The case for history in planning future food systems transformations

Nel de Mûelenaere; Jessica Dijkman; Matthew Hannaford; Leslie Lipper; Rathana Peou Norbert-Munns; Nasir Uddin

doi:10.1038/s41893-025-01517-9

The case for history in planning future food systems transformations

Nel de Mûelenaere^*, Jessica Dijkman, Matthew Hannaford, Leslie Lipper, Rathana Peou Norbert-Munns, Nasir Uddin

^*Corresponding author for this work

OGKG - Economic and Social History

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

As food insecurity grows globally, foresight planning for sustainable food systems has become critical. Here we argue that history—through detailed data, case studies and methodologies—can profoundly enhance the robustness of scenario planning. By examining cases in Mozambique, Bangladesh and Holland, we illustrate how historical insights can guide interventions on local, national and transnational scales, helping to avoid unintended consequences and building resilience into future food systems.

Original language	English
Article number	101343
Number of pages	7
Journal	Nature Sustainability
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-025-01517-9
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 6 Mar 2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© Springer Nature Limited 2025.

Funding

We gratefully acknowledge the support received from BrIAS-Brussels Institute for Advanced Studies (Vrije Universiteit Brussel/Universite Libre de Bruxelles) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. N.d.M. was supported by the Research Council of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (grant IRP21).

Funders	Funder number
BrIAS-Brussels Institute for Advanced Studies (Vrije Universiteit Brussel/Universite Libre de Bruxelles)
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
Research Council of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel	IRP21

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1038/s41893-025-01517-9

Cite this

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AU - Uddin, Nasir

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The case for history in planning future food systems transformations

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

UN SDGs

Access to Document

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