Comparing the sustainability of local versus global food supply chains

Abstract

In this article we compare and contrast the economic, social, and environmental impact of local and global food supply chains building upon cross-country comparisons of food chain performance in nine European countries and for seven different products. We propose a novel way of conceptualising local and global food chains taking into account the length of the chain and the degree of product differentiation. Moreover, we consider impacts at different spatial scales such as the farm, the supply chain, national and global level, and the interactions of impacts across these different levels. Our findings suggest some general patterns regarding the local vs. global performance within the social, economic and environmental dimensions. However, we also discuss the conditions of validity of comparison and conclude that food chain categorization, product differentiation strategies, trade-offs within and across different sustainability dimensions and the way of measuring indicators are important determinants of food chain performance.