Food System Sustainability across Scales: A Proposed Local-To-Global Approach to Community Planning and Assessment

Abstract

Interest in food systems sustainability is growing, but progress toward them is slow. This research focuses on three interrelated challenges that hinder progress. First, prevailing visions lack a concrete definition of sustainability. Second, global level conceptions fail to guide responses at the local level. Third, these deficiencies may lead to conflicting initiatives for addressing sustainable food systems at the community level that slow collective progress. The purpose of this article is to (1) describe the development of a framework for assessing food system sustainability which accommodates local-level measurement in the context of broader national and global scale measures; and (2) to propose a process that supports community determinacy over localized progress toward sustainable food systems. Using a modified Delphi Inquiry process, we engaged a diverse, global panel of experts in describing "success" with respect to sustainable food systems, today's reality, and identifying key indicators for tracking progress towards success. They were asked to consider scale during the process in order to explore locally relevant themes. Data were analyzed using the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD) to facilitate a comprehensive and systematic exploration of key themes and indicators. Key results include a framework of indicator themes that are anchored in a concrete definition of sustainability, stable at national and global scales while remaining flexible at the local scale to accommodate contextual needs. We also propose a process for facilitating community-level planning for food system sustainability that utilizes this indicator framework. The proposed process is based on insights from the research results, as well as from previous research and experience applying the FSSD at a community level; it bears promise for future work to support communities to determine their own pathways, while contributing to a more coordinated whole.

Measuring Progress in Sustainable Food Cities: An Indicators Toolbox for Action

“…The systematic review shows that indicators are selected by combining methods such as literature reviews, available data, benchmarks obtained from good practice and interviews with experts [8,53]. The criteria to select indicators is a key aspect of these exercises, juggling aspects such as using publicly available data that allows cross-comparison or develop fine-grained analysis at the local level [4]. aim, Landert et al [46] narrowed their selection from all food-related processes in the urban area to those processes that could be influenced by institutions.…”

“…Sustainability assessment exercises by and large contribute to a better understanding of the performance of specific initiatives and systems, as well as monitor and effectively influence the path towards sustainability [4]. For example, these assessments can constitute a way of measuring urban sustainability but also contribute to making the city's sustainable development more visible and transparent; support comparisons, evaluation and prediction of trends; help construct and harmonise data banks; provide decision-making with relevant information, stimulate communication and promote citizen empowerment and participation [6].…”

“…National and international exercises such as the Food Sustainability Index that rely on widely available data have the capacity to shape our understanding of problems and approach to solutions. Nevertheless, it is increasingly challenging to align national and international exercises with "local-level specificity, as even within nations, different localities may experience significantly different cause-and-effect relationships between the ecological and social variables unique to each context" [4] (p. 3). Local level indicators therefore need to be co-produced with local actors and remain context-dependent.…”

“…Finally, critical reflection on how knowledge is codified and used in sustainability assessment exercises is paramount to design tools to transform the food system. Working through sustainable food challenges and trade-offs necessarily requires addressing power imbalances which entails taking a participatory perspective, from problem definition to the identification of goals and development of solutions [4,52]. Participatory processes can contribute to overcome data gaps, bridge different types of knowledge or resolve conflicts over values.…”

“…However, and despite the amount of urban food initiatives taking place, a key challenge remains around measuring the impact of these policy processes and specific projects in building more sustainable and fair cities. Scholars identify four main barriers to progress sustainable food systems conceptualisations and related assessments: (i) the lack of a clear definition of what is (and is not) sustainable; (ii) the low applicability of global conceptualisations to local decision-making communities; (iii) constraints caused by the accessibility of qualitative and quantitative data, and (iv) the diversity of approaches applied at the local level which prevents aggregation of results and measurement of global Sustainability 2019, 11,45 2 of 17 progress [4,5]. Furthermore, many existing initiatives have focused either on national and international food systems evaluations which struggle to incorporate local-based specificities and contradictions, or on specific initiatives and places, with limited capacity to compare across sites.…”