Scenarios and case studies for a sustainable transition of the Belgian food system

The objective of this current study is to contribute to a sustainable transition of the Belgian food system and agricultural sector. To do so, a two-step approach is identified :

1. Developing prospective scenarios to assess and compare potential pathways for the Belgian food system. Based on a multidimensional assessment comprising productive aspects as well as environmental and socio-economic impacts, this first step allows to get a better understanding of possible changes that would allow the Belgian food system to move towards greater sustainability.
2. Analysing a series of case studies and their possible transition pathways. This second step allows to embed the proposed scenarios in real-life situations, to get a better understanding on the possibilities for a practical implementation of scenarios and to focus on specific transition trajectories, which are not often assessed in prospective approaches.

This study mainly focuses on the first step of the approach. It presents and discusses the methodology and results towards obtaining prospective scenarios for the Belgian food system. The second step is addressed from a more theoretical perspective, proposing a methodology towards the development of case studies aimed at the implementation of transition pathways.

All the data and supporting variables used to run the model are compiled in a supporting document.