Spoke 01

Global Sustainability

Fair food market for healthy citizens


Spoke leaderFilippo Arfini
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Highlights

News
Outputs
Blog postOct 11, 2024

The Evolution of Agricultural Economics Education and Research on Living Labs


Blog postSep 17, 2024

OnFoods at Capri for the SIDEA Conference, Italian Society of Agricultural Economics


Blog postSep 12, 2024

Bridging the gap between tradition and innovation: novel food and feed at the UniMi workshop on 19th September


Blog postJul 20, 2024

The complexity of food environments addressed with participatory methods: the mini-doc from the four-day workshop of Spoke 1.


Blog postJul 15, 2024

University Campuses as Models of Food Environments: The PPP-URB Project towards Sustainable Public Food Procurement


Blog postJul 13, 2024

Sustainability and social innovation in local areas also rely on local agri-food supply chains


Blog postJul 9, 2024

Formal and informal actors in the supply chain: all at the same table with the SCIN-GO project, to design more equitable and sustainable food environments.


Blog postMay 24, 2024

Food Systems research takes center stage in Mantova: highlights from the Food&Science Festival


Blog postApr 26, 2024

Legal Issues for a Sustainable Agrifood Chain: the FLAN Conference 2024


Blog postNov 22, 2023

The University of Parma launches the first cascade funding call for collaborative research projects on the themes of Global Sustainability.


Blog postMay 8, 2023

The sustainability of food environments, amid value chains and eating habits: the GEN_YOU project


Blog postMay 8, 2023

Sustainable Food Procurement policies to improve the production and adoption of healthy diets.


Blog postMay 4, 2023

Sustainable food production amid systemic limitations and the rising demand for food.


Spoke 01 'Global Sustainability' aims to improve the efficiency of food value chains by combining productivity and sustainability, promoting technology transfer, and providing access to sustainable food for the most vulnerable members of society. 

Its slogan "Fair food market for healthy citizens" reflects the goal of impacting the social, economic, and environmental sustainability of food systems through strategies that respect consumers' choices, prioritize food quality and seasonality, and promote socioeconomic fairness to reduce inequality.

OnFoods targets

To promote the sustainability of food production
To increase the adherence to more sustainable dietary patterns
To increase the quality of foods and diets

SDG’s targeted

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Flagship research projects

Research projectSOC_INN

Social innovation and technology transfer in food value chain


Managed by


Principal investigators

Filippo Arfini

Referred to

Spoke 01
Research projectPPP_URB

Public and private food procurement and short food values chains in urban areas


Managed by


Principal investigators

Davide Fassi

Referred to

Spoke 01
Research projectETHI_LEG

Definition of an ethical legal model of sustainable food system relationships


Managed by


Principal investigators

Irene Canfora

Referred to

Spoke 01
About Spoke 01

Fair Food Market for Healthy Citizens

During the last century, the Green Revolution has led to significant scientific advancements and innovations in food production resulting in rapid socio-economic changes and improved human well-being and life expectancy.

Consequently, the whole population has increased and aged, especially in developed countries, leading to a decline in the world’s growth rate. However, certain regions, such as Africa and Asia, are expected to continue growing, and by the end of the century, the world population is projected to reach between 10 and 11 billion people. Current projections also foresee a rise in urbanisation and income per capita, leading to an increased and unpreventable demand for food. Given this introduction, and crucial context, improving world food production will be necessary to meet the global need for safe and nutritious food. Nevertheless, the main question is whether it can be sustainably increased despite the scarcity of land and water resources, declining biodiversity, and intensifying negative impacts of climate change in the modern day.

Work Package 1.1

Promoting Sustainability in Food Production

Intending to promote sustainability in food production, work package 1.1 first investigates the best governance models for the food industry. 

The objective is to create a governance framework that supports sustainable practices, considering the relationships between different organisations and networks. The most appropriate accounting and accountability techniques are also identified to ensure sustainability in selected value chains.

Work Package 1.2

Promoting Sustainability in Food Distribution

To promote sustainability in food distribution, Work Package 1.2 develops an integrated approach to food that considers economic efficiency, as well as accessibility and social justice. 

WP 1.2 investigates how short food supply chains can contribute to developing more sustainable food management models, how food sustainability can be improved in public and private canteens, and how urban agriculture projects can contribute to the needs of the poorest people. Additionally, solutions are being sought to make wholesale markets more efficient and fair at the same time.

Work Package 1.3

Increasing adhesion and/or adherence to sustainable eating patterns

With the aim of promoting adherence to sustainable food models, Work Package 1.3 explores new models to improve consumer rights, gender equality, and youth employment in the food sector. 

This involves developing stakeholder engagement methods, such as citizen juries and hybrid forums, promoting high-quality food consumption through grants, and analysing consumer perception of food innovation.