How to achieve a sustainable food transition
Our society faces multiple challenges – and so does food provision. Many people are aware that our way of life and economic practices must fundamentally change, i.e., transform, in order to preserve a planet worth living on. There is no shortage of theoretical concepts, practical proposals, or scientifically validated models. But the knowledge is patchy and contradictory, and as soon as implementation is expected to begin, things become even more difficult.
Planning security requires a collective vision of the route livestock farming is to follow, since the forces of inertia are strong: habits built up over decades, established structures, and financial dependencies serve to maintain the status quo just as much as laws and regulations or social norms and expectations. Added to this are fears and mistrust, such as the fear of losing out if you are an “early adopter” or of being taken advantage of by other players in the system. And there is a lack of financial and other compensatory mechanisms that are required to distribute the costs and benefits of change fairly.
One way to overcome resistance and take action is by fostering processes in which those affected work together with the scientific community to develop actionable knowledge and identify potential future measures. In 2019, the Austrian Science Fund FWF launched the transdisciplinary pilot program #ConnectingMinds to promote such processes. Support is granted to projects consisting of mixed teams from academia and real-life practice that jointly develop the research questions and work together on an equal footing all the way to implementation.
Co-learning, or the wisdom of many minds
COwLEARNING is one such project. Launched in 2022, it was developed in cooperation with BOKU and the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, the Federal Association of Austrian Cattle Breeders, the Vienna Food Policy Council, the Culinary Network, the animal welfare organization Vier Pfoten, and the “Land schafft Leben” platform. “We want to explore possible changes and develop pathways toward a sustainable milk and meat supply in Austria,” says principal investigator Marianne Penker, sustainability expert at BOKU, outlining the objective of the five-year project. “When we say sustainable, we don’t just mean ecological and animal welfare aspects,” adds Penker. After all, far-reaching changes can work only if economic and social sustainability are also part of the equation. This includes a decent livelihood for farmers as well as healthy food that is accessible to all segments of the population.
Breaking the blame game
The project’s conceptual phase already demonstrated that there are major hurdles to be overcome on the path to greater sustainability. Applying for #ConnectingMinds is a two-step process: step one is a workshop in which the project partners jointly develop the research questions for the actual project proposal and define the nature of their collaboration.
“At that workshop, everyone was very reserved at first,” recalls Penker, “and they would have preferred to shift the blame for existing problems onto one another.” Slaughterhouses complained about price pressure from retailers; retailers claimed they were only doing what consumers wanted; consumers complained about not receiving information from restaurants regarding the origin of the meat, and so on and so forth. “Basically, there is a mindset that we often see in transformation processes: if the others don’t change, I can’t change anything either,” reports Penker, who has been advocating transformative solutions in rural areas for decades and also has extensive experience with transdisciplinary collaboration. That’s why the team titled the project proposal ‘Breaking the Blame Game.’ “We wanted to bring the stakeholders together, not engage in mutual finger pointing.”
Three scenarios for 2050
One project objective that has now been achieved was the development of three future scenarios for sustainable livestock farming in Austria. It was a deliberate decision to set 2050 as the target year. “Transforming the entire system in one year or five years won’t work because people are too personally affected,” explains Penker. “But when the time horizon is 2050, we free up our thinking.” Transformation research has shown that fear is a poor advisor, especially when people need to develop the courage to change. That is why COwLEARNING focuses on desirable futures rather than best- and worst-case scenarios.
For the process, a “stakeholder” network of around 30 people – extending beyond the project sponsors – was formed across the entire supply chain of milk and beef in Austria. In addition to researchers from various disciplines, the participants included farmers, representatives from breeding and processing facilities (slaughterhouses, dairies), animal welfare NGOs and civil society, the retail sector, the food and beverage service industry, as well as interest groups and government officials at annual working meetings.
Actually, everyone is willing…
“It’s really intriguing to see how similar everyone’s ideas are about ‘good’ agriculture and sustainable food once the main focus is no longer on their day-to-day business or their own livelihoods,” says Penker. This shows just how strong the desire for sustainability really is. Once trust has been established, even far-reaching changes become conceivable – an experience the expert has already had as a scientific advisor to the Austrian Climate Council.
Hence, despite all the differences in the three scenarios for 2050 (see box) – the participants were able to envision attractive futures that ensure compliance with planetary boundaries, lower meat consumption, reduced feed imports, and greater animal welfare, for instance, by enabling more pasture-based grazing and, in some cases, longer cow-calf contact.
Thanks to the many different backgrounds, the process is enriched by a wealth of ideas and practical experience. “A lot is already happening on farms, in packaging-free supermarkets, at vegan alpine huts, etc. – they are like real-world laboratories.”
The three COwLEARNING scenarios
Scenario 1: “Living Culinary Heritage – Sustainably Interpreted” opts for sustainable regional alpine and pasture farming and the sustainable development of regional food and culinary culture. State-of-the-art technology ensures high-quality products and transparency, while culinary tourism is booming. For low-income groups, the higher costs are offset by targeted measures such as affordable communal lunch tables or social benefits.
Scenario 2: “Smart Collaboration – Digital Cycles for Sustainable Food” places the focus on regional cooperation and the closure of material cycles with digital support. Consumers and agricultural stakeholders connect “smartly” with one another, for example through purchasing cooperatives.
Scenario 3: “A Personal Plate of Nature – Well-being for People, Animals, and Nature” focuses on biotech and health services. Nutrition is optimized based on genetic analyses – serving also as a preventive measure –, supported by specialized animal breeding or production techniques. Agricultural and health companies work closely together. The “One Welfare” approach, which combines the well-being of human beings, animals, and nature, ensures the sustainability of the entire ecological and supply system.
Feasibility studies show: sustainable transformation is possible
While the three scenarios seem almost unrealistically idyllic, each proposal is based on complex calculations and on “several process steps backed by literature and data. We analyzed the changes from farm to fork,” explains Penker. Examples of the questions the researchers examined include: What is the impact of the proposed changes on CO₂ and methane emissions, on value chains, and on the well-being of people and cattle? Are the new systems resilient in times of crisis, for example during an oil crisis, in the event of war, or if social polarization continues to increase? According to Penker, the calculations have shown that all three scenarios are plausible and ecologically stable, realistic, and achievable within Austria’s territory.
In the next and final step, the participants will develop transformation pathways – i.e. guidelines on how these desired futures could be achieved starting from the present moment. “This gives us a solid basis for decision-making for policymakers, businesses, and civil society. And it could also be incorporated into a national food strategy, something that –unlike other EU countries – we do not have yet in Austria,” notes Penker.
Further COwLEARNING
Project progress and results are published on an easy-to-understand website. In addition, the team developed a “serious game” for WhatsApp, which makes the content accessible for the target group of young urban dwellers in a playful way. The game was played intensively at a Viennese high school, supported by a graduate student from the University of Agricultural and Environmental Education, who is analyzing the learning impact.
According to Penker, the greatest success of the project resides in the many “aha” moments that occurred during the process, and which have even given rise to international publications. Another factor of equal importance are the connections – even friendships – that emerged through the collaboration. “It is incredibly encouraging when participants learn that others in the production chain think similarly or are willing to take risks. That in itself is a trigger for change.”
In order to ultimately proceed from today’s system to the desired future, this knowledge of transformation is essential. In addition to academia and practice, the expertise needed for the effective implementation of measures lies with government, policy-makers, the legal system, and civil society.
About the researcher
Marianne Penker studied landscape planning and landscape management at BOKU Vienna, where she was appointed professor of rural sociology and rural development in 2017. Her work focuses on sustainable food systems, particularly in Europe. In order to support transformation processes, Penker has promoted transdisciplinary collaboration between science and practice for decades. She served for several years as chair of the UNESCO Biosphere Committee in Austria and contributed to a state-of-knowledge report informing the EU’s Farm to Fork Strategy. In 2022, she was a member of the scientific advisory board for Vision 2028+ for Austrian Agriculture and the Austrian Climate Council.
About the project
As part of the transdisciplinary COwLEARNING project, a network of around 30 stakeholders across the entire value chain was formed. Over a five-year process, this network is collaborating with the scientific community to develop pathways toward a more ecologically, economically, and socially sustainable dairy and beef supply in Austria that also prioritizes animal welfare.
COwLEARNING is a collaboration between BOKU, the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Rinderzucht Austria, the Vienna Food Policy Council, Netzwerk Kulinarik, Vier Pfoten, and the “Land schafft Leben” platform. The project will run until February 2027 and is funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) with 1 million euros through the #ConnectingMinds funding program. The additional citizen science project COwWEL enables groups vulnerable to poor nutrition to participate in the process as well.
