THE ROLE OF DIETARY SHIFT FOR SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS

In recent decades, the global challenges concerning food sustainability have intensified by the urgent need to address environmental degradation, public health concerns, and social equity issues. A significant aspect that has garnered attention is the phenomenon of dietary transitions and shifts. As societies evolve economically, socially, and culturally, so do their dietary patterns. These transitions, often characterized by changes in consumption habits, technical innovations, political policies, and economic drivers in food systems, highlight aspects and challenges to the sustainability of our alimentary systems such as greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, water scarcity, biodiversity loss and a notable rise in the consumption of resource-intensive foods including meat, dairy, and processed foods. In these process, positive tipping points are properties and events that influence systems dynamics that prompts transformations in individual and collective practices in order to promote sustainable and innovative enrichment in society. The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the dynamics of modern food system sustainability, to assess with a specific focus on determining and understanding the main drivers in transitions and shifts through analysis, case studies and final considerations. The thesis presents a statistical analysis of the past time-series of food consumption covering the key food categories, with global coverage and regional resolution. Relevant trends are shown for bovine meat, milk, poultry meat providing their critical role in diet transition for food system sustainability. The statistical framework proposed in this thesis is also combined with a case-study analysis aiming at showing relevant past examples and drivers of changes in food consumption. The results obtained in the thesis are intended to provide quantitative insights in the past evolution of the global food system and show key drivers of changes, which can be used in future analyses of positive tipping points in the food system.