Stakeholder Perceptions of Policy Tools in Support of Sustainable Food Consumption in Europe: Policy Implications
Nína M. Saviolidis, G. Ólafsdóttir, Mariana Nicolau, Antonella Samoggia, Élise Huber, Laura Brimont, Matthew Gorton, David von Berlepsch, Hildigunnur Sigurdardottir, Margherita Del Prete, Cristina Fedato, Pierre‐Marie Aubert, Sigurður G. Bogason
Abstract
Transitioning agri-food systems towards increased sustainability and resilience requires that attention be paid to sustainable food consumption policies. Policy-making processes often require the engagement and acceptance of key stakeholders. This study analyses stakeholders’ solutions for creating sustainable agri-food systems, through interviews with a broad range of stakeholders including food value chain actors, non-governmental organizations, governmental institutions, research institutions and academic experts. The study draws on 38 in-depth, semi-structured interviews conducted in four European countries: France, Iceland, Italy and the UK, as well as three interviews with high-level EU experts. The interviewees’ solutions were analysed according to a five-category typology of policy tools, encompassing direct activity regulations, and market-based, knowledge-based, governance and strategic policy tools. Most of the identified solutions were located in the strategic tools category, reflecting shared recognition of the need to integrate food policy to achieve long-term goals. Emerging solutions—those which were most commonly identified among the different national contexts—were then used to derive empirically-grounded and more universally applicable recommendations for the advancement of sustainable food consumption policies.