Organic food systems as models for sustainable food systems in Europe and North Africa

Project Moroccan Holder: Pr. Youssef ABOUSSALEH (Ibn Tofail University)

Project period: Januar 2021 – June 2024

Consortium Partners

  1. University of Kassel, Germany – Organic Food Quality and Food Culture Department
  2. Ibn Tofail University, Morocco – Faculty of sciences
  3. University of Copenhagen, Denmark – Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports
  4. Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Poland – Department of Functional and Organic Foods
  5. Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, Italy – CREA Research Center for Food and Nutrition
  6. FH Münster University of Applied Sciences, Germany – Department of Food and Nutrition
  7. Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari, Italy – International Center for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM-Bari)

Project Description

 SysOrg aims to identify intervention and entry points to enable a transformation process towards resilient and sustainable food systems. It also seeks to identify how pathways to increase sustainable consumption and food production could be successfully designed. To this end, it is necessary to better understand food systems, including the multitude of actors involved, and to identify critical points within the system. The assumption is that food systems have common intervention and entry points to enable transformation processes that are transferable but need to be adapted to the regional level. Thus, the following questions will be addressed:

– What are the common intervention and entry points within the food system to enable a transformation process towards resilient and sustainable food systems?

– How can pathways for increasing sustainable consumption and food production be successfully designed throughout the system?

– What are the reasons, motivations or drivers for actors to opt for the most sustainable solution?

– What are the intervention and entry points for developing, consolidating and disseminating improved organic food and farming, reducing waste and moving towards sustainable diets?

– What are the critical points for bringing these perspectives together in a systematic approach? This is done by mapping and analyzing five case territories (Copenhagen, Cilento, North Hesse, Warsaw, Kenitra).  

Four perspectives have been adopted:

– System transition

– Evolution towards sustainable diets

– Improving organic food and farming

– Transdisciplinary waste reduction

This multiple transnational case study will involve a multi-stakeholder approach. SysOrg will result in improved and locally adapted strategies for the transformation of food systems across Europe and North Africa into sustainable, resilient and resource-efficient food systems with less environmental impact and high socio-cultural acceptance.

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