Towards sustainable food systems: a review of governance models and an innovative conceptual framework

Accelerating the shift to inclusive, ecological, and just food systems requires a clear understanding of effective governance. This article reviews 34 key publications to dissect how current food system governance links to and supports sustainability, identifying common barriers like siloed governance and lack of integrated policies. The analysis synthesizes three established governance elements—actor interactions, control/power, and (in)formal rules—and introduces a crucial fourth: the orchestration of multiple food systems and policies. These four elements are integrated into a novel conceptual framework, offering a consistent and comprehensive approach for researching and implementing governance for sustainable food systems.

Highlights

• Reviews 34 articles to link food system governance directly to sustainability outcomes.
• Identifies siloed governance and fragmented policies as major barriers to a holistic sustainability agenda.
• Presents a novel conceptual framework built on four core elements, adding the critical aspect of orchestration of policies and food systems.
• Proposes a new, functional definition of food systems governance to guide future research and policy.