Food Futures: Co‐designing Sustainable Eating Practices for 2050

Abstract

Summary Food Futures: Co‐designing Sustainable Eating Practices for 2050 The unsustainability of food and agriculture has long generated debate, policy initiatives and technological innovation, with proposed solutions predominantly focused on producing more food using fewer resources. Such supply‐side actions are important, but creating more sustainable eating practices also requires attention to demand‐side dimensions of the food equation. Even given the challenges faced by establishing precise levels of overconsumption (i.e. through levels of obesity) and food loss and wastage, it is clear that a ‘predict and provide’ approach to eating will not address current patterns of unsustainable consumption. This article documents an experiment in practice‐oriented participatory backcasting which explores the possibilities of engaging stakeholders and citizens in the design of more sustainable eating practices. This involved a phased process of multi‐stakeholder (including citizen‐consumer) collaboration to generate alternative scenarios for eating more sustainably and assess their desirability. This was followed by identification of promising practices and, finally, the development of a Transition Framework detailing pathways for more sustainable eating to 2050.The results suggest that mutually supportive technological, organisational and societal innovations are needed, to predict accurately which foods are required globally, prevent overconsumption, food loss and wastage, and ultimately to provide sustainable eating solutions.