Towards a sustainable food system

Current efforts to create a sustainable and just food system are not sufficient. The risk of missing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 1 and 2 for ending poverty and hunger underlines the urgent need for creating a more sustainable and just food system. While SDG 12 (responsible production and consumption) is a prerequisite for a sustainable food system, there is still the need to operationalise the requirements for farmers and the food value chain and for consumers to act. The National Research Programme “Healthy Nutrition and Sustainable Food Production” (NRP 69) calls for an integrated Swiss food policy. Several NRP 73 research projects have presented useful findings in this regard.

With this thematic synthesis, we aim to build on the knowledge from NRP 69 and use the findings of NRP 73 research projects in this area to define core elements that are essential for a sustainable food system and for the design of transition pathways. We will discuss the core elements with stakeholders from agriculture, the food industry, policy-making and retail and formulate joint conclusions. The results as to how real-world impact can be achieved will be published in a review article as well as disseminated through various media channels.

The synthesis team leaders are: Stefan Mann from Agroscope, Johanna Jacobi from ETH Zurich, Christian Schader from FIBL and Elisabeth Bürgi from the University of Bern.