A systematic review of sustainable food systems identifies socio-economic pathways driving food systems transformations

Recommended solutions and innovations to shape sustainable food systems need to be socioeconomically feasible to be implemented. The numerous publications and the nuance of the topic obfuscate the comprehension of the most crucial socioeconomic measures required for successful implementation and concrete policy formulation. Therefore, a clear and comprehensive overview of available evidence on sustainable food systems is needed, especially focusing on the socioeconomic feasibility, which has not been done before. To address this research gap, we systematically screened over 1700 articles and selected 349 for detailed review, investigating socioeconomic attributes corresponding to successful implementations of sustainable food system transformations. We found that sustainable food systems have various meanings across the scholarship and lack harmonized principles. Moreover, the socioeconomic effects on sustainability are often merely assumed instead of rigorously measured. According to the reviewed articles, different actors require different socioeconomic interventions to attain sustainable food systems: i) producers with strong social capital that induces trust among farmers, as well as economic incentives, have enhanced capabilities to promote sustainability, ii) consumers benefit from improved information provisioning and lower prices of sustainable food options, and iii) processors and distributors require better infrastructure to increase the availability of nutritious food and to reduce food loss and waste. Other actors, such as researchers, should disclose their findings widely, while governments should invest in collaborative policy-making and programs that push for sustainable food systems. The results provide a diverse range of efficient socioeconomic recommendations to increase sustainability in our food systems.