Why is finding solutions to combat the increasing access to affordable ultra-processed foods so controversial and what strategies are necessary for policy change?

Agri-food systems transformation requires accelerated innovations to address multiple economic, environmental and health objectives. No innovation serves everyone’s interests. Political opposition to innovations is therefore inevitable.

The European Union (EU)’s food system is under pressure for reform.

Food systems policy has multiple legitimate aims, and different policy actors hold different values, beliefs, and interests around these issues.

While the need for policy reforms to generate more equitable, healthier, and sustainable food systems increasingly is acknowledged by policymakers and the public, the political economy dynamics to achieve this will remain sizeable in the years to

This chapter examines four important food production innovations that have been favored by scientists but opposed by influential swathes of the public: Green Revolution farming, industrial agriculture, the use of synthetic chemicals versus organic

How were the governments of three middle-income countries with high levels of non-communicable diseases (NCDs)—India, Mexico, and South Africa—able to implement sugar-sweetened beverage taxes (SSBs) despite intense opposition from powerful corpora

Today’s food production and consumption has large consequences for the environment and human health.

Central to understanding the political economy of food systems transformation is clarifying the systems that enable—or prevent—monitoring progress on transformation, setting evidence-based commitments for improvement, and ensuring accountability f

This chapter focuses on African cities and problematizes emerging food system and urban system trends and actions in these cities. The focus on Africa is deliberate.

Part of the Emerging-Economy State and International Policy Studies book series (EESIPS)

The biomedical domain has shown that in silico analyses over vast data pools enhances the speed and scale of scientific innovation.

Agriculture and the agrifood processing sector play an important role in many African economies.

Confronting climate change requires action at all levels, from the individual to the global.

As COVID-19 began spreading globally in early 2020, it quickly went beyond major cities to affect rural areas in much of the world.

In April 2020, Tanzania’s prime minister made a simple plea: “Tanzanians should maintain trust in the government.

Vulnerable groups have been most affected by disruption to food systems, such as lockdowns, through loss of employment and incomes. Social protection has a key role to play in times of health and economic shocks.

Rethinking food system policies in terms of “eco-agro-food systems” can help to foster an integrated approach that will maintain and restore vital ecosystem services and reduce the likelihood of future shocks.