IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i22p12408-d675992.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Food System Sustainability Metrics: Policies, Quantification, and the Role of Complexity Sciences

Author

Listed:
  • José V. Matos

    (Made2Coach Consulting, Av. da República, 6, 7º Esq, 1050-191 Lisboa, Portugal
    Instituto de Telecomunicações, Instituto Superior Técnico-Torre Norte-Piso 10, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal)

  • Rui J. Lopes

    (Instituto de Telecomunicações, Instituto Superior Técnico-Torre Norte-Piso 10, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal
    Iscte-Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, Av. das Forças Armadas, 1649-026 Lisboa, Portugal)

Abstract

The rise of global attention toward sustainability and sustainable development (SD) has provided increased incentives for research development and investment in these areas. Food systems are at the center of human needs and global population growth sustainability concerns. These drives and the need to provide quantified support for related investment projects led to the proliferation of sustainability metrics and frameworks. While questions about sustainability definition and measurement still abound, SD policy design and control increasingly need adequate quantified support instruments. This paper aims to address this need, contributing to a more consistent and integrated application of food system sustainability metrics and quantified management of the implemented solutions. After presenting the relationships between sustainability, resilience, and robustness and summarizing food system sustainability quantification developments so far, we expose complexity sciences’ potential contributions toward SD quantified evaluation, addressing prediction, intangibles, and uncertainty issues. Finding a paramount need to make sense and bring existing sustainability metrics in context for operational use, we conclude that the articulated application of multiple and independent modeling approaches at the micro, meso, and macro levels can better help the development of food SD policies and implemented solution quantified management, with due regard to confidence levels of the results obtained.

Suggested Citation

  • José V. Matos & Rui J. Lopes, 2021. "Food System Sustainability Metrics: Policies, Quantification, and the Role of Complexity Sciences," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-38, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:22:p:12408-:d:675992
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/22/12408/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/22/12408/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bohringer, Christoph & Jochem, Patrick E.P., 2007. "Measuring the immeasurable -- A survey of sustainability indices," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(1), pages 1-8, June.
    2. Arjen Boin & Michel J. G. van Eeten, 2013. "The Resilient Organization," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(3), pages 429-445, March.
    3. Abhishek Chaudhary & David Gustafson & Alexander Mathys, 2018. "Multi-indicator sustainability assessment of global food systems," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 9(1), pages 1-13, December.
    4. Brock, William A. & Durlauf, Steven N. & West, Kenneth D., 2007. "Model uncertainty and policy evaluation: Some theory and empirics," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 136(2), pages 629-664, February.
    5. Reed, Mark S. & Fraser, Evan D.G. & Dougill, Andrew J., 2006. "An adaptive learning process for developing and applying sustainability indicators with local communities," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(4), pages 406-418, October.
    6. Geniaux, Ghislain & Bellon, Stephane & Deverre, Christian & Powell, Blaise, 2009. "Sustainable Development Indicator Frameworks and Initiatives," Reports 57937, Wageningen University, SEAMLESS: System for Environmental and Agricultural Modelling; Linking European Science and Society.
    7. Schouten, Marleen A.H. & van der Heide, C. Martijn & Heijman, Wim J.M. & Opdam, Paul F.M., 2012. "A resilience-based policy evaluation framework: Application to European rural development policies," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 165-175.
    8. Andy Stirling, 2010. "Keep it complex," Nature, Nature, vol. 468(7327), pages 1029-1031, December.
    9. Espinosa, A. & Harnden, R. & Walker, J., 2008. "A complexity approach to sustainability - Stafford Beer revisited," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 187(2), pages 636-651, June.
    10. Geels, Frank W., 2002. "Technological transitions as evolutionary reconfiguration processes: a multi-level perspective and a case-study," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(8-9), pages 1257-1274, December.
    11. Liobikiene, Genovaite & Chen, Xueli & Streimikiene, Dalia & Balezentis, Tomas, 2020. "The trends in bioeconomy development in the European Union: Exploiting capacity and productivity measures based on the land footprint approach," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    12. Goerner, Sally J. & Lietaer, Bernard & Ulanowicz, Robert E., 2009. "Quantifying economic sustainability: Implications for free-enterprise theory, policy and practice," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(1), pages 76-81, November.
    13. Baumgärtner, Stefan & Quaas, Martin F., 2009. "Ecological-economic viability as a criterion of strong sustainability under uncertainty," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(7), pages 2008-2020, May.
    14. Johan Rockström & Will Steffen & Kevin Noone & Åsa Persson & F. Stuart Chapin & Eric F. Lambin & Timothy M. Lenton & Marten Scheffer & Carl Folke & Hans Joachim Schellnhuber & Björn Nykvist & Cynthia , 2009. "A safe operating space for humanity," Nature, Nature, vol. 461(7263), pages 472-475, September.
    15. Meuwissen, Miranda P.M. & Feindt, Peter H. & Spiegel, Alisa & Termeer, Catrien J.A.M. & Mathijs, Erik & de Mey, Yann & Finger, Robert & Balmann, Alfons & Wauters, Erwin & Urquhart, Julie & Vigani, Mau, 2019. "A framework to assess the resilience of farming systems," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 176, pages 1-10.
    16. Alexander F. Siegenfeld & Yaneer Bar-Yam, 2020. "An Introduction to Complex Systems Science and Its Applications," Complexity, Hindawi, vol. 2020, pages 1-16, July.
    17. Scott E. Page, 2007. "Prologue to The Difference: How the Power of Diversity Creates Better Groups, Firms, Schools, and Societies," Introductory Chapters, in: The Difference: How the Power of Diversity Creates Better Groups, Firms, Schools, and Societies, Princeton University Press.
    18. Cristiana Peano & Nadia Tecco & Egidio Dansero & Vincenzo Girgenti & Francesco Sottile, 2015. "Evaluating the Sustainability in Complex Agri-Food Systems: The SAEMETH Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(6), pages 1-21, May.
    19. Marten Scheffer & Jordi Bascompte & William A. Brock & Victor Brovkin & Stephen R. Carpenter & Vasilis Dakos & Hermann Held & Egbert H. van Nes & Max Rietkerk & George Sugihara, 2009. "Early-warning signals for critical transitions," Nature, Nature, vol. 461(7260), pages 53-59, September.
    20. Sneessens, Inès & Sauvée, Loïc & Randrianasolo-Rakotobe, Hanitra & Ingrand, Stéphane, 2019. "A framework to assess the economic vulnerability of farming systems: Application to mixed crop-livestock systems," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Carlo Genova & Veronica Allegretti, 2024. "Sustainable Food Consumption: Social Representations of Definitions, Drivers, and Obstacles," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-18, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Richter, Andries & Dakos, Vasilis, 2015. "Profit fluctuations signal eroding resilience of natural resources," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 12-21.
    2. Rafols, Ismael & Leydesdorff, Loet & O’Hare, Alice & Nightingale, Paul & Stirling, Andy, 2012. "How journal rankings can suppress interdisciplinary research: A comparison between Innovation Studies and Business & Management," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(7), pages 1262-1282.
    3. Palola, Pirta & Bailey, Richard & Wedding, Lisa, 2022. "A novel framework to operationalise value-pluralism in environmental valuation: Environmental value functions," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    4. Tukker, Arnold & Ekins, Paul, 2019. "Concepts Fostering Resource Efficiency: A Trade-off Between Ambitions and Viability," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 36-45.
    5. Frans Sengers & Bruno Turnheim & Frans Berkhout, 2021. "Beyond experiments: Embedding outcomes in climate governance," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 39(6), pages 1148-1171, September.
    6. Kattirtzi, Michael & Winskel, Mark, 2020. "When experts disagree: Using the Policy Delphi method to analyse divergent expert expectations and preferences on UK energy futures," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    7. Dmitry Gromov & Thorsten Upmann, 2021. "Dynamics and Economics of Shallow Lakes: A Survey," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-16, December.
    8. Mohammed, Sayeed & Desha, Cheryl & Goonetilleke, Ashantha, 2022. "Investigating low-carbon pathways for hydrocarbon-dependent rentier states: Economic transition in Qatar," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    9. Thomas Slijper & Yann de Mey & P Marijn Poortvliet & Miranda P M Meuwissen, 2022. "Quantifying the resilience of European farms using FADN," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 49(1), pages 121-150.
    10. Helena Kahiluoto & Janne Kaseva, 2016. "No Evidence of Trade-Off between Farm Efficiency and Resilience: Dependence of Resource-Use Efficiency on Land-Use Diversity," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(9), pages 1-16, September.
    11. Crépin, Anne-Sophie & Biggs, Reinette & Polasky, Stephen & Troell, Max & de Zeeuw, Aart, 2012. "Regime shifts and management," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 15-22.
    12. Irina Santiago-Brown & Andrew Metcalfe & Cate Jerram & Cassandra Collins, 2015. "Sustainability Assessment in Wine-Grape Growing in the New World: Economic, Environmental, and Social Indicators for Agricultural Businesses," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(7), pages 1-27, June.
    13. Alan Randall, 2022. "How Strong Sustainability Became Safety," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-17, April.
    14. Dardonville, Manon & Bockstaller, Christian & Villerd, Jean & Therond, Olivier, 2022. "Resilience of agricultural systems: biodiversity-based systems are stable, while intensified ones are resistant and high-yielding," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    15. Bolson, Natanael & Yutkin, Maxim & Rees, William & Patzek, Tadeusz, 2022. "Resilience rankings and trajectories of world's countries," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    16. Ferng, Jiun-Jiun, 2014. "Nested open systems: An important concept for applying ecological footprint analysis to sustainable development assessment," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 105-111.
    17. Ahi, Payman & Searcy, Cory & Jaber, Mohamad Y., 2018. "A Quantitative Approach for Assessing Sustainability Performance of Corporations," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 336-346.
    18. Winkelmann, Ricarda & Donges, Jonathan F. & Smith, E. Keith & Milkoreit, Manjana & Eder, Christina & Heitzig, Jobst & Katsanidou, Alexia & Wiedermann, Marc & Wunderling, Nico & Lenton, Timothy M., 2022. "Social tipping processes towards climate action: A conceptual framework," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    19. van Zeijl-Rozema, Annemarie & Ferraguto, Ludovico & Caratti, Pietro, 2011. "Comparing region-specific sustainability assessments through indicator systems: Feasible or not?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(3), pages 475-486, January.
    20. Matthews, Nicholas & Stamford, Laurence & Shapira, Philip, 2021. "The role of business in constructing sustainable technologies: Can the Silicon Valley model be aligned with sustainable development?," SocArXiv sh9an, Center for Open Science.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:22:p:12408-:d:675992. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.