A systems perspective on promoting sustainable food systems
2025 (English)In: Annual Reviews in Control, ISSN 1367-5788, E-ISSN 1872-9088, Vol. 60, p. 101020-, article id 101020Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Global food systems are at the center of some of the most pressing modern societal challenges: They are significant contributors to a range of systemic issues, including health problems and chronic diseases, greenhouse gas emissions and general environmental degradation, and increasing financial burdens on healthcare and economies. Within these complex systems, final sustainable consumption, which refers to the adoption of diets that are both healthy and environmentally friendly, plays a critical role. Significant changes in contemporary dietary patterns are essential to address the rising burden of chronic diseases and public health outcomes and the escalating climate crisis. Achieving these shifts requires coordinated action from policymakers, consumers, and the scientific community in an effort to support the development, implementation, and evaluation of advertising and policy instruments that promote healthier and more sustainable dietary choices. However, driving changes in dietary behavior is a complex challenge, shaped by the interplay of heterogeneous influences, including biological, social, cultural, environmental, political, and economic factors, and further complicated by the difficulty of validating proposed approaches in ways that are both efficient and ethically sound. This vision paper presents the problem of promoting healthy and environmentally friendly diets and their implications for environmental sustainability. In particular, it discusses a systems approach based on social network dynamics and social interventions, illustrating recent findings that demonstrate the potential of influence strategies to drive dietary change. Finally, key scientific challenges and emerging research opportunities are highlighted.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier BV , 2025. Vol. 60, p. 101020-, article id 101020
Keywords [en]
Environmentally friendly diets, GHG emissions, Healthy diets, Human behavior, Meat reduction, Social networks, Sustainability goals
National Category
Public Health, Global Health and Social Medicine Other Social Sciences not elsewhere specified Environmental Sciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-371635DOI: 10.1016/j.arcontrol.2025.101020ISI: 001586764800001Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-105017239883OAI: oai:DiVA.org:kth-371635DiVA, id: diva2:2006879
Note
QC 20251016
2025-10-162025-10-162025-10-16Bibliographically approved