Conceptualizing sustainable diets in Vietnam: Minimum metrics and potential leverage points

Holly Mayton, Ty Beal, Julia Rubin, Alejandra Sanchez, Martin Heller, Lesli Hoey, Stef de Haan, Thanh Thi Duong, Tuyen Huynh, Dharani Dhar Burra, Colin K. Khoury and Andrew D. Jones

Food Policy, 2020, vol. 91, issue C

Abstract: A major barrier to achieving sustainable diets is the lack of clearly defined and agreed upon intervention points that will positively influence multiple sectors of the food system. There is an urgent need to understand what policy approaches and interventions will most effectively enhance the sustainability of diets in rapidly urbanizing low- and middle-income countries. To address this need, this work combines the input of diverse stakeholders and analysis of existing datasets to develop a conceptual framework for sustainable diets that is locally relevant to Vietnam using a process that is generalizable to other developing countries. The resulting framework includes 235 unique, measurable indicators within eight domains: (1) food production, (2) food processing and distribution, (3) food loss and waste, (4) food access and consumption, (5) food and water safety, (6) nutrition, (7) sociopolitical context, and (8) environmental impact. This conceptual framework was employed in a participatory workshop that brought together 50 Vietnamese stakeholders from diverse areas of expertise to identify and prioritize specific metrics for measuring sustainable diets. Based on the results of the stakeholder workshop, expert interviews, and characterized datasets, a comprehensive set of minimum metrics for each domain was produced and key leverage points that are likely to have an impact across multiple sectors were identified. These leverage points include food quality and safety, agricultural chemical usage, food waste, and water management. The analysis is expected to contribute to evidence-based policymaking in Vietnam to cultivate more sustainable diets.

Keywords: Sustainable diets; Conceptual framework; Vietnam; Food safety; Sustainable food systems (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306919220300208
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jfpoli:v:91:y:2020:i:c:s0306919220300208

DOI: 10.1016/j.foodpol.2020.101836

Access Statistics for this article

Food Policy is currently edited by J. Kydd

More articles in Food Policy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().