Rethinking Food Systems: Investigating Sustainable Market Transitions for Promoting Public Goods and Ecosystem Services in Livestock Farming.

The environmental impacts of livestock production, including major land use, negative contribution to climate change and biodiversity loss, remain major sustainability challenges. Current market structures prioritize productivity and hinder the provision of sustainable animal-based products, that can also provide public goods and ecosystem services. It is therefore necessary to re-evaluate food systems, define the role of agricultural stakeholders and consider disruptive (technological) market developments to acknowledge and valorize the multifunctionality of certain livestock production systems. This research project will deal with four interlinked objectives: i) develop a market-based framework that integrates private and public goods and ecosystem services, focusing on farming and livestock systems in the EU; ii) examine existing marketing systems to assess their potential to promote public goods and ecosystem services; iii) explore how individual choices influence equity and sustainability in food systems, particularly in the EU, using innovative data and technology approaches; and iv) assess the impact of innovations and (new) business models on market transitions towards greater sustainability.