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Special Issue "Towards More Sustainable Food Systems"

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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 October 2019) | Viewed by 82621

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Dr. Sigrid Kusch-Brandt

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Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering ICEA, University of Padova, 35122 Padova, Italy
Interests: biological process engineering; anaerobic digestion (biogas); organic resources; food waste; circular economy; solid waste management; environmental engineering; environmental sustainability
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sustainable food systems that holistically integrate environmental, economic, and social aspects are a key challenge for all future development. How can the value chain of food production, processing, distribution, consumption, and waste management become more sustainable? This Special Issue will identify promising pathways and discuss challenges that most urgently need to be addressed. Topics of interest include:

Nutritional and health aspects;
Interactions between natural environment and food supply, especially considering the impacts of food systems on ecosystem health;
Impact of environmental change on food security and on the characteristics of food supply chains;
The food–water–energy nexus;
Food and livelihoods, with a focus on the risks derived from globalisation, economic crisis, disasters, and climate chan;
Soil health.

Dr. Sigrid Kusch-Brandt
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

food security
food supply chains
sustainable agriculture
vulnerability of food systems
unhealthy food systems
global environmental change
water-energy-food nexus
food waste and loss

Published Papers (15 papers)

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Editorial

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Open AccessEditorial

Towards More Sustainable Food Systems—14 Lessons Learned

Sigrid Kusch-Brandt

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(11), 4005; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17114005 - 04 Jun 2020

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2104

Abstract

Food production, processing, distribution and consumption are among the major contributors to global environmental change. At the same time, food systems need to effectively respond to the demands of a growing world population, and already today many communities and individuals are affected by food insecurity. Moving towards sustainable food value chains is one of the greatest and most complex challenges of this century. To explore promising solutions and specific problems in this context, and to discuss achieved progress, this Special Issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health was initiated. The publications enrich our knowledge about essential changes required in the food systems, such as more effective food distribution, avoidance or valorisation of food waste and less meat consumption. Knowing what to change and knowing how to actually achieve such change are two different themes. It becomes evident that there is still an incomplete picture regarding how innovations in the food system can be strengthened to catalyse transformations at a larger scale. Grassroot initiatives require more supporting efforts to effectively influence policies, and the lack of coordination among civil society initiates must be overcome. Sustainability-oriented companies in food supply chains also have a major role to play. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards More Sustainable Food Systems)

Research

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Open AccessArticle

Food System Transformation: Integrating a Political–Economy and Social–Ecological Approach to Regime Shifts

and

Reinette (Oonsie) Biggs

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(4), 1313; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17041313 - 18 Feb 2020

Cited by 25 | Viewed by 7331

Abstract

Sustainably achieving the goal of global food security is one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century. The current food system is failing to meet the needs of people, and at the same time, is having far-reaching impacts on the environment and undermining human well-being in other important ways. It is increasingly apparent that a deep transformation in the way we produce and consume food is needed in order to ensure a more just and sustainable future. This paper uses the concept of regime shifts to understand key drivers and innovations underlying past disruptions in the food system and to explore how they may help us think about desirable future changes and how we might leverage them. We combine two perspectives on regime shifts—one derived from natural sciences and the other from social sciences—to propose an interpretation of food regimes that draws on innovation theory. We use this conceptualization to discuss three examples of innovations that we argue helped enable critical regime shifts in the global food system in the past: the Haber-Bosch process of nitrogen fixation, the rise of the supermarket, and the call for more transparency in the food system to reconnect consumers with their food. This paper concludes with an exploration of why this combination of conceptual understandings is important across the Global North/ Global South divide, and proposes a new sustainability regime where transformative change is spearheaded by a variety of social–ecological innovations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards More Sustainable Food Systems)

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Open AccessArticle

Rome, a Policy without Politics: The Participatory Process for a Metropolitan Scale Food Policy

Giampiero Mazzocchi

and

Davide Marino

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(2), 479; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17020479 - 11 Jan 2020

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 2978

Abstract

In light of the challenges that all cities face today, food is offered as a prism through which to read and intervene on various areas that affect the quality of life of the population: circular economy, urban metabolism, social relations, economies, and food quality. In the Roman context, in recent years, numerous initiatives have revitalized the debate on food and brought the discussion to the center of the interest of an ever-increasing number of citizens. However, these experiences appear unrelated and there is a lack of coordination and political coherence. Faced with this evidence, starting from a territorial analysis, this contribution analyzes the process that led a local group of stakeholders to formulate a proposal for a food policy for the city of Rome. The proposal contains a series of possible actions that aim, on the one hand, to recompose the relations between the city and its territory, with a view to re-localization and re-territorialization of agro-food productions and, on the other hand, to reconnect the economic and social relations that the industrialization of food chains has compromised. The network analysis of the bottom-up process, which mainly investigates networking and negotiation skills between various interests, is carried out and related to a careful analysis of the food system in the Roman context. Furthermore, an overview of the state of the art of urban food policies in Italy has been provided to better contextualize the study case. The findings show actors and topics involved in the process, identifying further development towards a more comprehensive participatory process for a systemic food strategy at the metropolitan level. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards More Sustainable Food Systems)

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Open AccessArticle

Moderating Effect of Dynamic Environment in the Relationship between Guanxi, Trust, and Repurchase Intention of Agricultural Materials

and

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(19), 3773; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16193773 - 08 Oct 2019

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2958

Abstract

Repurchasing intention of agricultural materials is a key to a sustainable food business system. The novel contribution of this study is that we go beyond technical aspect and look into human capital dynamics in a general context, by examining how different dimensions of ‘guanxi’ (i.e., personal relations and instrumentality) between farmers and agricultural retailers affect trust between the two and, in turn, repeated purchase intention of agricultural materials by farmers in China. To further generate implications for food system as a whole, we also examined how dynamic environment moderates the effects mentioned above. Adopting survey method and multivariate analyses, this study tests the hypotheses with a collected data set of 578 farmers from representative rural areas of China. The results show that guanxi between farmers and agricultural retailers has a positive effect on trust between them and on repeated purchase intentions of farmers. While instrumentality has a negative effect on trust between them and on repeated purchase intentions of farmers. The trust between farmers and agricultural retailers promotes farmers’ repeated purchase intentions. The intensity of competition negatively moderates the positive relation between trust and repeated purchases. Demand uncertainty does not moderate the positive effect of trust on repeated purchases. The results and discussion shed light on agricultural food system sustainability from a dynamic environment embedded business relationship perspective. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards More Sustainable Food Systems)

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Open AccessArticle

Toward Livestock Supply Chain Sustainability: A Case Study on Supply Chain Coordination and Sustainable Development in the Pig Sector in China

Ni Zhuo

and

Chen Ji

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(18), 3241; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16183241 - 04 Sep 2019

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2690

Abstract

Stricter environmental regulations on livestock production pollution have changed the sustainable practices of livestock supply chain stakeholders. By adopting three cases in China’s livestock supply chain, this study explores how supply chain coordination facilitates sustainable development of livestock production in China. It is found that close supply chain coordination and the capabilities of the core companies jointly contribute to supply chain sustainability. Thus, this research has theoretical significance in explaining the roles of supply chain coordination and core company capabilities in driving supply chain sustainability, which is not completely understood thus far. This study also has practical implications for livestock supply chain stakeholders and the government in terms of improving supply chain sustainability via closer supply chain coordination and enhancing the capabilities of the core companies involved. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards More Sustainable Food Systems)

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Open AccessArticle

Handmade Comal Tortillas in Michoacán: Traditional Practices along the Rural-Urban Gradient

Esperanza Arnés

and

Marta Astier

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(17), 3211; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16173211 - 03 Sep 2019

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 4028

Abstract

Certain components of global food security continue to be threatened. Globalization has impacted food patterns, leading to greater homogenization of diets and the standardization of processes of food transformation, both in the countryside and in the cities. In Mexico, this has led to a drop in the use of native corn landraces and in the value associated with traditional practices around their growing and the processing and consumption of tortillas. The aim of this work was to analyze the main characteristics of the handmade comal tortilla system along the rural-urban gradient taking into account: (1) The type of seed and production, (2) manufacturing processes, (3) marketing channels and purpose of sales, and (4) perceptions regarding the quality of the product. Research was conducted on 41 handmade tortilla workshops located in rural areas in the Lake Pátzcuaro Basin and in urban and peri-urban areas of a medium-sized city in Michoacán (Mexico). Results showed that the origin of the grain follows a gradient-like pattern: In rural areas, tortillas are made with local and native corn predominate, while in urban contexts most tortillas come from hybrid corn produced in Sinaloa or Jalisco. There is a generalized preference for white tortillas, but blue tortillas are used for personal consumption in rural areas and as a gourmet product in the city. 100% of the rural workshops make their own nixtamal, while almost 50% of the peri-urban and urban businesses buy pre-made nixtamal dough. Surprisingly, 50% of the rural handmade tortilla workshops admit that they add nixtamalized corn flour and/or wheat flour to their tortilla mix. We conclude that not all handmade comal tortillas are produced equally and, although in rural areas traditions are better preserved, these also have contradictions. We also conclude that it is important to promote the revaluation of agrobiodiversity, traditional gastronomy, and food security without sacrificing quality, nutrition, and flavor. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards More Sustainable Food Systems)

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Open AccessArticle

Impact of Organic Manure on Growth, Nutrient Content and Yield of Chilli Pepper under Various Temperature Environments

and

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(17), 3031; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16173031 - 21 Aug 2019

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 7037

Abstract

Expected climatic changes likely elicit serious challenges for crop production. Therefore, it is indispensable to investigate the response of crop growth parameters and yield under temperature variability environments. The current experiment on chilli pepper growth was conducted in a field, rain-shelter plastic house, and plastic greenhouse, with accumulated temperatures of 2832 °C, 2967 °C, and 3105 °C in 2017; and 2944 °C, 3091 °C, and 3168 °C in 2018 growing seasons. Based on soil analysis, 132.7 kg ha⁻¹ (1× of livestock manure compost as an optimum and 265.4 kg ha⁻¹ (2×) as a double amount of organic matter were applied to each simulated temperature condition. The results showed that organic manure application favorably affects the growth attributes and nutrient uptake of chilli pepper with the highest values found in the plastic greenhouse, followed by the rain-shelter house, over the open field cultivation condition. The highest growth of chilli pepper was at the 2× rate of organic manure application, whereas the highest yield was found at the 1× rate of organic manure application. The application of organic manure at the 1× rate in the greenhouse increased root, shoot, and fruit dry weights of chilli pepper by 21.4%, 52.4%, and 79.7%, respectively, compared to the control values. These results indicate that the rational use of organic amendments might be the best solution for chilli pepper production under variable climate conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards More Sustainable Food Systems)

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Open AccessArticle

Evaluation of Policies on Inappropriate Treatment of Dead Hogs from the Perspective of Loss Aversion

Chenchen Yang

and

Jianhua Wang

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(16), 2938; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16162938 - 15 Aug 2019

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1926

Abstract

Punishment policies on the inappropriate treatment of dead hogs play a key role in safeguarding public health and environmental protection. These policies aim to regulate the behavior of farmers and promote the development of sustainable agriculture. Farmers’ evaluation of a policy can be used to measure its effectiveness, and loss aversion is a factor that has been little studied. This study surveyed 404 hog farmers in China, and analyzed the factors that influenced their evaluation of the penalties for the inappropriate treatment of dead hogs during 2016 and 2017. We used three indicators for the evaluation of the penalties: the degree of necessity, implementation, and effectiveness. Special attention was paid to farmers’ aversion to financial penalties and police detention time, which was elicited using economic experiments. The results show that farmers are more likely to be averse to police detention time than financial penalties, and suggest that the level of each indicator needs to be increased. The results from an ordered Probit model show that there are both similarities and differences between the formation paths of the three indicators. An aversion to financial penalties will help to improve the degree of implementation. An aversion to police detention time will lead to a negative trend in the degree of effectiveness. An in-depth analysis of the factors that influence farmers’ evaluation of policies to punish inappropriate treatment of dead hogs may provide a basis for the design of government policies to improve environmental protection performance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards More Sustainable Food Systems)

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Open AccessArticle

Smart Approaches to Food Waste Final Disposal

Franco Cecchi

and

Cristina Cavinato

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(16), 2860; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16162860 - 10 Aug 2019

Cited by 25 | Viewed by 4197

Abstract

Food waste, among the organic wastes, is one of the most promising substrates to be used as a renewable resource. Wide availability of food waste and the high greenhouse gas impacts derived from its inappropriate disposal, boost research through food waste valorization. Several innovative technologies are applied nowadays, mainly focused on bioenergy and bioresource recovery, within a circular economy approach. Nevertheless, food waste treatment should be evaluated in terms of sustainability and considering the availability of an optimized separate collection and a suitable treatment facility. Anaerobic codigestion of waste-activated sludge with food waste is a way to fully utilize available anaerobic digestion plants, increasing biogas production, energy, and nutrient recovery and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Codigestion implementation in Europe is explored and discussed in this paper, taking into account different food waste collection approaches in relation to anaerobic digestion treatment and confirming the sustainability of the anaerobic process based on case studies. Household food waste disposal implementation is also analyzed, and the results show that such a waste management system is able to reduce GHG emissions due to transport reduction and increase wastewater treatment performance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards More Sustainable Food Systems)

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Open AccessArticle

The Environmental Impact and Formation of Meals from the Pilot Year of a Las Vegas Convention Food Rescue Program

Samantha To

Courtney Coughenour

and

Jennifer Pharr

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(10), 1718; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16101718 - 16 May 2019

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3537

Abstract

Annually, millions of tonnes of leftover edible foods are sent to landfill. Not only does this harm the environment by increasing the release of greenhouse gases which contribute to climate change, but it poses a question of ethics given that nearly 16 million households are food insecure in the US, and hundreds of millions of people around the globe. The purpose of this study was to document the amount of food diverted from landfill in the pilot year of a convention food rescue program and to determine the amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions avoided by the diversion of such food. In the pilot year of the convention food rescue program 24,703 kg of food were diverted. It is estimated that 108 metric tonnes of GHG emmisions were avoided as a result, while 45,383 meals for food insecure individuals were produced. These findings have significant implications for public and environmental health, as GHG emissions have a destructive effect on the earth’s atmosphere and rescued food can be redistributed to food insecure individuals. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards More Sustainable Food Systems)

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Open AccessArticle

Consumers’ Willingness to Pay for Organic Foods in China: Bibliometric Review for an Emerging Literature

and

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(10), 1713; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16101713 - 16 May 2019

Cited by 24 | Viewed by 4291

Abstract

We conducted a bibliometric review on a small but promising body of literature on consumers’ willingness to pay for organic foods in China. Results found that consumers’ health consciousness, individual norms, consumer knowledge, food safety, environmental concerns, animal welfare, and purchasing power are major influencing factors for willingness to pay for organic foods in China. Notably, most research methods utilized are quantitative methods, leading us to call for the adoption of more qualitative, review, or mixed-methods. These findings increase our understanding of the knowledge structure of this emerging context-specific literature. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards More Sustainable Food Systems)

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Open AccessArticle

Climate Change and Consumer’s Attitude toward Insect Food

Hsiao-Ping Chang

Chun-Chieh Ma

and

Han-Shen Chen

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(9), 1606; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16091606 - 08 May 2019

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 4374

Abstract

Given the influence of rising environmental awareness, food systems and security are receiving increasing international attention. Previous studies have discussed the acceptance of insect foods but have been primarily conducted in a European context. Hence, their results cannot be applied to Taiwanese consumers. Regarding this, our study is centered on the theory of planned behavior and considers environmental concern and food neophobia to discuss the effects of consumer attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control on the purchase intention toward insect food. We used purposive sampling to survey questionnaire answers face-to-face in Taichung city, Taiwan. We distributed 408 surveys of which 77.45% were used in this study. The results revealed that consumer attitudes, perceived behavioral control, and food neophobia significantly influence purchase intention, whereas subjective norms and environmental concern did not demonstrate significant relationships with purchase intention. According to these results, we suggest that businesses emphasize consumers’ product experience or reduce levels of food neophobia to increase consumer interest in insect foods and improve the acceptability of such foods, thereby increasing purchase intention. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards More Sustainable Food Systems)

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Open AccessArticle

Exploring Food Access and Sociodemographic Correlates of Food Consumption and Food Insecurity in Zanzibari Households

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Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(9), 1557; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16091557 - 04 May 2019

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3138

Abstract

Rapid growth of the Zanzibari population and urbanization are expected to impact food insecurity and malnutrition in Zanzibar. This study explored the relationship between food access (FA) and sociodemographic correlates with food consumption score and food insecurity experience scale. Based on cross-sectional data of 196 randomly selected households, we first investigated the association between sociodemographic correlates and Food Consumption Score (FCS) and Food Insecurity Experience Scale using multilevel Poisson regression. Secondly, the role of FA in these associations was investigated by interaction with the respective correlates. About 65% of households had poor food consumption, and 32% were severely food-insecure. Poor FA was more prevalent in households with poor food consumption (71%). Polygamous households and larger households had a higher chance for severe food insecurity. In the interaction with FA, only larger households with poor FA showed a higher chance for severe food insecurity. In households having no vehicle, good FA increased the chance of having acceptable FCS compared to poor FA. By contrast, urban households with good FA had a twofold chance of acceptable FCS compared to rural household with poor FA. Poor FA, poor food consumption and food insecurity are challenging; hence, facilitating households’ FA may improve the population’s nutrition situation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards More Sustainable Food Systems)

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Why Tenure Responsive Land-Use Planning Matters: Insights for Land Use Consolidation for Food Security in Rwanda

Uchendu Eugene Chigbu

Pierre Damien Ntihinyurwa

Walter Timo de Vries

and

Edith Ishimwe Ngenzi

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(8), 1354; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16081354 - 15 Apr 2019

Cited by 29 | Viewed by 4792

Abstract

Land use consolidation aims to address food insecurity challenges in Rwanda. However, there is contradictory evidence on whether this tool has met food security objectives or not. This study addresses two questions: How has the land use consolidation improved (or not improved) food security at the local level? How can food security challenges be addressed using a renewed approach to land use consolidation that adopts a tenure responsive land use planning procedure? We investigate these questions in Nyange Sector (in the Musanze District) of Rwanda using mixed research methods. The study generates theoretical and policy relevant outcomes. Theoretically, it links the concept of tenure responsive land-use planning to food security improvements. Policy wise, it provides an operational framework for implementing land use consolidation to make it more responsive to food security (based on tenure responsive land-use planning measures) in Rwanda. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards More Sustainable Food Systems)

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Review

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Consumer Attitudes Towards Environmental Concerns of Meat Consumption: A Systematic Review

Ruben Sanchez-Sabate

and

Joan Sabaté

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(7), 1220; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16071220 - 05 Apr 2019

Cited by 221 | Viewed by 26202

Abstract

Meat consumption is a major contributor to global warming. Given the worldwide growing demand of meat, and the severe impact of meat production on the planet, reducing animal protein consumption is a matter of food security and public health. Changing consumer food behavior is a challenge. Taste preferences, culinary traditions and social norms factor into food choices. Since behavioral change cannot occur without the subject’s positive attitude based on reasons and motivations, a total of 34 papers on consumer attitudes and behavior towards meat consumption in relation to environmental concerns were examined. The results show that consumers aware of the meat impact on the planet, willing to stop or significantly reduce meat consumption for environmental reasons, and who have already changed their meat intake for ecological concerns are a small minority. However, environmental motives are already appealing significant proportions of Westerners to adopt certain meat curtailment strategies. Those who limit meat intake for environmental reasons are typically female, young, simply meat-reducer (not vegan/vegetarian), ecology-oriented, and would more likely live in Europe and Asia than in the U.S. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards More Sustainable Food Systems)

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