Enablers and barriers to food system transformation

To transform the food system for better outcomes across environment, society, health, and economy, we need to understand why parts of the food system are easier to change than others, and how this relative difference in adaptive capacity creates environments that are conducive or prohibitive to change. By identifying where this occurs in the food system and the underlying processes, we can also find leverage points to catalyse desired change.

Our research

The project will work with a range of stakeholders across different parts of the food system to understand how its structures create environments that are conducive or prohibitive to change. The research focuses on the interconnections between geography, environment, innovation, governance, and sociocultural factors, that shape the food system and the ways that it functions.   

The project will analyse different dimensions of the food system at different scales to understand commonalities and differences experienced by stakeholders, based on their role in the food system and their food environments. Understanding these shared and divergent experiences will be central to developing more equitable analyses of the food system.

Benefits of our research

Understanding enablers and barriers to food system transformation is key for people across the food system to understand the structure of the food system and how to best affect change. A clear understanding of different challenges to transformation offers potential for unlocking potential innovations, infrastructures, practices, and behaviours that will benefit people across Australia and beyond.

Why we are doing this research

A significant challenge for food system transformation is complexity. With many different elements interacting at different scales, it can be difficult to identify the factors that lead to positive or negative outcomes when viewing the food system through a one-dimensional lens. Rather than having a narrow focus that addresses a set of weakness, or leverages a set of strengths, in one area, we are doing this research to understand the processes by which those strengths and weaknesses in the food system come to exist.

The Enablers and barriers to food system transformation project is funded by CSIRO and The University of Queensland.

Want to learn more?

Contact Jeremy Farr to learn more about this research.