Despite the different elements that regard Food Supply Chains (FSCs) and the Short Food Supply Chains (SFSCs) as possessing opposing models, substantial changes are happening in them, such as ...economic, social and environmental sustainability practices, allowing description of other forms of existence of the models, in addition to the initial opposition. Thus, this article aims to establish and describe the coexistence conceptual framework of the FSCs and SFSCs, at odds with the current polarisation of the literature on chain approaches. After conducting a systematic literature review covering 51 peer-reviewed articles, this paper draws on biology and market performativity notions establish and describe a framework of FSCs and SFSCs. Through content analysis and synthesis of the literature, a coexistence conceptual framework was developed, arranged around two main criteria: i) convergence of interests, and ii) need to add value. These chain models, although coexisting independently or competitively interact with each other, emphasising that they are not isolated models. The literature recognises this interaction through the sharing of inputs, processes, markets, practices, relations, knowledge, values and hybridisation of chains. Blurring their polarisation, this interrelation reveals the supply chain plasticity, emphasising sustainability as a significant shift in the business environment and as a driver of the coexistence framework. Through these results, four types of coexistence in the conceptual framework can be stressed: i) unco-operative; ii) competitive; iii) co-operative; and iv) co-ordinative. Contributing to demystification of their interaction, this article adds to the (short) food supply chains’ capability of making changes in order to accommodate significant shifts in the business environment, thereby expanding the field through a coexistence notion.
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•FSCs and SFSCc coexiste..•Coexistence types are: i) unco-operative; ii) competitive; iii) co-operative; and iv) co-ordinative.
"Sustainable Food Supply Chain Research", as a seminar collection of articles, provides theoretical and empirical scientific insights to enable sustainable food research academics, students, and ...practitioners to gauge the trajectory of sustainable food supply chain research, including contemporary research positions on a sustainable food supply chain around the world. Rigorously synthesizing the relevant academic literature and gold standard methods, the scientific contributions in this reprint integrate quantitative and qualitative models and tools that address the product quality framework for food supply chains, the causes of food waste within grocery retail chains, choice editing in favour of sustainable consumption in supply chains, multi-stakeholder initiatives in food supply chains, sustainability in governance in the cocoa supply chain, digitalisation for a sustainable food supply chain, logistics service quality, crop failure and supply chain dynamics in a developing country context, strategic agility in the fresh produce supply chain, and short food supply chains, among others.
This study highlights the major players in the global food balance, potential implications of COVID-19 on global food supply, and SDG-2 (zero hunger). It found that developing countries, fifteen from ...Africa followed by ten from Latin America, six from Oceania, and four from Asia, are the most vulnerable to changes cereal supply shocks. It concludes that the current pandemic is likely to cause transitory food insecurity across such vulnerable countries. The effects of the pandemic on food security (SDG-2) may persist longer as a combined effect of economic slowdown and increase in poverty, limiting food supply and access beyond 2020.
Short food supply chains (SFSCs) have undergone significant developments for roughly a decade, spurring the interest of producers, consumers and governments. A thorough review of the literature shows ...the various economic, social and environmental benefits associated with SFSCs across much of Europe and North America. However, these benefits have generally been analyzed in isolation from each other, with very few studies attempting to characterize them as a whole in a systemic fashion.
This article aims to evaluate the contributions of SFSCs to territorial development in three contrasting Quebec territories. For this, we developed a model that is organized around four dimensions that are interlinked through systemic relations: farmers' welfare, local development, welfare of the community, and environmental protection. For each of these dimensions, we determined criteria and indicators in order to compare, whenever possible, the results obtained in this research with the available provincial data.
Overall, our results show that, when considering the indicators chosen for this research, SFSCs mostly have a positive effect on the three territories targeted by our research. The most positive aspects of these systems are job creation, skills development for farmers, job satisfaction, and the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices. The most neutral elements relate to revenues for farmers engaged in SFSCs, the economic weight of SFSCs within the local economy, the influence of SFSCs on the access to fresh and healthy food, and their effects on social cohesion.
•Short food supply chains (SFSCs) are analysed for their contributions to territorial development.•Model includes four dimensions: farmers' welfare, local development, welfare of the community, environmental protection.•No negative effect can be attributed to the SFSCs.•Positive effects mostly concern the creation of jobs on farms, the job satisfaction of farmers, environmental practices.•The most neutral elements concern the revenues of farmers and the contribution of SFSCs to the total gross farm receipts.
The implementation of the blockchain technology in the agri-food supply chains is in its introductory phase. Lead companies, often retailers, introduce this technology for specific objectives, such ...as assuring traceability or improving sales and reputation. At the same time, the technology could impact much more broadly the performances of food chains. Little is known about this impact as the evidence provided in the literature is scarce and mostly focused on specific indicators. This paper addresses this gap assessing the impact of the blockchain technology on food supply chains from an explorative perspective. An integrated conceptual framework is proposed which includes a broad set of performance dimensions discussed in the literature: efficiency, flexibility, responsiveness, food quality, and transparency of supply chains. These dimensions are assessed using a case study, consisting of three supply chains where a large European retailer has promoted the blockchain adoption. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with key managers at different stages of the three supply chains and were systematically analysed through a thematic analysis. Results reveal that blockchain technology impacts positively on the profit and/or return on investment of supply chains, it leads to an increase of extrinsic food quality attributes and it fosters a better information management along the food chains due to an improved information accessibility, availability and sharing. The current analysis also suggests an improved management of behavioural uncertainty among the agents of the supply chains and an increase of firm's knowledge as well as supply chain management competencies. While the study remains of explorative nature, it offers a basis for the selection of theoretical approaches and the formulation of new hypotheses for future blockchain studies.
•Blockchain technology provides an increase of profit and/or return on investment.•The supply chain has higher information accessibility, availability, and sharing.•Firm's costs, flexibility, and responsiveness of operations are not impacted.•An improved organization of vertical relationships is observed.•Firms develop higher knowledge and competencies.
Over the last decades, the economic, social and environmental sustainability of the conventional agri-food system has and continues to be contested within both academic and public institutions. For ...small farms, the unsustainability of the food system is even more serious; farms' declining share of profit and the cost-price squeeze of commodity production has increased barriers to market access with the inevitable effect of agricultural abandonment. One way forward to respond to the existing conventional agri-food systems and to create a competitive or survival strategy for small family farms is the re-construction of regional and local agri-food systems, aligning with Kramer and Porter's concept of shared value strategy. Through a critical literature review, this paper presents "regional and local food hubs" as innovative organizational arrangements capable of bridging structural holes in the agri-food markets between small producers and the consumers-individuals and families as well as big buyers. Food hubs respond to a supply chain (or supply network) organizational strategy aiming at re-territorialising the agri-food systems through the construction of what in the economic literature are defined as values-based food supply chains.
•Peas are the most promising plant-protein source with rising market approval.•Understanding the market feasibility of pea protein supply chains (SCs) is vital.•A SWOT analysis revealed challenges ...and prospects within pea protein food SCs.•Industry experts revealed “known-unknowns” about pea protein SC operations.•A blueprint of initiatives informs the further development of pea protein SCs.
Plant-based protein food products are considered healthier, more nutritious, and substantially ‘greener’ than meat-based dietary offerings. For reasons such as these plant protein sources including peas/legumes, soy and algae are experiencing unprecedented market popularity. Amidst the multitude of alternative protein-based foods on offer, peas are the most promising plant-protein source as they contain all the essential amino acids and have a well-balanced nutritional profile in terms of fat and fibre. However, understanding the extent of the market feasibility of the respective pea protein supply chains (SCs), based on practical expertise, is of utmost importance for policymakers and industrialists alike to evaluate the growth potential of peas as a protein source. To this end, a survey was conducted among pea SC stakeholders to create an understanding of the level of market feasibility of pea protein-based products. A SWOT analysis consolidated the different views and resulted in the identification of specific strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats within the industry. By focusing on understanding the challenges and prospects within pea-protein product SCs, this research provides a springboard for further research investigations into related plant protein-based products. The resulting blueprint of recommended initiatives can help inform the further development of pea protein SCs.
The globalisation of the food industry increases the complexity and the difficulty in enhancing efficiency and solving issues in food supply chains. Blockchain is a promising decentralised ...information technology that could benefit food supply chains by reducing transaction cost and time, increasing process transparency, security, and efficiency, as well as building trust among participants. In this paper, we introduce the major blockchain platforms currently used in food supply chains and conduct a synthesis analysis to explore the benefits and challenges of blockchain technology in the food industry. We demonstrate that blockchain enables unprecedented visibility at each step of the food supply chain, helps increase transaction transparency, food safety, and quality, and also reduces food fraud and waste. Furthermore, it serves as a digital solution for reducing operational costs and improving efficiency in food supply chains.
•Blockchain contributes to fair, sustainable, and traceable food supply chains.•Blockchain is used as a tool to drive technological innovation for sustainability.•Blockchain is often viewed as a ...philosophical mindset to drive innovation.•Resistance to Blockchain stems from protecting the status quo.•Cooperative, functional, and psychological barriers enhance Blockchain resistance.
Blockchain technology has been forwarded as an innovation to address pressing sustainability challenges in global food supply chains. However, limited studies have critically examined the technology's role in advancing sustainability. Drawing on the literature on sustainability-oriented innovation and innovation resistance theory, we explore the potential of blockchain technology to contribute to sustainable transformations within food supply chains. We reflect on 18 expert interviews with various actors across global food supply chains to evaluate the opportunities for, and resistance to, Blockchain technology as a driver of sustainability. The findings reveal that Blockchain is used within food supply chains as both a tool for sustainability as well as a broader philosophical mindset for addressing sustainability challenges. We reveal the opportunities for Blockchain technology as a sustainability-oriented innovation that can ensure fairer supply chains, enhance food traceability, and drive environmental sustainability. We also unpack the resistance to Blockchain that hinder its potential as a sustainability-oriented innovation which include functional and psychological barriers alongside cooperative barriers and protection of the status quo. Our study contributes to the broader literature on sustainability-oriented innovation and innovation resistance theory.
We explore a problem faced by agri-food e-commerce platforms in purchasing different, perishable products and collecting them from multiple producers and delivering them to a single warehouse, aiming ...to maintain adequate inventory levels to meet current and future customer demand, while avoiding waste. Customer demand and suppliers’ purchase prices and supply volumes are uncertain and revealed on a periodical basis. Every period, purchasing, inventory, and routing decisions are made to satisfy demand and to build inventory for future periods. For effective decisions integrating all three decision components and anticipating future developments, we propose a stochastic lookahead method that, in every period, samples future scenarios for demand, supply volumes, and prices. It then solves a two-stage stochastic program to obtain the decision for the current period. To make this approach computationally tractable, we reduce the routing decision in the two-stage program and use an approximate routing cost instead. Given the reduced decision, we then create the final decision via a conventional routing heuristic. We learn the routing cost approximation adaptively via repeated training simulations. In comprehensive experiments, we show that all three components, stochastic lookahead, routing cost approximation, and adaptive learning, are very effective individually, but especially in combination. We also provide a comprehensive analysis of the problem parameters and obtain valuable insights in problem and methodology.
•We consider purchasing and collection operations of a Colombian e-grocery platform.•We model the stochastic dynamic problem as a sequential decision process model.•We combine a stochastic lookahead with an adaptive routing cost approximation.•We analyze method and problem in comprehensive experiments.
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