AFHVS 2020 presidential address: pushing beyond the boundaries

Area of Science:

• Food Systems Analysis
• Sustainability Science
• Social-Ecological Systems

Background:

• Industrial agriculture's technocratic and productivist approaches hinder sustainable food system development.
• Global challenges, including pandemics and resource depletion, require innovative solutions.
• Achieving food system sustainability necessitates equitable power distribution and recognition of human rights, including the right to food.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify key challenges in building sustainable food systems.
• To propose effective strategies for overcoming systemic boundaries.
• To provide guidance for scholars, particularly young researchers, in advancing sustainable food systems.

Main Methods:

• The study is based on a Presidential Address, synthesizing experiences and observations.
• It involves identifying and analyzing five major challenges in sustainable food systems.
• It highlights three effective approaches for transcending limitations: international collaborations, engagement with global social movements, and anti-racist work.

Main Results:

• Five critical challenges are identified: overcoming industrial agriculture paradigms, preventing pandemics, restoring ecosystems, maintaining movement unity amidst collaboration, and redistributing power for human rights.
• International collaborations, social movement interactions, and anti-racist initiatives are presented as effective boundary-pushing strategies.
• These strategies are linked to addressing the identified challenges, offering a framework for action.

Conclusions:

• Pushing beyond conventional boundaries in training, institutions, politics, and comfort zones is essential for sustainable food systems.
• Integrated approaches combining international cooperation, social movement engagement, and anti-racist work are crucial for transformative change.
• Young scholars are encouraged to adopt these strategies to effectively address complex global food challenges.