Prospects for a sustainability transition across global agrifood chains: a framework

There is a growing recognition that current dominant agri-food systems are unsustainable and lead to the transgression of several planetary boundaries. Consequently, demands for a sustainability transition are growing. Yet, there is no consensus as to what a sustainability transition in the agri-food sector should look like. Making agri-food systems more sustainable is also challenging because the sector is marked by global agri-food chains linking countries producing agricultural commodities with countries importing such commodities with the involvement of multiple actors at various scales. At the same time, any sustainability transition is highly political. Agri-food chains in particular are marked by a high concentration of corporate power which also influences sustainability discourses and proposed solutions. This paper argues that to understand the prospects for a sustainability transition of agri-food systems, it is crucial to examine the broader sustainability politics, including the interdependence of sustainability politics between countries producing agricultural commodities and those importing them. For a better understanding of different dimensions, visions and demands for a sustainability transition across global agri-food chains, the paper develops a framework that explicitly seeks to take into account perspectives from different actors in both, producing and importing countries. The framework serves to identify similar positions and therefore possibilities for coalition-building, as well as differences and potential lines of conflict which present obstacles towards moving to shared visions and solutions in terms of how to foster a sustainability transition in the agri-food sector.