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Cadavid, Luis; Arulnathan, Vivek; Pelletier, Nathan

Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute

Agriculture and food systems are central to human well-being. As a result, food production and consumption are at the heart of every discourse on sustainable development, both from an environmental and a socio-economic perspective. The concepts of food security and food sovereignty, both significant within the discourse on sustainable food systems, have seen increased interest over recent decades. Despite the importance and relevance of these concepts to one another within the agri-food systems discourse, they are rarely discussed in concert. This literature review explores the definitions, synergies, and potential trade-offs between food security, food sovereignty, and environmental sustainability objectives, as assessed using Life Cycle Assessment—today’s pre-eminent tool for environmental impact measurement and management of products and services. Food cost, adequate caloric/nutrient intake, and access to food were identified as the most used food security indicators, and resource availability, food consumption, and characterization of food production were observed to be the most common food sovereignty indicators. Simultaneous consideration of both food security and environmental sustainability was surprisingly rare in the reviewed literature and was mostly limited to no more than mentions of the terms “environment” or “sustainability”. Joint consideration of these aspects might enable understanding of potential tensions as well as a means to identify strategies that best satisfy what may be viewed as competing objectives.

Article

eng

Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library

10.14288/1.0447723

Other UBC

10.3390/su162411034

Faculty; Researcher

DSpace