Summary
This commentary or review article by Behrens and Poore, published in Nature Food (2025), addresses a foundational challenge in food systems science: the lack of standardised, clearly defined boundaries for what constitutes a 'food system' in research and policy. The authors likely argue that inconsistent boundary definitions hinder meaningful comparison across studies and complicate efforts to assess sustainability, nutrition, and health outcomes. The paper suggests that clarifying and harmonising these boundaries is essential for advancing coherent food systems assessment and intervention.
UK applicability
The findings are likely applicable to UK food systems research, policy-making, and sustainability reporting, where multiple frameworks (farm-to-fork, supply chain, agrifood systems) are used inconsistently. Clarifying boundaries could improve the coherence of UK food policy and agricultural research evaluation.
Key measures
Definitions and delineation of food system boundaries; methodological consistency across food systems literature
Outcomes reported
The paper examines how food system boundaries are currently defined and applied in research and policy contexts. As suggested by the title, it likely identifies inconsistencies or gaps in how the scope of food systems is conceptualised across studies.
Topic tags
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