Purpose: This study characterises food and nutrient intake in self-reported diets with varying environmental impacts and evaluates their adherence to dietary guidelines and nutritional adequacy, exploring co-benefits and trade-offs between environmental impact and diet quality. Methods: Dietary data were from two population-based cohorts (n = 30 000) of Swedish adults aged 56–70 years. Environmental impact was assessed using an aggregated score based on six environmental indicators. Adherence to dietary guidelines and nutritional adequacy was evaluated against the Nordic Nutrition Recommendations 2023. Results: In line with the dietary guidelines, diets with a lower environmental impact had lower intake of red meat, processed meat, sugar-sweetened beverages, high-fat dairy products, saturated fat, sodium and alcohol, alongside higher intake of whole grains, fibre and polyunsaturated fat. Contrary to the dietary guidelines, lower-impact diets had higher intake of sweets and snacks and lower intake of vegetables, fruits and berries, nuts and seeds, and seafood. While lower-impact diets had a lower intake of protein and most vitamins and minerals, adherence to macronutrient recommendations was generally higher, and micronutrient intake was adequate, except for selenium and vitamin D. Conclusions: This study highlights both co-benefits and trade-offs between environmental and health goals. To prevent negative health effects from diets with lower environmental impact, it is essential to limit foods with low nutritional value (e.g., sweets and snacks) and promote healthy plant-based foods. Potential risks associated with a lower micronutrient intake should be considered, particularly for groups with special requirements, such as children, adolescents, fertile and pregnant women, and the elderly

Navigating through widely different strategies for pursuing sustainability in complex systems demands comprehensive approaches to thoroughly assess their performance, accounting for multiple, often conflicting, domains of sustainability. Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) proves well-suited for the task. Despite its growing use, the reliability of MCDA-based sustainability assessment outcomes, particularly under uncertainty and in dynamic contexts, remains underexplored. This study evaluates the robustness and sensitivity of such results through five case studies in the Swedish food production and consumption system, analysed across four considered future supply chain solutions. This study conducts a comprehensive sensitivity and uncertainty analysis to assess the impact of variations in indicator weights and performance scores. Findings show that while the sustainability assessment results are generally, but not in all cases, robust, certain sustainability indicators disproportionately influence final rankings across case studies. Small perturbations in these critical indicators can shift the top-performing solution, highlighting the need for rigorous weighting strategies and context-specific indicator selection. Such critical indicators were found to be not the ones recognised with the highest weights. The study demonstrates the value of incorporating sensitivity and uncertainty analysis into MCDA-based sustainability assessment studies to enhance transparency, decision confidence, and practical applicability, particularly in complex, interdisciplinary domains such as food systems sustainability

Samhället står inför omfattande och sammanflätade utmaningar kopplade till klimat, resurser, folkhälsa och geopolitik, vilket ställer krav på genomgripande förändringar av centrala samhällssystem. Jordbruks- och livsmedelssystemet är särskilt berört, både som en betydande påverkansfaktor och som ett system starkt påverkat av externa förändringar. Mot denna bakgrund syftar rapporten till att ge en översikt över forskningsfältet systemomställning samt att analysera dess relevans och nytta för aktörer inom detta system.Studien bygger på en riktad litteraturgenomgång kompletterad med författarens egen erfarenhet av tillämpningar inom livsmedelssystemet. Resultaten visar att systemomställning inte är ett enhetligt forskningsfält utan snarare ett tvärvetenskapligt område med flera kompletterande angreppssätt. Tre centrala spår identifieras: socio-tekniska system (med MultiLevel Perspective som kärnmodell), ramverk för hävstångspunkter samt scenarier och framsyn. Dessa perspektiv bidrar tillsammans till att förstå dynamiker, aktörer och möjliga interventionspunkter i komplexa förändringsprocesser.Slutsatsen är att systemomställningsmetodik utgör ett relevant och användbart ramverk för att stödja strategiskt arbete i jordbruks- och livsmedelssektorn. Nyttan ligger främst i att stärka förståelsen för komplexa processer, snarare än i att leverera entydiga lösningar, vilket i sin tur kan bidra till mer robusta och informerade beslut i ett föränderligt samhällslandskap

Society faces interconnected challenges related to climate change, resource scarcity, public health, and geopolitical instability, requiring profound transformations of key systems. The agri-food system is both a major driver of these challenges and highly exposed to external pressures. This report aims to provide an overview of the research field of system transformation and to assess its relevance for actors within the agricultural and food sector.The study is based on a targeted literature review combined with the author’s professional experience. The analysis shows that system transformation is not a single, unified theory, but a multidisciplinary field encompassing several complementary approaches. Three key strands are identified: socio-technical systems (notably the Multi-Level Perspective), leverage points frameworks, and scenario and foresight methods. Together, these perspectives support the analysis of system dynamics, actor roles, and potential intervention points.Findings highlight that system transformations are non-linear, uncertain, and strongly influenced by interactions among actors and institutions. Swedish applications emphasize the importance of dialogue, collaboration, and shared direction.The report concludes that system transformation frameworks are valuable primarily as tools for understanding complexity and supporting strategic thinking, rather than for providing deterministic solutions.

This study used systems analysis to quantify farm-level greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and land use (LU) from a high-yielding Swedish dairy farm under six feeding strategies, using a cradle-to-farm-gate attributional Life Cycle Assessment. The strategies combined three dairy cattle concentrate mixes: commercial (COM), by-products-based (BYP), and based on domestically produced feed ingredients (DOM), with two roughage strategies for replacement heifers: grass-clover silage (GS) or a 50:50 dry matter basis roughage mix (RM) of GS and whole crop cereal silage. All rations were formulated using the Nordic feed evaluation system and standardised for equal energy-corrected milk (ECM) output. Values on enteric methane emissions and animal productivity were based on animal trials with direct measurements on animals offered these diets. Compared to COM, total farm GHG decreased more under BYP (GS: -6.0%; RM: -5.9%) than under DOM (GS: -2.6%; RM: -2.1%). Under the BYP strategy, LU decreased by 3.8% for both GS and RM compared to COM. Conversely, the DOM strategy increased LU by 0.3% (GS) and 6.8% (RM) compared to COM. Using a RM instead of GS in the heifer rations increased GHG emissions by 0.9%, 1.0% and 1.5% and reduced LU by 7.9%, 8.2%, and 1.3% for the COM, BYP, and DOM strategies. The results highlight the importance of accounting for the carbon footprint and LU differences of feed ingredients when designing sustainable dairy systems. Feed-based mitigation strategies, involving by-products and domestically sourced ingredients, offer practical, immediate opportunities to reduce emissions in Swedish and other Northern European dairy systems, without compromising productivity.

Context: The dairy production system fills an important role by providing nutrient-dense foods in Swedish diets, however, future efforts to improve its sustainability necessitate structural changes. Objective: We present an innovative study which assesses the effects of these future changes in the dairy system in northern Sweden, the Norrland region, which has a subarctic climate. Methods: Four scenarios were developed: 1) Food as Industry: Food is a commodity, and its production is an industry that can be invested in to benefit society. 2) Food as Technology: New technologies, such as nutrient density trackers and microbiome mapping, are used for personalized dietary plans. Additionally, novel foods from microbial cultures are produced. 3) Food as Culture: More locally produced food and diverse food products are consumed. 4) Food Forgotten: Land previously used for food and feed is converted to bioenergy production, climate mitigation, and adaptation infrastructure. These scenarios were compared to the baseline i.e. present dairy system for dairy production capacity, carbon flow and carbon footprint. Results and conclusions: Food as industry resulted in increased dairy production capacity with decreased carbon footprint but increased carbon imports. Food as technology provided decreased dairy production capacity and increased carbon footprint but with decreased carbon imports. Food as culture, maintained dairy production capacity with a decreased carbon footprint and carbon imports. Food forgotten resulted in decreased dairy production capacity and increased carbon imports but with decreased carbon footprint. Food as culture benefits all - specifically dairy production capacity, carbon footprint and carbon imports. However, further research is required to explore implications on soil organic carbon stocks over time in Norrland. Significance: Our study sheds light on the potential impacts of future dairy production in a subarctic climate and aims to help in decision making.

The global food sector is one of the most impactful sectors in the world, necessitating an urgent shift towards more sustainable practices. Sweden has made great progress in putting sustainability on the agenda as a strategic component of its national development strategy. Still, understanding how a full-scale sustainable food system can be achieved in practice and the drivers of such a transition remain unclear. In this study, we first empirically explore these drivers, their interdependencies and how these affect the Swedish food system’s progress towards its sustainability objectives. Then, we assess which scenarios for the future food system in Sweden perform better with regard to sustainability considerations. For the first objective, we utilised the DEMATEL technique to identify and quantify the cause-and-effect relationships among these drivers. The results showed that revenue and the use of toxic materials are key drivers for food systems’ sustainability in Sweden, suggesting a path for system improvement focus areas in the future. For the second objective, we applied TOPSIS as a decision-making method for assessing the sustainability of four different future scenarios for the Swedish food system. The outcomes suggest that food tech is the most sustainable scenario among the ones considered. The findings of this study will collectively aid in promoting sustainable consumption, encouraging a shift towards a more sustainable agrifood system in Sweden, a leading nation in sustainability efforts. 

Background: There is a concern that pesticide residues, regularly detected in foods, might pose a health risk to the consumer, but epidemiological evidence is limited. We assessed the associations between dietary exposure to a mixture of pesticide residues and mortality. Methods: Food consumption was assessed in 68,844 participants from the Swedish Mammography Cohort and the Cohort of Swedish Men, 45–83 years at baseline (1997). Concentrations of pesticide residues detected in foods on the Swedish market (1996–1998), mainly fruits and vegetables, were obtained via monitoring programs. To assess mixture effects, we summed per food item the ratios of each single pesticide mean residue concentration divided by its acceptable daily intake to create for each participant a Dietary Pesticide Hazard Index (adjusted for energy intake and expressed per kilogram of body weight). Multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95 % confidence intervals (95 %CI). Results: During 15 years of follow-up (1998–2014), a total of 16,527 deaths occurred, of which 6,238 were caused by cardiovascular disease (CVD) and 5,364 by cancer. Comparing extreme quintiles of Dietary Pesticide Hazard Index, the highest category was inversely associated with CVD mortality HR, 0.82 (95 % CI, 0.75–0.90) and with cancer mortality HR 0.82 (95 % CI 0.75–0.91). In analyses stratified by high/low Dietary Pesticide Hazard Index, similar inverse associations were observed by increasing fruit and vegetable consumption. Conclusions: We observed no indications that dietary exposure to pesticide residue mixtures was associated with increased mortality, nor any clear indications that the benefits of fruit and vegetable consumption on mortality was compromised. Yet, our results need to be interpreted with caution. © 2023 The Author(s)

The environmental impact of Swedish diets was assessed for six indicators (greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions, cropland use, nitrogen application, phosphorus application, consumptive water use and extinction rate), using self-reported food intake within two population-based cohorts of men and women, 56–96 years of age. The dietary environmental impact was assessed in relation to per capita planetary boundaries, overall and by population subgroups, addressing the relative importance of specific foods and food groups. The total average dietary impact exceeded the planetary boundaries by 1.6 to 4-fold for five of the six environmental indicators; consumptive water use did not exceed the boundaries. Comparing the highest with lowest quintiles of the population impact showed >2.5-fold differences across all environmental indicators. Of the diet's total average environmental impact, animal-based, plant-based and discretionary foods accounted for 28–83%, 8–40% and 9–37%, respectively, across the six indicators. Animal-based foods dominated the impact on GHG emissions, cropland use and nitrogen and phosphorus application, while plant-based and discretionary foods contributed more to consumptive water use and extinction rate. Environmental impact was driven predominantly by consumption of red meat, dairy, fresh fruit and coffee. The findings show major challenges in affluent countries that have to be addressed to achieving sustainable food production systems and diets. They provide guidance on critical food groups, environmental indicators and population subgroups to prioritize in future efforts to reduce the environmental impact. © 2022 The Authors

Beef and lamb meat production is associated with important cultural, economic and environmental impacts in most countries worldwide. However, it is also related with sustainability challenges. To enable cattle and sheep farming to develop in line with sustainability, existing knowledge need to be implemented and identified knowledge gaps filled. The purpose of this article was to systematically map the scientific literature on environmental, economic and social sustainability at farm-level beef and lamb meat production to identify knowledge gaps and to point to important future actions and areas of research. Papers published January 2000–August 2020 with a geographical origin in Europe, Northern America, and Australia-New Zealand were included. The systematic literature search resulted in a total of 1355 hits; however, after removing papers which were considered out of the scope of the study, and duplicate papers, only 22 and 11 papers related to beef and sheep farming, respectively were retained for further analysis. Of these, only 11 in total included all three sustainability dimensions. Several papers only mentioned one or two of the sustainability dimensions or put them in relation to that/those main dimension covered, thus limiting the extent to which possible synergies or tradeoffs between different sustainability aspects actually can be studied. This indicates a need for a more comprehensive approach when studying farm-level sustainability. Future research would benefit from a more holistic approach and include all dimensions of sustainability within the same study. Further, focus should also be on how to measure and assess sustainability aspects in a standardized way. © 2021 by the authors.

Dietary climate impact in a Swedish population (56–95 years old) was estimated based on self-reported food intake from 50 000 men and women within two population-based cohorts and on climate data, covering emissions from farm to fork, for 600 foods representative for the Swedish market. Aims were to assess variation in dietary climate impact between population groups and between food categories. Mean dietary climate impact was 2.0 tons of CO2e/person/year, with about a threefold variation between high and low impact individuals. Food loss and waste accounted for 18%. Older individuals and women on average had lower total dietary climate impact per year, while differences between gender were smaller per 1000 kcal. Climate impact was greatly affected by dietary composition and especially by the content of animal-based and discretionary foods, responsible for 71% and 12% of total climate impact, respectively. Results indicate a large potential for reduced climate impact by adopting realistic dietary patterns. Suggested strategies to reach climate goals include reduction of red meat and prioritising lower impact foods within meat, dairy and seafood categories, limited consumption of discretionary foods and decreased over-consumption of total calories, combined with improvements in production including reduction of food loss and waste.