Transition towards Circular Economy in the Food System

Jurgilevich, Alexandra; Birge, Traci; Kentala-Lehtonen, Johanna; Korhonen-Kurki, Kaisa; Pietikäinen, Janna; Saikku, Laura; Schösler, Hanna

doi:10.3390/su8010069

Cited by 510 publications

(441 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…To do so, we offer three vignettes related to the propositions for a circular economy of food [14]. The first empirical example focuses on meat consumption, problematizing the assertion that consumers might straightforwardly replace current 'excessive' meat consumption with smaller amounts of meat produced in more sustainable ways.…”

Section: Illustrating a Socio-technical Perspective On Consumption: Tmentioning

confidence: 99%

Re-Introducing Consumption to the ‘Circular Economy’: A Sociotechnical Analysis of Domestic Food Provisioning

2016

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Abstract:The paper makes two contributions to the advancement of the 'circular economy' as a blueprint for a more sustainable society. The first is to highlight the importance of understanding the dynamics of consumption and waste in the domestic sphere. The second is to illustrate two ways in which using insights from socio-technical literature on sustainable consumption, in combination with the sociology of food, could contribute to redressing this shortfall. This includes understanding why people use or consume particular goods or services, and how this might be altered; and what drives the production of waste and the adoption of strategies for its reduction by consumers. We mobilise insights from a socio-technical perspective on consumption, which highlights the importance of everyday interactions between routine activities, mundane technologies and cultural meanings in (re)producing patterns of consumption. These insights are illustrated with reference to domestic food provisioning, using empirical data generated through twenty semi-structured interviews with consumers in relation to meat consumption and thriftiness. Two suggestions for the development of the 'circular economy' to better take account of consumption within the domestic sphere are made. The first is a shift from imagining consumers as 'users' of particular products or services, to conceptualisation as 'doers' of everyday activities. The second is a broadening of the principle of 'eco-effectiveness' to take account for the social value of consumption.

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Section: Illustrating a Socio-technical Perspective On Consumption: Tmentioning

confidence: 99%

Re-Introducing Consumption to the ‘Circular Economy’: A Sociotechnical Analysis of Domestic Food Provisioning

2016

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“…Hence, in order to analyse future pathways of P systems, it is crucial to consider the transition towards a circular economy (CE) of P as a socio-technical project and apply an integrative perspective that takes into account both socio-economic and material aspects of P management [2]. Although technical innovations, such as P recovery technologies, have gained a prominent role in current debates on sustainable P management, their successful implementation not only depends on that accounts for processes on these different scales and assesses their impact on both P flows and the underlying system structures.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transition of the Swiss Phosphorus System towards a Circular Economy—Part 2: Socio-Technical Scenarios

Jedelhauser¹,

Mehr

Binder

2018

Sustainability

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Abstract:A transition towards a circular economy of phosphorus (P) in Switzerland is a multi-faceted challenge as P use is subject to a variety of influencing factors comprising policy interventions, consumption trends, or technological innovations on different spatial scales. Therefore, scenarios for P use that take into account both the social and the technical dimension of change are needed for investigating possible pathways of a transition towards more sustainable P futures. Drawing on the multi-level perspective of transition theory, we develop scenarios on the landscape level, i.e., a balanced and healthy human diet, on the regime level, i.e., P recovery from sewage sludge (ash) and meat and bone meal, and on the niche level, i.e., urine separation. Based on the P system of the year 2015, we assess the quantitative implications of the scenarios for the Swiss P system. While scenario 1 mainly affects the agricultural system by reducing the overall P throughput, scenario 2 significantly changes P use in waste management, because P losses to landfills and cement plants decrease and the production of secondary P increases. Scenario 3 shows little quantitative impact on the national P system. From a qualitative transition perspective, however, urine separation entails fundamental socio-technical shifts in the wastewater system, whereas P recovery from sewage sludge (ash) represents an incremental system adaptation. The combination of flow-and transition-oriented research provides more general insights into how a circular economy of P can be reached. Furthermore, the analysis of P recycling scenarios reveals that transition processes in Switzerland are embedded in a global resource economy. Thus, a sole focus on concepts of national P self-sufficiency and the reduction of Switzerland's P import dependency tend to fall short when analysing the economisation of secondary P materials in the face of transnational resource flows and markets.

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“…The measures must be implemented both at the producer and consumer levels, and finally in food waste and surplus management (Jurgilevich et al, 2015). Several possibilities also exist in public procurement.…”

Section: Food and Cateringmentioning

confidence: 99%