Pulse Brain · Growing Health Evidence Index
Tier 4 — Narrative / commentaryPeer-reviewed

Innovation can accelerate the transition towards a sustainable food system

Mario Herrero, Philip K. Thornton, Daniel Mason-D’Croz, Jeda Palmer, Tim G. Benton, Benjamin Leon Bodirsky, Jessica Bogard, Andy Hall, Bernice Lee, Karine Nyborg, Prajal Pradhan, Graham D. Bonnett, Brett A. Bryan, Bruce Campbell, Svend Christensen, Michael Clark, Mathew T. Cook, I.J.M. de Boer, Chris Downs, Kanar Dizyee, Christian Folberth, Cécile Godde, James Gerber, Michael Grundy, Peter Havlík, Andrew Jarvis, Richard King, Ana María Loboguerrero, M. A. Lopes, C. Lynne McIntyre, Rosamond L. Naylor, Javier Navarro Garcia, Michael Obersteiner, Alejandro Parodi, Mark B. Peoples, Ilje Pikaar, Alexander Popp, Johan Rockström, M. J. Robertson, Pete Smith, Elke Stehfest, Stephen M. Swain, Hugo Valin, Mark T. van Wijk, H.H.E. van Zanten, Sonja Vermeulen, Joost Vervoort, Paul West

Nature Food · 2020

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Summary

This paper, authored by a large international consortium of food systems researchers, explores how innovation—technological, institutional, and social—can accelerate the transition towards more sustainable food systems. Published in Nature Food in 2020, the work synthesises evidence on barriers and enablers of systemic change across production, supply chains, and consumption patterns, suggesting specific pathways for policymakers and practitioners to pursue.

UK applicability

The findings are relevant to UK food policy and farming system design, particularly for meeting environmental and health targets under post-Brexit agricultural policy. The paper's frameworks may inform UK strategies on sustainable intensification and resilience in domestic and supply-chain contexts.

Key measures

Qualitative assessment of innovation mechanisms; food system sustainability transitions; policy and practice implications

Outcomes reported

The paper examines how innovation can accelerate transitions towards sustainable food systems across production, distribution, and consumption. It likely reports on barriers, enablers, and pathways for systemic change in food and agricultural systems.

Theme
Policy, governance & rights
Subject
Food & agricultural policy
Study type
Narrative Review
Study design
Narrative review
Source type
Peer-reviewed study
Status
Published
Geography
Global
System type
Food supply chain
DOI
10.1038/s43016-020-0074-1
Catalogue ID
BFmommpfun-ncae1b

Topic tags

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