| dc.description.abstract | The corporate food regime has contributed to a number of negative outcomes that include
land, water, and ecosystem degradation; human health concerns; marginalization of smallholder
farmers and urban agriculture producers; and negative social impacts on their livelihoods,
particularly in the context of climate change. As a response, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs)
have emerged, attempting to transform the food system. One of the primary alternative food
system discourses questioning the limitations of dominant agri-food system practices has been
focused on the concept of sustainability. Sustainability is a contested concept and has different
interpretations depending on one’s political and ideological perspective. As a result, sustainable
food system assessments have been used to analyze the way that sustainability might be an
alternative to the corporate food system and assess progress toward stated sustainability goals.
The outcomes of a sustainable food system assessment are notably influenced by the
selection of a sustainability framework, which brings particular approaches and specified
measurement metrics into play. Many food system assessments, however, neglect to identify
their underlying assumptions and motivations for change. This research explores the use of
sustainable food system assessments and their potential contributions and impacts. Three
interconnected aspects influencing outcomes of assessments were identified in the literature,
including food system governance, sustainability frameworks, and choice of indicators. [...] | en_US |
