New research explores social dimension of sustainable diets

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New research explores social dimension of sustainable diets

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New research supported by the Interdisciplinary Research Innovation Fund (RAFINS) at the Friedman School highlights an often overlooked aspect of sustainable diets research: How the production and consumption of food impacts people, communities, and animals—the social dimension of sustainable food.

In this publication in

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, the researchers present a definition of the social dimension of sustainable diets, clarify its boundaries and propose corresponding outcomes.

The paper emphasizes the need for co-developed solutions with affected communities, citing the Delta GREENS project, a collaborative effort by Tougaloo College, Ruben V. Anderson Center for Justice, Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), Delta Health Center, and Tufts University, as an active example of a successful community-driven approach.

First author Nicole Tichenor Blackstone is an Assistant Professor at the Friedman School, specializing in Agriculture, Food, and Environment; Climate, Sustainability, and Food; and Food Systems Modeling. Friedman School News Staff spoke with Dr. Blackstone about the paper:

Could you elaborate on one of the case studies featured in the paper and share a few key insights that challenge common assumptions about food systems?

One of our case studies highlighted the issue that producing healthy foods, such as fruits and vegetables, often relies on migrant workers who are particularly vulnerable to exploitation. In some cases, this exploitation is legal, due to widespread exemptions for agricultural work (for example, minimum wages).

Additionally, the “it’s too expensive” argument ignores that increasing wages would make food more affordable for the workers themselves, who experience disproportionately high rates of food insecurity.

You mention the continued development of social metrics, data, and methods. What are some of the biggest barriers to developing effective social sustainability metrics in the context of food systems, and how can researchers and policymakers overcome these challenges?

Some of the biggest challenges are around data availability. When we’re talking about social sustainability, we’re talking about being able to describe the conditions being experienced by different groups—workers, farmers, animals, communities—in food value chains.

In the US, there’s growing interest around values-based food procurement for institutions and interventions. I think this is a promising opportunity to build new transdisciplinary partnerships where we can focus on developing social metrics, monitoring, and accountability systems.

More information:
Nicole Tichenor Blackstone et al, Diets cannot be sustainable without ensuring the well-being of communities, workers and animals in food value chains, Nature Food (2024).

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Tufts University

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New research explores social dimension of sustainable diets (2024, December 5)
retrieved 5 December 2024
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