scholarly journals Circular Economy Models in Agro-Food Systems: A Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 3453
Author(s):  
Manal Hamam ◽  
Gaetano Chinnici ◽  
Giuseppe Di Vita ◽  
Gioacchino Pappalardo ◽  
Biagio Pecorino ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Circular Economy ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Organization Management ◽  
Production Models ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Political Approach ◽  
Business As Usual ◽  
Analytical Tools ◽  
Stakeholder Acceptance

Around the world, interest is growing in the circular economy in response to the current unsustainable model of production and consumption based on increased use and depletion of resources. This paper provides a review of the academic literature on the circular economy in agri-food systems, with the aims of understanding its main characteristics and perspectives, and summarizing and discussing the literature in this field. This review provides a deeper understanding of the opportunities provided by the circular economy as a solution to the current need to reduce the environmental impacts of business-as-usual economic systems and the state of the art of the circular economy in the academic debate. The results are discussed based on the chosen topic-core investigated in this review: business model and organization management, food loss and waste along the supply chain, analytical tools for the circular economy, stakeholder acceptance of the circular economy, and mitigation strategies and political approach. The findings show the need for the implementation of cleaner production models and consequent increases in stakeholder responsibilities and awareness, from both producers and consumers, as well as the need for the implementation of suitable policies and tools.

scholarly journals Available Pathways for Operationalizing Circular Economy into the Olive Oil Supply Chain: Mapping Evidence from a Scoping Literature Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (17) ◽  
pp. 9789
Author(s):  
Sarah Stempfle ◽  
Domenico Carlucci ◽  
Bernardo Corrado de Gennaro ◽  
Luigi Roselli ◽  
Giacomo Giannoccaro
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Olive Oil ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Evidence Map ◽  
Oil Supply ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Scoping Literature Review ◽  
Readiness Level

Circular economy (CE) is increasingly seen as a promising paradigm for transitioning agri-food systems towards more sustainable models of production and consumption, enabling virtuous and regenerative biological metabolisms based on strategies of eco-efficiency and eco-effectiveness. This contribution seeks to provide a theoretical and empirical framework for operationalizing the CE principles into the olive oil supply chain, that plays a central role in the agroecological systems of the Mediterranean region. A scoping literature review has been conducted in order to identify the available pathways so far explored by scholars for reshaping the olive oil supply chain from a circular perspective. The analyzed literature has been charted on the base of the circular pathway examined, and according to the supply chain subsystem(s) to which it refers. Results are discussed highlighting the main issues, the technology readiness level of the available pathways, the prevailing approaches and knowledge gaps. A synthetic evidence map is provided, framing visually the scrutinized pathways into the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s CE ‘butterfly’ graph. The work is intended to be a valuable baseline for inquiring how circularity can be advanced in the specific supply chain of olive oil, and which are the strategic opportunities, as well as the barriers to overcome, in order to foster the transition.

scholarly journals Assessment of Glyphosate Impact on the Agrofood Ecosystem

Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 405
Author(s):  
Yaxin Sang ◽  
Juan-Carlos Mejuto ◽  
Jianbo Xiao ◽  
Jesus Simal-Gandara
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Regulatory Control ◽  
Biological Pest Control ◽  
Effective Strategies ◽  
Nutrition Security ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Food And Nutrition ◽  
The Impact

Agro-industries should adopt effective strategies to use agrochemicals such as glyphosate herbicides cautiously in order to protect public health. This entails careful testing and risk assessment of available choices, and also educating farmers and users with mitigation strategies in ecosystem protection and sustainable development. The key to success in this endeavour is using scientific research on biological pest control, organic farming and regulatory control, etc., for new developments in food production and safety, and for environmental protection. Education and research is of paramount importance for food and nutrition security in the shadow of climate change, and their consequences in food production and consumption safety and sustainability. This review, therefore, diagnoses on the use of glyphosate and the associated development of glyphosate-resistant weeds. It also deals with the risk assessment on human health of glyphosate formulations through environment and dietary exposures based on the impact of glyphosate and its metabolite AMPA—(aminomethyl)phosphonic acid—on water and food. All this to setup further conclusions and recommendations on the regulated use of glyphosate and how to mitigate the adverse effects.

scholarly journals A Review of Reductionist versus Systems Perspectives towards ‘Doing the Right Strategies Right’ for Circular Economy Implementation

Systems ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 38
Author(s):  
Raquel Balanay ◽  
Anthony Halog
Keyword(s):  
Circular Economy ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Comprehensive Analysis ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Review Reports ◽  
The Right ◽  
Business As Usual ◽  
Analytical Frameworks ◽  
Reductionist Approach

This systematic review examines the importance of a systems/holistic approach in analyzing and addressing the footprints/impacts of business-as-usual activities regarding the development of a circular economy (CE). Recent works on why current CE approaches have to be examined in terms of reductionist vs. systems perspectives are reviewed to tackle questions pertaining to the right or the wrong way of CE implementation. ‘Doing the right thing right’ is essential for sustainability—the ultimate goal of a CE, which must be viewed as a system to begin with. The limited reductionist approach overlooks and thus cannot prognosticate on the formidable unintended consequences that emerge from ‘doing the right things wrong’, consequences that become too costly to undo. The systems approach, being holistic, is complicated and difficult to pursue but open to exciting opportunities to integrate innovations in CE analysis and implementation. Complexity is an inherent downside of the systems approach. However, both approaches are complementary, as reductionist models can be combined to create a system of comprehensive analysis to correct the approach towards implementation of current CE initiatives. This review reports that advancements in systems analytical frameworks and tools are highly important for creating general guidelines on CE analysis and implementation.

scholarly journals Moving from Niche to Norm: Lessons from Food Waste Initiatives

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 7667
Author(s):  
Lusine H. Aramyan ◽  
Gonne Beekman ◽  
Joris Galama ◽  
Sandra van der Haar ◽  
Maarten Visscher ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Waste ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Behavioural Change ◽  
Policy Instruments ◽  
Transition Process ◽  
Personal Factors ◽  
Success Traits

For a transition to a circular economy to take place, behavioural change from people who are part of the transition is a key requirement. However, this change often does not occur by itself. For systemic behavioural change, policy instruments that incentivise behaviour supporting circular food systems play a key role. These instruments need to be aligned with the environment in which the behaviour takes place. In this study, we scrutinise a case study with five initiatives on the reduction of food loss and waste (FLW) contributing to a circular food system, to understand how specific, well-targeted combinations of instruments as well as other contextual and personal factors can fuel the transition to a circular economy and the reduction of FLW. All the initiatives are taking place under the umbrella of the Dutch initiative “United against food waste” (STV). We use a behavioural change perspective to assess how initiatives that support circular food systems arise and how they can be further supported. Based on the case-study analysis, we arrive at five common success traits and barriers, and five key needs for upscaling. We conclude that motivated, inspiring frontrunners are of key importance in the initial phase of a transition process. However, once a niche initiative is ready to be scaled up, the enabling environment becomes increasingly important.

scholarly journals Sustainable Agri-Food Processes and Circular Economy Pathways in a Life Cycle Perspective: State of the Art of Applicative Research

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2472
Author(s):  
Teodora Stillitano ◽  
Emanuele Spada ◽  
Nathalie Iofrida ◽  
Giacomo Falcone ◽  
Anna Irene De Luca
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Social Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Qualitative Synthesis

This study aims at providing a systematic and critical review on the state of the art of life cycle applications from the circular economy point of view. In particular, the main objective is to understand how researchers adopt life cycle approaches for the measurement of the empirical circular pathways of agri-food systems along with the overall lifespan. To perform the literature review, the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol was considered to conduct a review by qualitative synthesis. Specifically, an evaluation matrix has been set up to gather and synthesize research evidence, by classifying papers according to several integrated criteria. The literature search was carried out employing scientific databases. The findings highlight that 52 case studies out of 84 (62% of the total) use stand-alone life cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate the benefits/impacts of circular economy (CE) strategies. In contrast, only eight studies (9.5%) deal with the life cycle costing (LCC) approach combined with other analyses while no paper deals with the social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) methodology. Global warming potential, eutrophication (for marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems), human toxicity, and ecotoxicity results are the most common LCA indicators applied. Only a few articles deal with the CE assessment through specific indicators. We argue that experts in life cycle methodologies must strive to adopt some key elements to ensure that the results obtained fit perfectly with the measurements of circularity and that these can even be largely based on a common basis.

scholarly journals Actions on sustainable food production and consumption for the post-2020 global biodiversity framework

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. eabc8259
Author(s):  
Izabela Delabre ◽  
Lily O. Rodriguez ◽  
Joanna Miller Smallwood ◽  
Jörn P. W. Scharlemann ◽  
Joseph Alcamo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Transformative Change ◽  
Political Commitment ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Sustainable Food Production ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Barriers And Opportunities ◽  
Sustainability Standards

Current food production and consumption trends are inconsistent with the Convention on Biological Diversity’s 2050 vision of living in harmony with nature. Here, we examine how, and under what conditions, the post-2020 biodiversity framework can support transformative change in food systems. Our analysis of actions proposed in four science-policy fora reveals that subsidy reform, valuation, food waste reduction, sustainability standards, life cycle assessments, sustainable diets, mainstreaming biodiversity, and strengthening governance can support more sustainable food production and consumption. By considering barriers and opportunities of implementing these actions in Peru and the United Kingdom, we derive potential targets and indicators for the post-2020 biodiversity framework. For targets to support transformation, genuine political commitment, accountability and compliance, and wider enabling conditions and actions by diverse agents are needed to shift food systems onto a sustainable path.

scholarly journals CIRCULAR ECONOMY AND ‘CIRCULAR ECONOMY PROFESSIONAL’: CONCEPTS IN UKRAINIAN AND POLISH SCIENTIFIC FIELD

2020 ◽  
pp. 47-67
Author(s):  
Alexey S Sysoev
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Scientific Field ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Training Professionals ◽  
Environmental Instability ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Circular Economics ◽  
Definition Of

The article analyses the approaches to the definition of ‘circular economy’ and ‘professional in circular economy’ in the Ukrainian and Polish scientific space. It is shown that in Ukraine today there is a linear economic model, according to which enterprises extract natural resources and sell what they produce to consumers who throw away products, if it no longer serves its purpose. As a result of this model, our natural resources are reduced and the amount of waste we generate increases, which leads to environmental instability and environmental degradation. The concept of ‘professional in circular economics’ in the Ukrainian educational and economic field is absent, in contrast to European countries, in particular the Republic of Poland, where the circular economy is considered as a strategy of economic development and much attention is paid to training professionals in circular economics and to improving qualification of those, who are already working. The purpose of the work is to highlight the approaches to understanding the circular economy and the content of the activities of professionals in a circular economy in the Ukrainian and Polish scientific field. Circular economy is characterized as a general name of economic activity aimed at energy saving, regenerative environmentally friendly production and consumption. The role of the circular economy as the most successful way of saving resources and materials, and thus the way to constant economic growth, in contrast to the traditional model of economic development. It is emphasized that the transition to a circular economy will create new jobs in many sectors of the economy. Ukrainian experts, in particular economists, emphasize the importance of the transition to a circular economy (instead of a linear one). Key words: linear economy; professionals’ training in circular economy; circular economy; professional in circular economy.

scholarly journals MEASURING THE PROGRESS TOWARDS CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN EUROPEAN UNION COUNTRIES

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-35
Author(s):  
Nicolae Pintilie ◽  
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Waste Management ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
European Union Countries ◽  
Continuous Actions ◽  
Consumption Waste

This paper aims to create an image of progress towards circular economy registered by European Union countries through specific indicators. In this way, this paper is based on the study and analysis of the 13 indicators, grouped on 4 pillars: Production and consumption, Waste management, Secondary raw materials, Competitiveness and innovation. After the presentation of the methodology, the paper develops an analysis in time and space of the selected indicators, then an analysis of the countries with their grouping on clusters, creating a map of them and highlighting the current situation of circular economy in the European Union. Moreover, the paper also presents the evolution of the countries regarding circular economy, which has a big importance taking into account that in the European Union the preoccupations for this concept is higher from one period to another. Among the most interesting results are: (1) a massive concentration of countries with problems for Waste management pillar; (2) Europe is one of the regions with the largest contribution in terms of circular economy, but the concept is developing differently from one country to another; (3) The scoreboard evolution is particularly useful in revealing the continuous actions adopted by countries in order to facilitate the conversion to circular economy. Finally, the paper presents possible limits of the research, but also future directions of its development.

scholarly journals The EU’s farm to fork strategy: missing links for transformation

2020 ◽  
pp. 17-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sinead Mowlds
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Environmentally Friendly

The Farm-to-Fork strategy, launched in May 2020, is the first attempt at a European-wide approach to food systems of this scale. The strategy sets ambitious targets and aims to create a ‘fair, healthy, and environmentally friendly food system’. Yet, within the bounds of its own regulatory and legislative context (including the Green Deal, the Circular Economy Action Plan and the new Biodiversity Strategy 2030), the strategy falls short of recognising key links in and between the food system. This review posits that the strategy and its targets do not adequately consider the importance of transforming agricultural practices for environmental outcomes; of agricultural practices for nutrition outcomes; nor the links between how we value nutrition along the supply chain, from farm to fork

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