land on Earth to produce the food we consume every day. Up to one third of that land is degraded. Moreover, up to two thirds of biodiversity loss worldwide is attributed to food and land use activity. And more than two thirds of fresh water used in agriculture and food production and one third of greenhouse gases are attributed to food and land use” (WEF, 2021).
Transitions in food systems are fundamentally about people. Prioritizing social solidarity and rural development over simply improving supply chain efficiency is key. Building trust that food systems are part of sustainability transformations is also a critical foundation. There is an incredible opportunity to engage “the nearly 1 billion producers and more than 7 billion consumers around the world as change agents” (WEF, 2021).
My research cuts across the bio-economy, nature-based solutions, mission-oriented innovation in cities (where food is part of transitions in consumption patterns), experimentation and living labs, the sharing economy and urban agriculture, as well as SMEs and entrepreneurship. Here are seven insights on how food can act as an entry point for sustainability transformations based on my reflections working at the intersection of these various topics and fields.
Shifting to a bio-economy
The bio-based economy refers to an economy where the basic building blocks for materials, chemicals, and energy are derived from renewable biological resources. A core principle of the bio-economy is to embrace connecting sectors and finding synergies across agriculture, forestry, energy and transport. Creating a sustainable and circular bio-based economy demands nexus thinking on food, water and energy.
Embracing nature-based solutions
Nature-based solutions use the natural properties of ecosystems, and bring the potential to limit impacts of climate change, enhance biodiversity and improve environmental quality while contributing to economic activities and social prosperity. Urban agriculture and gardens intersect with nature-based solutions, and the critical ambitions to connect nature, people, health, food, climate, cities and communities.
Great resources include 1) the Naturvation project that investigated the role of nature-based solutions in cities for responding to sustainability challenges and how to create conditions for nature-based solutions as well as 2) Urban Nature, which is an online course with a comprehensive compendium on nature-based solutions, cities, sustainability and innovation.
Navigating mission-oriented innovation
Inspired by the “mission to the moon”, the research and innovation missions in Europe aim to deliver solutions to challenges, including adapting to climate change, cleaning up oceans, fighting cancer, creating climate neutral cities, and ensuring soil health and food. For mission-oriented innovation for climate neutral cities, food is a means for shifting consumption patterns through changing diets, eliminating food waste, and inspiring urban agriculture.
Utilising experimentation and living labs
Urban living labs are sites devised to design, test and learn from social and technical innovation in real time and real places. Experimentation is a key part of living labs that explore diverse topics ranging from buildings, energy and mobility to food and consumption. Despite the experimentation taking place on the ground, there is a lack of systematic learning on how living labs on food in urban and rural contexts can drive transitions.
Great resources include 1) the GUST project on governance, sustainability and urban living labs as well as 2) the City Futures Academy, which is an online learning community that brings together online courses and materials on cities, sustainability, governance and innovation — with a core theme of urban living labs and experimentation.
Catalysing sustainability entrepreneurship in SMEs
Entrepreneurship and the role of SMEs in sustainability transformations is a growing area of interest where the food sector is active. Interestingly, SMEs represent 90% of business worldwide and over 50% of employment. For SMEs in the food sector, transformative business models, collaboration and the role of intermediaries in supporting SMEs on sustainability entrepreneurship is vital.
Great resources include 1) TRANSFORM, which is global partnership accelerating sustainability entrepreneurship in local spaces with a significant focus on food and building capacity within SMEs for transformative business models, and 2) the related GLOCULL project that developed urban living labs around the food, water and energy nexus.
Initiating circular business models
Creating a circular economy entails designing and governing markets that give incentives to reusing products, rather than generating waste and extracting resources. Food and the circular economy is an area where ambitions are growing to work towards food systems that are regenerative. Experimentation with circular business models for food is imperative to shifting mindsets and generating action on the circular economy.
Shifting consumption patterns and sharing practices
The role of cities as enablers (and even amplifiers) of sustainability transformations is increasingly recognised. In the area of consumption, food is a fertile starting point for action. Cities are places where local action can influence national food policy and innovation. Ultimately, tackling food waste and surplus, changing diets, and creating opportunities for urban agriculture are key to working with consumption patterns.
Great resources include 1) the Food Print Lab who collaborated with Sharing Cities Sweden — a national program for the sharing economy, and 2) Viable Cities, which is a strategic innovation program on smart, sustainable and climate neutral cities, that supports multiple projects directly on food and cities, including Digital Tomatoes.
Kes McCormick is an Associate Professor at Lund University in Sweden. He is deeply engaged in research and teaching on sustainability transformations based on collabroation and interactions with diverse stakeholders and organisations.
