Staff Publications

Lezing als onderdeel van lezingenserie getiteld 'De toekomst van ons voedsel' als onderdeel van de Jean Monnet Chair 'Food Governance in the European Union'

In this report, we identify and discuss the key limitations of a “circular economy”: a poor, practically non-existent, inclusion of a social dimension; a reductionist approach that undermines systemic change towards circular agri-food systems; and a focus on shallow leverage points that are not conducive to systemic change. We propose a radical approach to circularity by adopting the concept of a circular society, which extends to incorporate the social dimension. We root circularity by design on the integration of three frameworks: the doughnut economy, a food systems approach, and leverage points. The doughnut economy provides a vision for a safe operating space within planetary boundaries that places emphasis not on economic growth but rather on prosperity; while a food systems approach provides a methodology for mapping and navigating the doughnut economy by using a systemic approach and drawing from all dimensions of sustainability—economy, environmental and social. We draw attention to the need for targeting deep leverage points, which focus on design, and require institutional and value changes. Deep leverage points are in contrast with the technical and reductionists fixes (i.e., shallow points) that dominate interventions in the CE. The next report will delve on the applications of this framework on agri-food systems at the urban scale with a focus on deep leverage points around institutions and governance for the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area.

This handbook includes contributions from established and emerging scholars from around the world and draws on multiple approaches and subjects to explore the socio-economic, cultural, ecological, institutional, legal, and policy aspects of regenerative food practices.
The future of food is uncertain. We are facing an overwhelming number of interconnected and complex challenges related to the ways we grow, distribute, access, eat, and dispose of food. Yet, there are stories of hope and opportunities for radical change towards food systems that enhance the ability of living things to co-evolve. Given this, activities and imaginaries looking to improve, rather than just sustain, communities and ecosystems are needed, as are fresh perspectives and new terminology. The Routledge Handbook of Sustainable and Regenerative Food Systems addresses this need. The chapters cover diverse practices, geographies, scales, and entry-points. They focus not only on the core requirements to deliver sustainable agriculture and food supply, but go beyond this to think about how these can also actively participate with social-ecological systems. The book is presented in an accessible way, with reflection questions meant to spark discussion and debate on how to transition to safe, just, and healthy food systems. Taken together, the chapters in this handbook highlight the consequences of current food practices and showcase the multiple ways that people are doing food differently.

This chapter reviews the development of urban agriculture policy making. It assesses the key dilemmas, challenges and tensions involved in creating policy frameworks for urban agriculture. The chapter discusses examples of cities that have developed an urban (food and) agriculture policy: Rosario (Argentina), Belo Horizonte (Brazil), Antananarivo (Madagascar), and Toronto (Canada). Based on the dilemmas, challenges and tensions faced by urban policymakers, as well as these four examples, conclusions on future policy development are drawn and trends and priorities for future research are identified.