Towards sustainable diets and farming systems through land use optimisation
Tom Desmarez, Jérôme Bindelle, Benjamin Dumont
Abstract
Abstract The industrialised food system poses health and environmental challenges, raising concerns about its sustainability. Addressing these requires region-specific solutions that consider local agronomic and socio-economic conditions. This study examines how transforming the food system impacts land use and self-sufficiency in a defined region of a country. Using Wallonia as a case study, we modelled crop allocation across different pedoclimatic conditions and evaluated three diets—CURRENT, TYFA, and EAT-Lancet—under conventional and organic farming, with 30% or 10% food waste. Our results demonstrate that, regardless of farming practice, Wallonia cannot achieve self-sufficiency under the CURRENT diet. However, adopting the TYFA or EAT-Lancet diets would enable self-sufficiency and spare land for alternative uses, under conventional farming. Food waste reduction was pivotal for enhancing self-sufficiency under organic farming. This research offers a solid foundation for informing agri-food policies in Wallonia and can be extended to other regions seeking to improve local food security.