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Crossing Sociological, Ecological, and Nutritional Perspectives on Agrifood Systems Transitions: Towards a Transdisciplinary Territorial Approach

Author

Listed:
  • Claire Lamine

    (INRA-SAD Ecodeveloppement, 84914 Avignon, France)

  • Danièle Magda

    (AGIR, Université de Toulouse, INRA, 31326 Castanet-Tolosan, France)

  • Marie-Josèphe Amiot

    (MOISA, Univ Montpellier, CIRAD, CIHEAM-IAMM, INRA, Montpellier SupAgro, 34000 Montpellier, France)

Abstract

The need to reconnect agriculture, environment, food, and health when addressing agrifood system transitions is widely acknowledged. However, most analytical frameworks, especially in the expanding literature about “system approaches”, rely on impact-based approaches and, thus, tend to overlook ecological processes as well as social ones. This article aims at demonstrating that a territorial approach to agrifood system transitions is more appropriate to tackle the reconnection between agriculture, food, environment, and health than the larger scales (global or national food systems) or the smaller ones (such as those of alternative food systems) usually addressed in the literature. Co-elaborated by a sociologist, an ecologist, and a nutritionist, this article is based on a focused analysis of the literature that has addressed agrifood system transitions in the food and health sciences and in the social sciences and on the reflexive analysis of two past projects dealing with such transitions. It shows that a territorial approach allows including in the analysis the diverse agrifood systems’ components as well the ecological and social processes that may create functionalities for improving agrifood systems’ sustainability. This territorial approach is based on systemic and processual thinking and on a transdisciplinary perspective combining an objectification stance and a pragmatist constructivist one. It should allow actors and researchers to build a shared understanding of the transition processes within their shared territorial agrifood system, despite possibly different and diverging views.

Suggested Citation

  • Claire Lamine & Danièle Magda & Marie-Josèphe Amiot, 2019. "Crossing Sociological, Ecological, and Nutritional Perspectives on Agrifood Systems Transitions: Towards a Transdisciplinary Territorial Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-18, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:5:p:1284-:d:209980
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Luke Owen & Donna Udall & Alex Franklin & Moya Kneafsey, 2020. "Place-Based Pathways to Sustainability: Exploring Alignment between Geographical Indications and the Concept of Agroecology Territories in Wales," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-25, June.
    3. Tianran Ding & Wouter Achten, 2023. "Coupling agent-based modeling with territorial LCA to support agricultural land-use planning," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/359527, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    4. Camille Robert-Boeuf, 2023. "Promoting Rural Regeneration and Sustainable Farming near Cities Thanks to Facilitating Operators in France? The Case of the Versailles Plain’s Association Governance Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-16, April.
    5. Morgane Millet & Valerie Keast & Stefano Gonano & François Casabianca, 2020. "Product Qualification as a Means of Identifying Sustainability Pathways for Place-Based Agri-Food Systems: The Case of the GI Corsican Grapefruit (France)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-22, September.
    6. Francesca Benedetta Felici & Giampiero Mazzocchi, 2022. "Territory Matters: A Methodology for Understanding the Role of Territorial Factors in Transforming Local Food Systems," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-17, July.
    7. Alban Thomas & Claire Lamine & Benjamin Allès & Yuna Chiffoleau & Antoine Doré & Sophie Dubuisson-Quellier & Mourad Hannachi, 2020. "The key roles of economic and social organization and producer and consumer behaviour towards a health-agriculture-food-environment nexus: recent advances and future prospects," Review of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Studies, Springer, vol. 101(1), pages 23-46, October.
    8. Marta Martínez-Arnáiz & Eugenio Baraja-Rodríguez & Daniel Herrero-Luque, 2022. "Multifunctional Territorialized Agri-Food Systems, Geographical Quality Marks and Agricultural Landscapes: The Case of Vineyards," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-28, March.
    9. Thomas, Alban & Lamine, Claire & Allès, Benjamin & Chiffoleau, Yuna & Doré, Antoine & Dubuisson-Quellier, Sophie & Hannachi, Mourad, 2020. "The key roles of economic and social organization, producer and consumer behaviour towards a HAFEN (Health-Agriculture-Environment-Food Nexus)," TSE Working Papers 20-1068, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    10. Tianran Ding & Wouter Achten, 2022. "Coupling agent-based modeling with territorial LCA to support agricultural land-use planning," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/352782, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    11. Morgane Millet & François Casabianca, 2019. "Sharing Values for Changing Practices, a Lever for Sustainable Transformation? The Case of Farmers and Processors in Interaction within Localized Cheese Sectors," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(17), pages 1-18, August.
    12. Nína M. Saviolidis & Gudrun Olafsdottir & Mariana Nicolau & Antonella Samoggia & Elise Huber & Laura Brimont & Matthew Gorton & David von Berlepsch & Hildigunnur Sigurdardottir & Margherita Del Prete , 2020. "Stakeholder Perceptions of Policy Tools in Support of Sustainable Food Consumption in Europe: Policy Implications," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-24, September.
    13. Della Rossa, Pauline & Mottes, Charles & Cattan, Philippe & Le Bail, Marianne, 2022. "A new method to co-design agricultural systems at the territorial scale - Application to reduce herbicide pollution in Martinique," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    14. Javier Sanz-Cañada & José Luis Sánchez-Hernández & Daniel López-García, 2023. "Reflecting on the Concept of Local Agroecological Food Systems," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-22, May.

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