Are local food chains more sustainable than global food chains? Considerations for assessment
2016
Brunori, Gianluca | Galli, Francesca | Barjolle, Dominique | van Broekhuizen, Rudolf | Colombo, Luca | Giampietro, Mario | Kirwan, James | Lang, Tim | Mathijs, Erik | Maye, Damian | de Roest, Kees | Rougoor, Carin | Schwarz, Jana | Schmitt, Emilia | Smith, Julie | Stojanovic, Zaklina | Tisenkopfs, Talis | Touzard, Jean-Marc | Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment | Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology [Zürich] (ETH Zürich) | Rural Sociology Group ; Wageningen University and Research [Wageningen] (WUR) | Fondazione Italiana per la Ricerca in Agricoltura Biologica e Biodinamica ; Partenaires INRAE | Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats = Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA) | Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona = Autonomous University of Barcelona = Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona (UAB) | Countryside and Community Research Institute ; University of Gloucestershire | City University London | Université Catholique de Louvain = Catholic University of Louvain (UCL) | Centro Ricerche Produzioni Animali (CRPA) | Centre for Agriculture and Environment Foundation ; Partenaires INRAE | University of Belgrade | University of Latvia (LU) | Innovation et Développement dans l'Agriculture et l'Alimentation (UMR Innovation) ; Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro) | Gianluca Brunori | European Project: 311778,EC:FP7:KBBE,FP7-KBBE-2012-6-singlestage,GLAMUR(2013)
International audience
显示更多 [+] 显示较少 [-]英语. This paper summarizes the main findings of the GLAMUR project which starts with an apparently simple question: is "local" more sustainable than "global"? Sustainability assessment is framed within a post-normal science perspective, advocating the integration of public deliberation and scientific research. The assessment spans 39 local, intermediate and global supply chain case studies across different commodities and countries. Assessment criteria cover environmental, economic, social, health and ethical sustainability dimensions. A closer view of the food system demonstrates a highly dynamic local-global continuum where actors, while adapting to a changing environment, establish multiple relations and animate several chain configurations. The evidence suggests caution when comparing "local" and "global" chains, especially when using the outcomes of the comparison in decision-making. Supply chains are analytical constructs that necessarily - and arbitrarily - are confined by system boundaries, isolating a set of elements from an interconnected whole. Even consolidated approaches, such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), assess only a part of sustainability attributes, and the interpretation may be controversial. Many sustainability attributes are not yet measurable and "hard" methodologies need to be complemented by "soft" methodologies which are at least able to identify critical issues and trade-offs. Aware of these limitations, our research shows that comparing local and global chains, with the necessary caution, can help overcome a priori positions that so far have characterized the debate between "localists" and "globalists". At firm level, comparison between "local" and "global" chains could be useful to identify best practices, benchmarks, critical points, and errors to avoid. As sustainability is not a status to achieve, but a never-ending process, comparison and deliberation can be the basis of a "reflexive governance" of food chains.
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