Operationalizing Food Systems-Based Dietary Guidelines: A Transdisciplinary and Participatory Food Systems-Based...

The globalised industrial food system is one of the main drivers of global environmental change. As such, there is an increasingly greater number of food-based dietary guidelines, and a shift towards food-system based dietary guidelines, with components of environmental sustainability and other aspects of food systems. In Chile and globally, there is a lack of comprehensive recommendations for integrating food-based dietary guidelines into local food systems, with distinct climates, infrastructure, and groups of Indigenous Peoples.

We used a transdisciplinary, participatory food systems approach across five climatically, agriculturally, and culturally distinct regions (Metropolitan, Arica and Parinacota, Coquimbo, La Araucanía, Los Lagos) to explore the complexities of implementing the new Chilean Dietary Guidelines, collaborating across disciplines (e.g., anthropology, nutrition, agriculture, health) and related sectors (small-scale producers, small-scale vendors/retailers, consumers). In each region, we conducted a project launch event, local food system mapping workshop, telephone surveys and one participatory group model building workshop (n = 30-34/region) to identify barriers and facilitators, and the relationships between them, to sustainable food systems. Across regions, local food systems definitions were developed. Five regional causal loop diagrams were constructed, from which a consolidated causal loop diagram was synthesised.

From the 143 food systems drivers and factors were identified, 14 overarching themes critical to understanding local food systems emerged: (1) Food and nutrition policies, (2) School food programmes, (3) Sustainable food systems, (4) Local production and access, (5) Labour supply, (6) Climate change, (7) Fresh flavour quality, (8) Fast-paced lifestyle, (9) National recognition of ancestral and traditional food culture, (10) Home cooking perception, (11) Cost-convenience trade-off, (12) Imported foods, (13) Household food culture, and (14) Ancestral and traditional food knowledge. These themes reflect a strong awareness amongst diverse local food system actors in Chile of the links between territory, climate, food, and environmental sustainability.

A transdisciplinary approach to understanding local food systems is essential for strengthening sustainable food systems that mitigate climate change, with participatory methods ensuring that public health policies align with territorial and intercultural realities. Identifying leverage points within local communities, based on their experiences and proposed solutions, is critical for supporting the culturally and contextually relevant implementation of food-based dietary guidelines, ensuring policies are both effective and equitable in addressing food system challenges amidst the climate crisis.