Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems (Nov 2022)

Transitions to food democracy through multilevel governance

  • Anant Jani,
  • Andreas Exner,
  • Reiner Braun,
  • Brigitte Braun,
  • Luisa Torri,
  • Sofie Verhoeven,
  • Anna Maria Murante,
  • Stefanie Van Devijvere,
  • Janas Harrington,
  • Amalia Ochoa,
  • Giorgia Dalla Libera Marchiori,
  • Peter Defranceschi,
  • Aditi Bunker,
  • Till Bärnighausen,
  • Esther Sanz Sanz,
  • Claude Napoléone,
  • Eric O. Verger,
  • Christian Schader,
  • Joacim Röklov,
  • Ingrid Stegeman,
  • Samuele Tonello,
  • Robert Pederson,
  • Niels Heine Kristensen,
  • Tim Smits,
  • Dirk Wascher,
  • Peter Voshol,
  • Annemarie Kaptejins,
  • Samantha Nesrallah,
  • Olav Kjørven,
  • Fabrice DeClerck,
  • Cristina Biella,
  • Marija Adela Gjorgjioska,
  • Ana Tomicic,
  • Ana Teresa Ferreira Oliveira,
  • Stefania Bracco,
  • Sandra Estevens,
  • Luigi Rossi,
  • Günther Laister,
  • Aleksandra Różalska,
  • Borche Jankuloski,
  • Christophe Hurbin,
  • Maýlis Jannic,
  • Fiona Steel,
  • Ewoud Manbaliu,
  • Karin De Jager,
  • Athanasios Sfetsos,
  • Maria Konstantopoulou,
  • Pavlos-Alexandro Kapetanakis,
  • Michaela Hickersberger,
  • Elsa Chiffard,
  • Carina Woollhead

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2022.1039127
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 6

Abstract

Read online

Food systems in Europe are largely unjust and not sustainable. Despite substantial negative consequences for individual health, the environment and public sector health and care services, large multi-national corporations continue to benefit from the way food systems are designed—perpetuating “Lose–Lose–Lose–Win” food systems that see these large corporations benefit at the expense of health, the environment and public sector finances. Transitioning to “Win–Win–Win–Win” food systems is challenging because of the heterogeneity, complexity and unpredictable nature of food systems—one-size fits-all solutions to correct imbalances and injustices cannot exist. To address these challenges, we propose the use of heuristics—solutions that can flexibly account for different contexts, preferences and needs. Within food systems, food democracy could be a heuristic solution that provides the processes and can form the basis for driving just transitions. However, ensuring that these transition processes are fair, equitable, sustainable and constructive, requires an approach that can be used across vertical and horizontal governance spheres to ensure the voices of key stakeholders across space, time and spheres of power are accounted for. In this manuscript we outline a new Horizon project, FEAST, that aims to use multilevel governance approaches across vertical and horizontal spheres of governance to realize constructive food democracy. We envisage this as a means to inform just processes that can be used to design and implement policies, in line with food democracy, to facilitate transitions to “Win–Win–Win–Win” food systems across Europe that makes it easy for every European to eat a healthy and sustainable diet.

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