Sustainable Food

A sustainable food system requires an interdisciplinary approach, balancing food security and fairness with environmental impacts. At the Copernicus Institute our research addresses the challenges faced by our current food systems.
We study the impact of agriculture on natural resource use, environmental quality and biodiversity, design innovative solutions to sustainability challenges in agriculture and food systems based on ecological, circularity and fairness principles and try to understand how such innovations and supporting policies can trigger a transition towards a sustainable food system. We follow a transdisciplinary approach by involving farmers, consumers, food companies, societal organizations, communities and policymakers in our research projects to ensure high societal impact.
Highlights
Five barriers to more nature-inclusive dairy farming
Through an innovation system analysis researchres have identified barriers to a transition to more nature-inclusive dairy farming.
Localising global food: short food supply chains as responses to agri-food system challenges
The sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems is one of the key goals of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. Agricultural activities for global food production significantly affect land use change and the subsequent functioning of terrestrial ecosystems and services to humans.
Agricultural intensification a house of cards: challenging the current agricultural system
With promises to feed the world, agricultural intensification comes at a great cost to the environment and climate. Sustainable agriculture may be the necessary alternative, but its implementation is not without challenges.
Regenerative farming: can we create a net-positive agricultural system in the Netherlands?
The cumulative impact of the agricultural sector in the Netherlands on local ecosystems and living environment has reached critical levels. Researchers from Utrecht, Wageningen and Amsterdam universities are exploring how the Dutch agricultural system can become regenerative.
Environmentally friendly almonds can still be profitable
Nature-inspired almond production can be profitable. It is possible to improve biodiversity and ecosystem services by around 25% while making profits.
Towards Healthy Planet Diets
Future Food offers a platform for scientists and external stakeholders on which they contribute to the transition of the food chain for a sustainable world, by means of unique transdisciplinary research and education. We set-up a framework for a multi-disciplinary future food systems approach, combining a truly sustainable approach including social science aspects combined with the One Health approach.
Revitalizing Arctic Indigenous food systems through inclusive, transdisciplinary approaches
Researchers from Utrecht University, the Aleut Community of St. Paul Island Ecosystem Conservation Office and Leuphana University identify research directions of particular importance to help enable a sustainable future for Arctic Indigenous food systems.
How Community Supported Agriculture unmakes capitalism: from grassroots action to societal change
Researchers from the UNMAKING project dive into their research using grassroots Community-Supported Agriculture initiatives across Europe to study processes that deliberately ‘make space’ for alternative ways of living, working and interacting with our environment that do not fit with how our current capitalist society is organized.
Major corporations helping drive the plant-based meat revolution, showing creation of consumer demand is key
Utrecht University research shows the importance of creating consumer demand and establishing markets for sustainable food innovations.
Video series on agroecology in the frontier between forest and agriculture
"So that all beings may have life in abundance". As part of a transdisciplinary collaboration, this video series explores the experiences of eight agroecological farmers in Zona da Mata, Brazil.
Empowering grassroots agriculture: tools for food system transformation
Researchers from the UNMAKING project explored whether and how grassroots agrifood initiatives unmake environmentally disruptive institutions and practices that are deeply ingrained in capitalist societies.Explore this suite of resources that grassroots collectives, movements, organizations, and their networks can use to inform action and support collective reflexive processes.