What is the real cost of our food? Implications for the environment, society and public health nutrition

O’Kane, Gabrielle

doi:10.1017/s136898001100142x

Cited by 72 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…It has pushed farmers to produce as much as possible for the lowest cost and has prompted the specialisation of farming systems and regions according their comparative advantages (Lyson and Guptill 2004;Murdoch et al 2000;O'Kane 2012). It is underpinned by techno-scientific knowledge about the industrial and standardised procedures and techniques involved in production, processing and distribution (Levidow et al 2012;Lyson and Guptill 2004;Murdoch et al 2000).…”

Section: Globalised Commodity-based Food Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This globalisation has concentrated power in large companies and retailers which manage complex and long-distance industrial supply chains in and between which relationships and competition are centred on prices in globalised commodity markets. In these globalised commodity-based food systems, farmers receive an everdecreasing share of the total added value and often have an ever-decreasing decisional autonomy about what and how to produce (O'Kane 2012;Marsden 2011;Murdoch et al 2000;Simoncini 2015).…”

Section: Globalised Commodity-based Food Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Monteiro et al 2013;O'Kane 2012). The globalisation of food systems does not preclude organising agricultural markets at regional levels.…”

Section: Globalised Commodity-based Food Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A new analytical framework of farming system and agriculture model diversities. A review

Thérond

Duru

Roger-Estrade

et al. 2017

Agron. Sustain. Dev.

212

155

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In most current farming system classifications (e.g. "conventional" versus "organic"), each type of farming system encompasses a wide variety of farming practices and performances. Classifying farming systems using concepts such as "ecological", "sustainable intensification" or "agro-ecology" is not satisfactory because the concepts "overlap in…def-initions, principles and practices, thus creating…confusion in their meanings, interpretations and implications". Existing classifications most often focus either on biotechnical functioning or on socio-economic contexts of farming systems. We reviewed the literature to develop an original analytical framework of the diversity of farming systems and agriculture models that deal with these limits. To describe this framework, we first present the main differences between three biotechnical types of farming systems differing in the role of ecosystem services and external inputs: chemical input-, biological inputand biodiversity-based farming systems. Second, we describe four key socio-economic contexts which determine development and functioning of these farming systems: globalised commodity-based food systems, circular economies, alternative food systems and integrated landscape approaches. Third, we present our original analytical framework of agriculture models, defined as biotechnical types of farming systems associated with one or a combination of socio-economic contexts differing in the role of relationships based on global market prices and "territorial embeddedness". We demonstrate the potential of this framework by describing six key agriculture models and reviewing key scientific issues in agronomy associated with each one. We then analyse the added value of our analytical framework and its generic character. Lastly, we discuss transversal research issues of the agriculture models, concerning the technologies required, their function in the bioeconomy, their multi-criteria and multilevel assessments, their co-existence and the transitions between them.

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Section: Globalised Commodity-based Food Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Globalised Commodity-based Food Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

A new analytical framework of farming system and agriculture model diversities. A review

Thérond

Duru

Roger-Estrade

et al. 2017

Agron. Sustain. Dev.

212

155

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Such is the power of global corporate control of the food system that niche challenges to the regime may not be viable unless space is created by conflict within the landscape. This is because transnational food corporations drive prices down by using their enormous aggregate purchasing power and by externalizing social and environmental costs of cheap food [61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68].…”

Section: Creating Space For Innovation Through Conflict At the Landscmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Food For Life Catering Mark: Implementing the Sustainability Transition in University Food Procurement

Stahlbrand

2016

Agriculture

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This article presents a case study of the application of the Soil Association's Food For Life Catering Mark at two universities in England: Nottingham Trent University and University of the Arts London. This procurement initiative has had noteworthy success in the U.K., with more than 1.6 million Catering Mark meals served each weekday. This article, based on 31 in-depth interviews conducted in 2015, is the first to examine its impact and significance at the university level. In particular, this article tests the concepts of the niche, regime and landscape in the multi-level perspective (MLP), a prominent theoretical approach to sustainability transition, against the experience of the Food For Life Catering Mark. The article confirms the importance of the landscape level of the MLP in the food sustainability transition, while adding additional considerations that need to be specified when applying the MLP to the food sector. By highlighting the essential role of civil society organizations (CSOs), public institutions and many champions, this article proposes that more room must be made within the MLP for the explicit role of agency, champions and the implementation process itself. Indeed, this article argues that implementation, the daily practice, is deserving of both increased recognition and theory.

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“…In this issue, O'Kane (2) asks a related question: 'What is the real cost of our food?' The real cost, in terms of social, environmental and health costs, is of course high, and O'Kane makes a strong case for supporting local food systems in order to encourage more sustainable food production methods, development of local economies and stronger ties between farmers and consumers.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Public health nutrition and the environment

Yngve

Haapala²,

Hodge³

et al. 2012

Public Health Nutr.

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This issue of Public Health Nutrition includes a variety of articles relating to environment and sustainability. Last month, in an editorial for this journal, Barrie Margetts posed these questions, among others, in preparation for the World Nutrition Rio2012 Congress in April: 'Can we feed the world in an environmentally sustainable way?' and 'Can we assume that the current dominant model of global food production is environmentally sustainable?' (1). In this issue, O'Kane (2) asks a related question: 'What is the real cost of our food?' The real cost, in terms of social, environmental and health costs, is of course high, and O'Kane makes a strong case for supporting local food systems in order to encourage more sustainable food production methods, development of local economies and stronger ties between farmers and consumers. Her article goes further to challenge public health nutritionists to explore the potential of local food systems for reducing inequities, improving access and promoting health, to encourage people to become 'food citizens' and to advocate for sustainable food systems. School gardens are one facet of a local food system, but without financial support success in school gardening programmes is difficult to achieve. The California Instructional School Garden Program, authorizing the distribution of $US 15 million worth of grants towards school gardens, is one such well-intentioned effort. But as Hazzard et al. (3) show, in less than half of the schools receiving grants were the funds sufficient to accomplish their garden goals; over a third of schools responded that the severe budget deficit in California had a negative impact on their garden programme. School garden programmes might enjoy greater success if they are integrated into existing curricula, with active involvement by (often undervalued) home economics teachers as well as school food service personnel. If not integrated into the school curriculum, such garden programmes will continue to be viewed as external to schools' objectives and needs, and as competition for limited funding. Clearly, for local food systems to survive, they must have ongoing support and commitment from all corners: government, educators, 'food citizens' and public health practitioners. We often think of sustainable food systems and good health as going hand in hand. Clonan et al. (4) directly address one instance in which they are at odds-the recommendation of eating fish as an alternative to red meats-and the risk of depleting already overburdened fish stocks. They find that, in the UK, health is the primary motivation for people to eat fish, and only one out of four people think about whether the fish they buy comes from

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What is the real cost of our food? Implications for the environment, society and public health nutrition

Cited by 72 publications

References 67 publications

A new analytical framework of farming system and agriculture model diversities. A review

A new analytical framework of farming system and agriculture model diversities. A review

The Food For Life Catering Mark: Implementing the Sustainability Transition in University Food Procurement

Public health nutrition and the environment

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