Capitalizing on Transformation: A Recipe for Sustainable Food Systems

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Sarah Ruth Sippel
• Subject Area: Human Geography ; Empirical Social Research ; Political Science
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 542622866

The scientific consensus is clear: the prevailing food system is unsustainable. It relies on the heavy use of fossil fuels, chemical pesticides and fertilizers, polluting ecosystems and contributing up to a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions. It engages in large-scale monocultures and intensive livestock production threatening biodiversity; it perpetuates a system where rising rates of obesity coincide with widespread hunger and malnutrition (UNEP, 2020). Given these threats, a sustainable transition of food systems is critical. How can we transform food systems in a way that nourishes both people and the planet? Our research aims to understand how publicly listed companies respond to pressures to transition toward sustainable food systems. Through capital markets, shareholders have a strong bearing on how large food and agriculture businesses operate. Yet, the role of capital markets is understudied in sustainable food transitions. Investors in publicly listed companies remain ambivalent: they provide capital that simultaneously enables sustainable innovation and environmentally damaging outcomes. We ask: how do capital markets help or hinder the transition towards sustainable food systems? And how can publicly listed food and agriculture businesses be encouraged to take greater strides towards sustainable food systems? Two gaps in the academic literature motivate this inquiry: (1) food systems literature is dominated by the narrative that financialization exacerbates unsustainability in the food system. However, scholars have called for moving beyond delineating the negative impacts of finance to identifying ways in which financiers can enable a sustainable food transition; (2) while research indicates patterns of corporate concentration in the food system, the structure of power of capital markets in financing the food system remains unclear. This project will address these gaps through mixed-methods research on capital allocation in food systems. Through qualitative and quantitative methods, this project will clarify whether and how capital markets can disrupt the status quo to enable sustainable transitions in food systems. The aim is to tease out the relationship between capital and corporate power and uncover how capital markets can facilitate the shift towards sustainable food systems. The findings are set to inform decisions in the non-profit, private and public sectors while contributing novel insights to the academic literature.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Canada, France, United Kingdom
• Cooperation Partners: Dr. Truzaar Dordi; Alain Naef, Ph.D.; Dr. Phoebe Stephens