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Food system development pathways for healthy, nature-positive and inclusive food systems

Abstract

Sustainable food systems require the integration of and alignment between recommendations for food and land use practices, as well as an understanding of the political economy context and identification of entry points for change. We propose a food systems transformation framework that takes these elements into account and links long-term goals with short-term measures and policies, ultimately guiding the decomposition of transformation pathways into concrete steps. Taking the transition to healthier and more sustainable diets as an example, we underscore the centrality of social inclusion to the food systems transformation debate.

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Fig. 1: Food systems transformation framework.

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Acknowledgements

We thank B. Harriss-White (University of Oxford) for helpful comments on the manuscript. This work has been supported by the Food System Economics Commission, funded by the Wellcome Trust, grant agreement no. 221362/Z/20/Z. The present work reflects only the authors’ views, and the funding agency cannot be held responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains. The work also does not necessarily reflect the views of the authors’ organizations.

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All authors contributed to the material, and all authors reviewed the manuscript. F.G., C.R.L., H.L.-C., F.D., B.L.B. and S.L. initially developed and drafted the concept. All other authors contributed equally to the further conceptualization, writing and editing of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to F. Gaupp.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Peer review information Nature Food thanks Yodit Kebede and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Gaupp, F., Ruggeri Laderchi, C., Lotze-Campen, H. et al. Food system development pathways for healthy, nature-positive and inclusive food systems. Nat Food 2, 928–934 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00421-7

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