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Potentially dramatic changes in the organisation of the food system are being driven by both consumers and producers. Consumers are demanding higher quality produce and more direct connection to producers. For farmers, more extreme weather events and global competition are increasingly making industrial agriculture less economically viable. This pa...
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Citations
... Also, the mapping of drivers and barriers (e.g., financial, legal, market) of Circular Business Model Innovation models [38] throughout their stages (visioning, sensing, seizing, and transforming; [15]) can lead to improved global supply chain efficiencies. Systemic shifts towards more decentralized food systems can facilitate this process [51]. Furthermore, while research and development results are traditionally not disclosed with other stakeholders, the use of more open and collaborative practices would benefit the innovativeness across a business ecosystem [52]. ...
Despite emerging consumer trends and policies promoting sustainable food consumption, the transition towards societal tipping points for sustainable food systems remains protracted due to multifaceted challenges such as consumer misconceptions, value chain inequalities, and policy fragmentation. Addressing these challenges requires a comprehensive approach that considers all actors within the food system. The present paper follows the paradigm set by the Consumers’ Understanding of Eating Sustainably (CUES) Horizon Europe project and introduces CUES’ Triple Change strategy. This strategy highlights Consumer and Cultural Change, Industrial Change, and Policy Change as interconnected dimensions essential for driving behavioral change and ensuring a successful transition to sustainable food systems. By leveraging persuasive communication and interventions for transparency, fostering value chain reform, and advocating for policy transformations, the Triple Change aims to overcome existing barriers and create opportunities to accelerate the shift towards a resilient food system. This paper explores the grand challenges and opportunities within each of these dimensions and offers a holistic framework for academics, stakeholders, and policymakers to contribute to sustainable food transitions.
... For example, it is commonly argued that industrial agriculture is more efficient than small-scale, regenerative agriculture. In 'Circular Food Futures: What Will They Look Like', Liaros (2021b) shows that while efficiency in production has dramatically increased, there has been a more dramatic decrease in the efficiency of distribution of this produce. The dramatically increased distance from the farm gate to the end consumer results in greater costs in packaging, transport infrastructure, refrigeration, warehousing, and retailing while also generating more wastage along these, now global, supply chains. ...
... The design principles for regenerative villages (Liaros, 2021b) are intended to enable collaborative human activity-social, economic, and political-all aimed at enhancing ecological systems. In doing so, those natural systems do not only sustain the community but radically improve their mental and physical health through increased physical activity, access to abundant fresh food, as well as passive and active interactions. ...
This chapter questions whether the concept of sustainable development is sufficient, preferencing the term regenerative development that would require regeneration of natural systems and have a net positive impact on both people and planet. Examining the concept of regenerative development we identify a more holistic, system-based approach to development. Applying this systemic lens to the UN Sustainable Development Goals shows that improving public health requires not just healthcare for people but also for the planet through the provision of clean water and sanitation; clean air through the adoption of renewable energy; and regenerative agricultural practices for the production of fresh food. Such a holistic approach highlights the connections between public health and sustainable development. The discussion identifies key principles and design elements for the development of a network of regenerative villages, each of which would include a renewable energy micro-grid, a water micro-grid, a regenerative agricultural system, and shared electric vehicles, all supporting a built environment where people can live, work, and play.
... However, this is a complex change for the food supply chain. Moving from large-scale industrial operations to smaller networked circular systems [12] requires implementation not only within individual businesses but also across stakeholders, creating interconnectedness, transparency, and greater opportunity for success [13]. Even though the level of food waste generated from current food systems is unsustainable, linear systems are efficient in terms of yields, quality, and safety, moving to a more circular system may create new food safety risks [14]. ...
... 12Sample triangulation to achieve reliability in the research design. ...
... 12Overview of main themes identified in this study and their interconnection. ...
Encouraging sustainable dietary practices is a positive step towards alleviating the negative impact of increasing food waste. This study explores consumers’ perceptions of sustainable diets and factors influencing their adoption of sustainable practices, such as circular eating. Fifteen consumers in Ireland aged 18–65+ years were recruited for a qualitative study exploring their views on sustainable diets and their opinions on the use of peels, trimmings, and other by-products from fruit and vegetables as potential new ingredients or new circular food products. Age, gender, dietary preferences and educational background were important considerations during recruitment. Online interviews were conducted, and the data were analyzed using thematic analysis managed by NVivo 12. The results highlighted two overarching themes impacting circular eating, namely, food choice motives and awareness of food waste. These were linked to the participants’ knowledge of and potential adoption of sustainable diets. Daily trade-offs were evident, linked to the product and the person who was also strongly influenced by their micro-environment. Consumer education from credible sources would be required to create awareness of circular eating. Most respondents were positively disposed to the concept of circular eating, as long as food safety concerns and affordability considerations were addressed through industry transparency.
... The future sustainability of the food and dairy sector does not only rely on energy transitioning but also on the future size and shape of product distribution infrastructure. One consideration is whether it would be more environmentally and financially sustainable if the future dairy sector is transformed towards a more centralised or a decentralised product distribution infrastructure [22,24]. Existing large-scale centralised food production has significant freight transportation needs, accompanied by corresponding significant levels of energy use and emissions [22]. ...
... While reference to this coding dimension was found in only one of 114 definitions in the 2017 study, it appeared in 9-11 percent of definitions in the new study. Accordingly, a literature stream that conceptualizes circular futures has emerged Liaros, 2021;Lowe & Genovese, 2022), and this research may have already begun to influence understandings about CE. Although the increasing frequency of mentions in this coding dimension is notable, 'future generations' as a concept remains under-conceptualized in the new set of CE definitions and is therefore a potential area for future CE research. ...
... Therefore, solving this problem requires more than a stronger and better implemented food support policy. The country needs a consistent agriculture policy based on sustainable agroecology practices and integrated within a resilient, decentralized food system (Liaros, 2021). In addition, employment generation for rural households, government control of food prices, support for farms producing more food locally and providing subsidies to the agricultural sector and local food markets will contribute to increase the food security level of the rural households. ...
... Within this context, a wide set of technologies claim to be the key enablers of the sought-after sustainability transition in agri-food systems (FAIRR, 2022;Lavelli, 2021;Liaros, 2021). Technological aspects play a crucial role in establishing CE as a solid paradigm in the production and consumption processes. ...
Animal agriculture and the meat industry raise serious concerns regarding environmental, social, and animal welfare issues. The alternative protein industry has progressed globally, driven by circular economy practices, but the innovations in this industry need to be understood for further advances in circularization. This study examines the key enablers and barriers influencing alternative protein innovation in Brazil—a uniquely positioned country that can lead the global food transition towards alternative proteins. We conducted online semi-structured interviews with 18 experts from organizations operating in the alternative protein sector. The results show that tax incentives, access to funding, and opportunity costs are important external factors that drive alternative protein innovation. Culture, especially related to eating habits and preferences can be used strategically to increase alternative protein consumption in line with the transition to bioeconomy. Human capital, specifically technical and soft skills, matters only when there is access to (financial) resources. Social capital can overcome some barriers by sharing resources, improving partnerships to explore biodiversity, and expanding the entrepreneur network. Many of the barriers and enablers identified takes the form of a public problem, in which the organizations and stakeholders should develop a shared understanding about the most sensitive and urgent topics requiring action. We contribute to the literature on sustainable food systems and circular agri-food chains by providing insights into how to incentivize and streamline the consistent development of innovative products and technologies in Brazil by informing both overarching public policies and sector practices.
... It is therefore posited that the transition to a fully circular economy would require a paradigm shiftanother agricultural revolution-the transition away from large-scale industrial agriculture to a decentralised network of circular food systems. (Liaros 2021a(Liaros , p. 1193 In reviewing the trends in energy, transport, water, and food infrastructure systems it is evident that these different bodies of knowledge converge towards a common conclusion. So how would this case for a distributed network of circular economy villages be viewed in the town planning literature? ...
... We believe that the human settlement theory provided here and in previous publications (Liaros 2019(Liaros , 2021a(Liaros , 2021b(Liaros , 2021c establishes an integrated approach that strives to improve not just human health, but also ecosystem health, social connection, and economic efficiency. ...
Civil infrastructures have historically been developed as highly centralised, extensive, and complicated systems. Electricity, water, buildings, transport networks, and communication systems are each delivered separately. Recent advancements in the development of energy micro-grids have opened the possibility of localised, intensive, and complex, nature-based infrastructure ecosystems. Designed at the scale of a village, such systems would integrate different types of infrastructure. For example, an energy micro-grid can provide electricity to buildings, power electric vehicles and cycle water through a precinct. In turn, the water system can store energy and irrigate a diverse, regenerative food system. Providing housing close to food production reduces transport costs, supply chain losses and packaging. The significant land area required for each village would result in a dispersal of populations, creating networks of villages, each with integrated infrastructure ecosystems. This challenges the orthodoxy in town planning and regional economics that accepts ever-increasing urbanisation. To synthesise ideas developed in different disciplines we adopt the epistemology of consilience. That is, a conclusion can be confirmed when different disciplines arrive at that same position. We show that literature in town planning, regional economics, ecological economics, and public health all support the argument for dispersal reached through civil engineering systems.
... The future world requires a transition from industrial agriculture to a sustainable agro-ecological farming system that focuses on the use of alternative techniques such as diversified cropping systems, better integration between crop and animal production, and increased incorporation of trees and wild vegetation [12,27,28]. The increase in crop diversity would, in turn, increase the production potential and food security, and the incorporation of organic matter would progressively improve soil fertility, and preserve environmental quality by creating virtuous cycles of higher productivity and higher availability of organic matter [5,29,30]. ...
Newfoundland and Labrador (NL), the easternmost province of Atlantic Canada, has a food security issue caused by shortage of agri-foods produced in the province. This is due to short supply of suitable agricultural land, short growing seasons, a limited range of agricultural produce (industrial or mono cropping) farmed on existing farms and few facilities for secondary processing. The food security issue has been exacerbated in the last decades by climate change (extreme temperatures, heavy rains and more frequent droughts) which has impacted the province's agricultural industry. This research investigates the impact of climate change on crops and food security in the NL province and identifies the measures taken by the provincial farmers to reduce the GHG emissions and aims to assess whether agro-ecological practices could be expanded in the NL province. It is based on quantitative and qualitative data, collected through surveying a sample of NL crop farmers and through a literature review of peer-reviewed articles, published government reports and documents and news articles. The research results show that any attempt to solve the multi-faceted problems of the NL agri-foods sector impacted by climate change should involve policies supporting an agro-ecological approach to farming in the province. Generalizing agro-ecological farming practices on highly integrated and diversified farms (small, medium and large) is one sustainable alternative that can potentially eliminate the negative consequences of modern industrial farming, make the farming sector more resilient to global climate change and enhance food security in the province. The research results show that there are incipient agro-ecological practices in the province, that farmers are aware of climate change and the need to adopt more environmentally friendly farming practices. New policy frameworks and work plans are needed to speed up the transition from the current unsustainable farming practices to a more resilient agro-ecological-food system.
... It is expected that circular food-related technology, based on the 4R strategies of reducing, reusing, recycling, and recovering, will positively affect several SDGs [6]. There is a growing interest in food technologies to develop functional and bioactive ingredients for health promotion and guarantee food safety [2,4]. ...
Background:
Kombucha is an increasingly consumed product classified as a nutraceutical. Legislative efforts about these products remain confusing and without global harmonization. This natural product has been developed to improve or promote physical and mental health. However, it needs regulatory guidelines to control the production and guarantee the product's efficacy and safety.
Aim:
The study intends to draw attention to the need for regulatory guidelines and the potential of this product in the market and peoples' health.
Key findings and conclusions:
The lack of regulation and the low level of literacy about this product can limit its development, marketing, and impact on health. Thus, it is essential to highlight the potential value of this product and invest in its development and marketing. Likewise, it is important to spread awareness among the population of these products and their impacts on people's health. Thus, this study focuses on a pertinent theme and alerts to the need for legislation for these products, to draw attention to the inexistent legislative control and the consequent need for regulatory guidelines for better and safer production and consumption.
