Sustainable food consumption studies have largely focused on promoting human health within ecological limits. Less attention has been paid to social sustainability, in part because of limited data and models. Globally, agriculture has one of the highest incidences of forced labor, with exploitative conditions enabled by low margins, domestic labor scarcity, inadequate legal protections for workers, and high labor requirements. This research assesses the forced labor risk embedded in the US retail supply of fruits and vegetables. We demonstrate there is risk of forced labor in a broad set of fruit and vegetable commodities, with a small number of commodities accounting for a significant fraction of total forced labor risk at the retail supply level. These findings signal potential trade-offs and synergies across dimensions of food systems sustainability and the need for novel research approaches to develop evidence-based forced labor risk mitigation strategies. MainAn estimated 1.8 million workers globally are subjected to forced labor in agriculture and fishing. 1 This means that in order to meet the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8.7 by 2030, exploitive working conditions for over 600 workers need to be eradicated each day. 2 Defined by the International Labour Organization, "forced labor refers to situations in which persons are coerced to work through the use of violence or intimidation, or by more subtle means such as accumulated debt, retention of identity papers, or threats of denunciation to immigration authorities." 3 Within agriculture, the conditions for forced labor to occur are shaped by remote and isolated work environments, low margins, seasonal work, inadequate legal protections, shifts toward piece rate pay systems, sustained downward pressure on prices,
A growing body of research suggests that although sustainable agriculture, particularly agroecology, can address challenges such as those related to climate change, ecosystem services, food insecurity, and farmer livelihoods, the transition to such systems remains limited. To gain insight into the state of U.S. sustainable agriculture and agroecology, we developed a 28-question mixed-method survey that was administered to scientists in these fields. Respondents (N=168) represented diverse locations, institutions, and career stages. They offered varied definitions of sustainable agriculture, with 40% considering economic and social well-being to be core components. Respondents identified the amount and duration of public research funding as a *
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