PERSPECTIVE article

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

Sec. Social Movements, Institutions and Governance

Volume 9 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2025.1570961

Three reasons why food system transformations are contested, and why food system scientists and policymakers should care

Provisionally accepted
Ola T. WestengenOla T. Westengen1*Kate SchneiderKate Schneider2Arild AngelsenArild Angelsen3Marina AspholmMarina Aspholm4Nils BjugstadNils Bjugstad5Siri Hallstrom EriksenSiri Hallstrom Eriksen6Ruth HaugRuth Haug1Caroline KarlssonCaroline Karlsson7Hanne Fjerdingby OlsenHanne Fjerdingby Olsen7Odd Arne RognliOdd Arne Rognli8Angela SchwarmAngela Schwarm7Christian A SmedshaugChristian A Smedshaug7Paula VarelaPaula Varela9
  • 1Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Department of Environment and Development Studies, 1435 Ås, Norway
  • 2Johns Hopkins University, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Washington, United States
  • 3Norwegian University of Life Sciences, School of Economics and Business, 1435 Ås, Norway
  • 4Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Department of Paraclinical Sciences, 1435 Ås, Norway
  • 5Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Technology, 1435 Ås, Norway
  • 6Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Department of Public Health Science, 1435 Ås, Norway
  • 7Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Department of Livestock and Aquaculture Science, 1435 Ås, Norway
  • 8Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Department of Plant Science, 1435 Ås, Norway
  • 9NOFIMA, Department of Market and Consumer Studies, 1435 Ås, Norway

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Select one of your emails

You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:

Notify me on publication

Please enter your email address:

If you already have an account, please login

You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here

Over the last years, consortia of researchers with mandates from high-level international policy forums have published comprehensive assessments and indicator frameworks defining human welfare needs and planetary boundaries for food systems transformations. Despite the evidence presented, scientific assessments and guidelines on food production and diets remain hotly contested. In this Perspective we discuss three reasons why this is so: goal conflicts, disciplinary framing, and power and influence. Understanding and addressing the reasons for discord and polarization are important to build common ground and mobilize the necessary collective action for food system transformations.

Keywords: food system transformation, Indicator frameworks, goal conflicts, disciplinary framing, power relations

Received: 04 Feb 2025; Accepted: 01 May 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Westengen, Schneider, Angelsen, Aspholm, Bjugstad, Eriksen, Haug, Karlsson, Olsen, Rognli, Schwarm, Smedshaug and Varela. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Ola T. Westengen, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Department of Environment and Development Studies, 1435 Ås, Norway

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Supplementary Material