Funded under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), Mission 4 Component 2 Investment 1.3, Theme 10.
Highlights
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.
Principal investigators
Social innovation and technology transfer in food value chain
Principal investigators
Public and private food procurement and short food values chains in urban areas
Principal investigators
Definition of an ethical legal model of sustainable food system relationships
Principal investigators
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.
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.
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.
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.