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To analyze more deeply and in a systemic perspective food system outcomes, and the contribution that small farming can give to the achievement of those outcomes, a detailed analysis of food systems is required, which highlights its components, activities and dynamics. Thus, this chapter deepens the analysis of the food system. We first reflect on the complexity of the concept of food system, discussing the abundance of different conceptualizations proposed in the scientific and political debate on the base of different disciplines and perspectives. Then, a comprehensive representation is shown, which is then unpacked. The food system actors, assets and functions are explored, with an eye on power relations among actors and on the main drivers of change. Governance (that also includes actors external to the food systems) is called ‘reflexive’, as long as it characterizes a system that is able to reflect upon the conditions and the forms of its own functioning, to detect and analyze threats and to change accordingly, with the involvement of actors external to the food systems. This analysis, which represents the focus of this section, provides the base for the description of the food system vulnerability developed in Chapter 4. Drivers of change and governance emerge as key categories to consider.

This paper aims to explore how food-focused social activities are a route for promoting intergenerational relationships, well-being and dietary benefits among residents in care homes and children in preschool/schools.

Using a case study methodology, this study undertook staff-focused research on a 26-month UK programme in 12 partnership clusters, involving a range of growing, cooking, eating and community activities.

Staff reported benefits for older people, including improved mood, surfacing positive memories, new personal connections and relief from feelings of boredom and loneliness. Children were reported to develop in-depth relationships, greater empathy and overcame negative preconceptions. Food-based activities enabled all parties to express caring and nurturing in tangible and often non-verbal ways.

Food-based activities appear to have specific material and emotive characteristics that resonate with the intergenerational interests of older people and children. Using mainly in-house resources, this study showed that it is feasible to generate novel food-based practices between children’s education and care home sectors. A “test-and-learn” programme model is recommended, given sensitivities and complexity associated with food-based activities and the limited organizational capacity of care home and early education service providers.

In Japan, since an outbreak of mass food poisoning in 2000, consumer interest in food safety and security has increased, focusing on activities such as Chisan-Chishō (Local Production, Local Consumption), Slow Food, and LOHAS. Activities related to food safety and security in Japan have a strong local character, are moving toward industrialization, are not bound by tradition, and can be said to be activities in pursuit of alternative forms of consumption and development. In Japan, most supporters of Slow Food, LOHAS, and Chisan-Chishō have been women. In societies where production is important, consumption has been entrusted to women. Therefore, activities related to food safety and security are tied to social reform with women in central roles. Receiving social recognition, these activities develop business opportunities, move toward globalized industrialization, and, in a gendered society centered on men, become activities with men in central positions. Gender in the area of food does not allow women to take part in production and distribution and is moving to exclude women. To secure women's position in food, it is necessary to industrialize according to women's ways such as maintaining the viewpoint of living nature, mutual support, collective leadership, and networking.

Childhood obesity is a serious health concern (World Health Organization (WHO), 2013) and advertising exposure is known to be a contributing factor (Institute of Medicine (IOM), 2006). In recent years consumers have expressed an increased interest in products appearing healthy and food companies have committed to changing their child-targeted marketing practices to promote a healthy lifestyle. The purpose of this paper is to examine depictions of physical activity in food advertising and assess how recognition of a promoted food’s healthy and unhealthy traits influences dietary selections among youth in Southern Arizona in the USA.

A content analysis of food advertisements aired during 2009-2013 (n=534 and 354, respectively) identified changes to child-targeted food marketing messages. A structured interview determined differences in recognition of “juxtaposed beliefs” (i.e. that are contradictory and both healthy and unhealthy e.g. connecting exercise with a food high in sugar) among younger children, five to six years of age (n=34) and older children, ten to 11 years of age (n=34). Children were offered snacks to determine how this ability to recognize juxtaposition related to their dietary selections.

There has been an increase in the frequency with which physical activity is depicted in advertisements for high-sugar foods. When presented with such advertising, a greater number of older than younger children recognized juxtaposed beliefs. Those younger children who showed recognition were more likely to select the advertised item, although this was not the case with older children.

The findings from this research relate to children’s responses to advertisements for sugared cereal that depict physical activity and may not be generalizable further.

Children who are able to recognize both the healthy and unhealthy aspects of food are paradoxically likely to find it more appealing. Given the increased practice of associating high-sugar foods with physical activity in child-targeted food marketing, this raises concerns for nutrition education strategies, and the regulation of food marketing to children.

Little research has examined the depiction of physical activity in food marketing targeting children, nor children’s ability to recognize, and react to, juxtaposed beliefs regarding a product’s healthfulness.

This study analyses the dimensions of cocreation in on-site food-related activities.

A systematic literature review was conducted in two databases (Scopus and Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) Web of Science), and 67 peer-reviewed articles were identified on cocreation in tourism experiences.

The study reveals that food-related activities involving active participation are more likely to be successfully performed in more informal environments, in which culinary experiences cocreated by both tourists and hosts are favoured. Moreover, tourists who learn something new appreciate the value of cocreation within food tourism experiences better.

Although the researchers used two renowned databases to conduct the systematic literature review, there is the risk that some manuscripts related to the topic were excluded.

The transfer of new skills and knowledge through direct contact between tourists and hosts are prerequisites for the raise of the value of the cocreation process itself and of the final outcome of the cocreation experience. As a result, professional service providers should dedicate more attention to the inclusion of cocreative ‘learning’ elements in the food tourism experiences they create.

Due to the changing structure of the tourism ecosystem (technological advances), the manner in which experiences are designed, distributed and consumed (cocreated) is being transformed. The present study highlights some aspects to be developed by tourism destination managers.

This study is the first to explore food-related tourism experiences through the lens of cocreation.

Because food waste is a serious problem today, society is currently aiming for more responsible consumption to minimize it, as defined in the 12th goal of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. This study aims to examine whether an informative initiative can help to raise university students’ awareness of food waste consequences.

The initiative consisted of explaining the problem of food waste to students of two marketing subject modules within economics and business administration degrees and asking them to participate in an activity in which they analyzed their own behavior. To assess its impact, two questionnaires about the students’ food waste behaviors were administered, before and after the initiative, adopting an experimental design.

The results show that the information and awareness activities were successful, because, after the initiative, the students were more aware about the food waste problem and its consequences and were more critical of their behavior regarding the management of leftovers at home.

Despite some circumstances under which the study was conducted (the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown), the practical and social implications are relevant.

This study offers some interesting practical implications for educational institutions that want to inform and train students in more responsible consumption behavior. It shows that an initiative in which students are involved, like collecting data about food waste, in their homes with a diary, and informative sessions can be useful to increase students’ awareness of food waste to behave in a more sustainable way.

These findings may be of interest to academics for designing initiatives that try to train and educate young people in making more responsible personal and professional decisions.

This study analyzes the impact of an awareness-raising initiative about food waste in higher education, which is a relatively neglected topic in the literature.

Both postponement and outsourcing have been identified as important characteristics of modern and competitive supply chains. The implementation of postponement may require extensive (spatial) reconfiguration of the supply chain. Presents findings from interviews with managers of food, electronics, automotive and clothing manufacturers in The Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. Findings reveal that in food supply chains both postponement and outsourcing are applied to a lesser extent than in other industries. Reasons, which refer to the industry‐specific characteristics, are given. Ways for food companies to assure competitiveness are then described on the dimensions of postponement, outsourcing and spatial reconfiguration. A framework is developed to position chains in terms of degree of outsourcing, level of postponement and spatial configuration. The framework can help managers diagnosing and repositioning their organizations, along the dimensions mentioned.

The health-promoting schools (HPSs) framework has emerged as a promising model for promoting school connectedness in the school setting. The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential for food practices to promote school connectedness within a HPSs framework.

This study explores food practices within a New Zealand secondary school by using an ethnographic methodology, with interviews and observations, to explore in-depth the range of food practices that occurred within the school across a whole school year. Thematically the data were ready for school connectedness indicators across the recorded events, and categorically the practices were coded according to their level of occurrence within the HPS framework.

The findings showed that food practices occurred across class- and school-level organisation, ethos, environment, and community partnerships, and indicated that they may be valuable assets for a HPS approach to school connectedness. By integrating the findings of the present study with previous literature the authors suggest a HPS framework for promoting school connectedness through food practices.

This paper contributes to the emerging research on whole-school approaches to building school connectedness, and provides a first contribution on the value of food practices for school connectedness.

Previous research on sustainability in the foodservice industry has emphasized its environmental, social and economic dimensions predominantly studied within a Western context or in developed countries. This paper aims to question this positioning by considering the MEA (Middle East and African) context. Second, this paper examines sustainability forms according to the type of restaurant and explains how these forms compare with and contribute to the broader scholarship on sustainability in the service marketing literature and practice.

The paper follows a phenomenological perspective and a grounded theory approach. The authors conducted in-depth interviews with 40 owners of different types of restaurants (traditional, modern and fast-food) in the capital city of Lebanon, Beirut.

This paper identifies four dimensions that are expressed in different ways depending on the type of restaurant. This paper also found that sustainability in the foodservice industry in the MEA region has some differences and similarities relative to the literature where current studies mainly focus on the Western context. While the most dominant form of sustainability in the MEA context is related to the social dimension implemented by restaurants through philanthropy and community support activities, the less important aspect refers to activities about ecology and environmental protection.

The research highlights that sustainable activities in the MEA context are shaped by deep-rooted traditions of philanthropic offerings and community-based activities profoundly embedded within the Arab region. Second, the study contributes to current practices and research related to the foodservice literature by emphasizing the dynamics of the change in terms of sustainability perceptions across different kinds of restaurants and how the type of restaurant can affect the adoption and implementation of sustainable activities. The limits of this study are related to its small sample size and the exclusion of psychographic factors, such as age and gender, which can deepen the knowledge of sustainable actions implemented by female and male restaurant owners and people of different age ranges.

With its focus on the foodservice industry in the MEA underpinning restaurateurs’ lack of ecological sustainability, this research shows that nongovernmental organizations could play a vital role in terms of raising awareness about ecological issues and how restaurateurs can be involved in eco-friendly initiatives.

The paper contributes to the foodservice literature and the emerging research on sustainability in restaurants by presenting an approach based on examining sustainable restaurants in a developing country context. The paper does so by adopting a restaurant owner’s perspective and analyzing three types of restaurants, namely, traditional, modern and fast-food restaurants.

This article aims to explore the influence of values concerning food consumption and the effect of physical activity habit moderation on these.

The consumption value theory was used as a base, and a survey with 292 participants was analysed by means of factor analysis and structural equation modelling.

The findings are presented at three levels. The first is the clustering of food consumption habits in different dimensions: healthy, unhealthy and hybrid. The second is the relationship between values and food consumption. In detail: (1) emotional value is the only significant measurement for the consumption of the three food dimensions; (2) social value is a significant measurement for healthy food consumption; (3) conditional value is significant for the consumption of hybrid and unhealthy foods; (4) epistemic value has significance in the consumption of hybrid foods; (5) functional value is denied for all dimensions. The third concerns the relationship between value perceptions and food consumption moderated by physical activity in: (1) social value of healthy foods; (2) functional value of hybrid foods; and (3) emotional and epistemic values of unhealthy foods.

This paper adds to the literature on consumption values and raises new insights into value and habits regarding food consumption, such as physical activity involved in the consumption context.