Journal of Food Processing & Technology

The sustainability performance of local and global wheat-to-bread chains across Italy and UK

4^th International Conference and Exhibition on Food Processing & Technology

August 10-12, 2015 London, UK

Julie Smith, Francesca Galli, David Barling and Gianluca Brunori

Posters-Accepted Abstracts: J Food Process Technol

Abstract:

There are a growing number of consumers concerned with the impacts of their consumption choices including how choice
affects their health, people and environment. Local food supply chains are considered by policy and decision makers
in government, industry and civil society organizations for their potential to overcome the drawbacks of global and more
industrialized chains. Opposition between local and global food systems is being questioned and distinctions are not always
unambiguous. How does sustainability performance vary in relation to local and global food supply chains? What characterizes
difference? Within the EU 7FP Glamur project, distinctions between local and global supply chains are articulated based on:
Geographical distance; governance and organization; resources, knowledge and technologies and territorial identity. From this
assessment, global, regional and local wheat-to-bread supply chains were selected for case study research in Italy and the UK.
Key attributes were identified and indicators were selected in order to measure the performance of the supply chains along the
global-local continuum within five sustainability dimensions (economic, social, environmental, health and ethical). This paper
develops a comparative assessment of the wheat-to-bread supply chains. Using a participatory approach, the research process
entails three methodological steps: first, we explore stakeholders’ perspectives on sustainability of local and global bread supply
chains and assess the contribution of supply chains of different lengths towards sustainability. Then we identify the most relevant
dimensions and the correlations, trade-offs, dilemmas between them. Finally we highlight cross-cutting issues between the subsets
across Italy and the UK and emerging thematic questions and priorities for further in-depth investigation.

Biography :

Julie Smith is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Food Policy, City University London. She has a PhD in Human Geography and MSc in Food Policy. She works on
EU (Framework 7) projects that focus on sustainable food production and consumption and has been conducting research on the UK wheat-to-bread supply chain for
comparative analysis with Italy as part of the EU funded GLAMUR project.