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What Do We Need to Know to Enhance the Environmental Sustainability of Agricultural Production? A Prioritisation of Knowledge Needs for the UK Food System

Author

Listed:
  • Lynn V. Dicks

    (Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK)

  • Richard D. Bardgett

    (Faculty of Life Science, The University of Manchester, Michael Smith Building, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK)

  • Jenny Bell

    (Pepsico UK and Ireland, Theale Head Office, 1600 Arlington Business Park, Theale, Reading, RG7 4SA, Berkshire, UK)

  • Tim G. Benton

    (Global Food Security Programme, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK)

  • Angela Booth

    (AB Agri, 64, Innovation Way, Peterborough, PE2 6FL, Canada)

  • Jan Bouwman

    (Syngenta Crop Protection B.V., Jacob Obrechtlaan 3a, Bergen op Zoom 4600AM, The Netherlands)

  • Chris Brown

    (Asda, Asda House, Southbank, Great Wilson Street, Leeds LS11 5AD, UK)

  • Ann Bruce

    (Science, Technology and Innovation Studies & Innogen, University of Edinburgh, Old Surgeons' Hall, High School Yards, Edinburgh, EH1 1LZ, UK)

  • Paul J. Burgess

    (Department of Environmental Science and Technology, Cranfield University, Cranfield, Bedfordshire, MK43 0AL, UK)

  • Simon J. Butler

    (School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK)

  • Ian Crute

    (Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, Stoneleigh Park, Kenilworth, Warwickshire, CV8 2TL, UK)

  • Frances Dixon

    (Welsh Government, Sustainable Land Management, Rhodfa Padarn, Llanbadarn Fawr, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Wales, SY23 3UR, UK)

  • Caroline Drummond

    (LEAF Chief Executive, Stoneleigh Park, Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, CV8 2LG, UK)

  • Robert P. Freckleton

    (Department of Animal & Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK)

  • Maggie Gill

    (Department for International Development, 22 Whitehall, London, SW1A 2EG, UK)

  • Andrea Graham

    (National Farmers Union, Agriculture House, Stoneleigh Park, Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, CV8 2TZ, UK)

  • Rosie S. Hails

    (Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Maclean Building, Benson Lane, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, OX10 8BB, UK)

  • James Hallett

    (British Growers Association Ltd, BGA House, Nottingham Road, Louth, Lincolnshire, LN11 0WB, UK)

  • Beth Hart

    (Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd, 33 Holborn, EC1N 2HT, UK)

  • Jon G. Hillier

    (School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, 23 St Machar Drive, Aberdeen, Scotland, AB24 3UU, UK)

  • John M. Holland

    (Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, Fordingbridge, Hampshire, SP6 1EF, UK)

  • Jonathan N. Huxley

    (University of Nottingham, School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE12 5RD, UK)

  • John S. I. Ingram

    (Environmental Change Institute, Oxford University Centre for the Environment, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QY, UK)

  • Vanessa King

    (Unilever UK Central Resources Ltd, Unilever House, Blackfriars, London, EC4Y 0DY, UK)

  • Tom MacMillan

    (Soil Association, South Plaza, Marlborough Street, Bristol, UK)

  • Daniel F. McGonigle

    (Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, London, SW1P 3JR, UK)

  • Carmel McQuaid

    (Marks & Spencer, 5 Merchant Square, Paddington Basin, London, W2 1AS, UK)

  • Tim Nevard

    (Conservation Grade, Gransden Park, Abbotsleigh, Cambridgeshire, PE19 6TY, UK)

  • Steve Norman

    (Dow AgroSciences, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 4RN, UK)

  • Ken Norris

    (Centre for Agri-Environmental Research, University of Reading, Earley Gate, Reading, RG6 6AR, UK)

  • Catherine Pazderka

    (British Retail Consortium, Westminster, SW1H 9BP, UK)

  • Inder Poonaji

    (Nestle UK Ltd, 1 City Place, Gatwick, RH6 0PA, UK)

  • Claire H. Quinn

    (Sustainability Research Institute, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK)

  • Stephen J. Ramsden

    (School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE12 5RD, UK)

  • Duncan Sinclair

    (Waitrose, John Lewis plc, 171 Victoria Street, London, SW1E 5NN, UK)

  • Gavin M. Siriwardena

    (British Trust for Ornithology, The Nunnery, Thetford, Norfolk, IP24 2PU, UK)

  • Juliet A. Vickery

    (RSPB, the Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire, SG19 2DL, UK)

  • Andrew P. Whitmore

    (Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, AL5 2JQ, UK)

  • William Wolmer

    (Blackmoor Estate Ltd, Blackmoor, Liss, Hampshire, GU33 6BS, UK)

  • William J. Sutherland

    (Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK)

Abstract

Increasing concerns about global environmental change and food security have focused attention on the need for environmentally sustainable agriculture. This is agriculture that makes efficient use of natural resources and does not degrade the environmental systems that underpin it, or deplete natural capital stocks. We convened a group of 29 ‘practitioners’ and 17 environmental scientists with direct involvement or expertise in the environmental sustainability of agriculture. The practitioners included representatives from UK industry, non-government organizations and government agencies. We collaboratively developed a long list of 264 knowledge needs to help enhance the environmental sustainability of agriculture within the UK or for the UK market. We refined and selected the most important knowledge needs through a three-stage process of voting, discussion and scoring. Scientists and practitioners identified similar priorities. We present the 26 highest priority knowledge needs. Many of them demand integration of knowledge from different disciplines to inform policy and practice. The top five are about sustainability of livestock feed, trade-offs between ecosystem services at farm or landscape scale, phosphorus recycling and metrics to measure sustainability. The outcomes will be used to guide on-going knowledge exchange work, future science policy and funding.

Suggested Citation

  • Lynn V. Dicks & Richard D. Bardgett & Jenny Bell & Tim G. Benton & Angela Booth & Jan Bouwman & Chris Brown & Ann Bruce & Paul J. Burgess & Simon J. Butler & Ian Crute & Frances Dixon & Caroline Drumm, 2013. "What Do We Need to Know to Enhance the Environmental Sustainability of Agricultural Production? A Prioritisation of Knowledge Needs for the UK Food System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(7), pages 1-21, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:5:y:2013:i:7:p:3095-3115:d:27274
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Garnett, Tara, 2011. "Where are the best opportunities for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the food system (including the food chain)?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(S1), pages 23-32.
    2. Ira R. Cooke & Elizabeth H. A. Mattison & Eric Audsley & Alison P. Bailey & Robert P. Freckleton & Anil R. Graves & Joe Morris & Simon A. Queenborough & Daniel L. Sandars & Gavin M. Siriwardena & Paul, 2013. "Empirical Test of an Agricultural Landscape Model," SAGE Open, , vol. 3(2), pages 21582440134, April.
    3. Boyd, James & Banzhaf, Spencer, 2007. "What are ecosystem services? The need for standardized environmental accounting units," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(2-3), pages 616-626, August.
    4. Garnett, Tara, 2011. "Where are the best opportunities for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the food system (including the food chain)?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(Supplemen), pages 23-32, January.
    5. Faye Duchin, 2005. "Sustainable Consumption of Food: A Framework for Analyzing Scenarios about Changes in Diets," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 9(1‐2), pages 99-114, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    Cited by:

    1. Kyungsoo Nam & Heesun Lim & Byeong-il Ahn, 2020. "Analysis of Consumer Preference for Milk Produced through Sustainable Farming: The Case of Mountainous Dairy Farming," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-15, April.
    2. Angelina Sanderson Bellamy & Antonio A. R. Ioris, 2017. "Addressing the Knowledge Gaps in Agroecology and Identifying Guiding Principles for Transforming Conventional Agri-Food Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-17, February.
    3. Norman Siebrecht, 2020. "Sustainable Agriculture and Its Implementation Gap—Overcoming Obstacles to Implementation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-27, May.
    4. Carlos Durán Gabela & Bernardo Trejos & Pablo Lamiño Jaramillo & Amy Boren-Alpízar, 2022. "Sustainable Agriculture: Relationship between Knowledge and Attitude among University Students," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-11, November.
    5. Marianne Hubeau & Fleur Marchand & Guido Van Huylenbroeck, 2017. "Sustainability Experiments in the Agri-Food System: Uncovering the Factors of New Governance and Collaboration Success," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-23, June.
    6. Hubeau, Marianne & Mondelaers, Koen & Coteur, Ine & Marchand, Fleur L. & Lauwers, Ludwig, 2014. "Chain Governance Systems and Sustainable Capital Use – A Conceptual Approach," 2014 International European Forum, February 17-21, 2014, Innsbruck-Igls, Austria 199340, International European Forum on System Dynamics and Innovation in Food Networks.
    7. Hubeau, Marianne & Marchand, Fleur & Coteur, Ine & Mondelaers, Koen & Debruyne, Lies & Van Huylenbroeck, Guido, 2017. "A new agri-food systems sustainability approach to identify shared transformation pathways towards sustainability," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 52-63.

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