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A framework for examining justice in food system transformations research

Nature Food volume 2, pages 383–385 (2021)Cite this article

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Global interest and investment in food system transformation should be accompanied by critical analysis of its justice implications. Multiple forms of injustice, and the potential role that research might play in exacerbating these, are key considerations for those engaging with food system transformation and justice.

Transformation has become the rallying cry of global sustainability initiatives. Governments, NGOs and private sector agendas have quickly institutionalized the, albeit inconsistent, language of transformation and roadmaps have been outlined in a wide variety of food system settings. Notably, the stated vision of the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit is to “awaken the world to the fact that we must work together to transform the way the world produces, consumes and thinks about food” (https://www.un.org/en/food-systems-summit/vision-principles). However, a parallel critical response to transformation has emerged, which warns of its latent risks. Blythe et al.1, among others, argue that transformation discourse pays insufficient attention to social differentiation, politics and power. Experience suggests that, even with the best intentions, deliberate transformation may be brought about through exclusionary processes with inequitable outcomes2,3. As such, there is an imperative, on the part of these institutions and the research community, to pay attention to the social justice implications, and emancipatory forms, of transformation.

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Fig. 1: A conceptual framework for applying justice lenses to the study of food system transformation.

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Acknowledgements

This paper is the product of work supported by a grant from the UK Research and Innovation’s Global Challenges Research Fund (EP/T02397X/1). The work was also implemented as part of the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), which is carried out with support from the CGIAR Trust Fund and through bilateral funding agreements. For details please visit https://ccafs.cgiar.org/donors. The views expressed in this document cannot be taken to reflect the official opinions of these organizations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK

    Stephen Whitfield, Andrew Challinor, Andrew Dougill, Claire Helen Quinn, Susannah M. Sallu, Harriet Elizabeth Smith & Ruth Smith

  2. Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK

    Marina Apgar & Lars Otto Naess

  3. CARE, Chemin de Balexert, Geneva, Switzerland

    Chikondi Chabvuta, Karl Deering, Abid Gulzar & David Manyonga

  4. School of Natural Resources, Copperbelt University, Kitwe, Zambia

    Felix Kalaba

  5. Center for International Forestry Research-World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF), Nairobi, Kenya

    Christine Lamanna, Todd S. Rosentock & Peter Steward

  6. King’s College London, London, UK

    Kate Schreckenberg

  7. Kulima Integrated Development Solutions, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa

    Katharine Vincent

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  1. Stephen Whitfield
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  19. Katharine Vincent
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the ideas presented in the manuscript. S.W. wrote the manuscript. All authors contributed to redrafting and editing.

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Correspondence to Stephen Whitfield.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Peer review information Nature Food thanks Lauren Baker for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Whitfield, S., Apgar, M., Chabvuta, C. et al. A framework for examining justice in food system transformations research. Nat Food 2, 383–385 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00304-x

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