Sustainable food transition in Portugal: Assessing the Footprint of dietary choices and gaps in national and local food policies

The food system is increasingly acknowledged as the single largest reason for humans' transgression of key planetary limits and it is gaining centrality in our societal run-up towards a sustainable future, especially at city level. In Portugal, a country characterized by high meat and fish consumption, noticeable food wastage, and high urbanization level, fully understanding and then transforming the food system is of priority. Here we investigate the significance of food in comparison to other daily anthropogenic demands and the current sourcing and resource intensities profiles of dietary patterns at Portuguese national and city level through Ecological Footprint Accounting. A critical assessment of gaps in national and local food policies to trigger a major transformation in the Portuguese food system is also conducted on the basis of a newly proposed analytical framework. Results show that food consumption in Portugal is the single largest reason (≈30%) for transgressing the carrying capacity of Earth ecosystems but, despite the urgent need for changes in Portuguese food systems, major deficiencies in local policy implementation exist with weak policy commitment, coordination, and lacking institutional capacity as food policies – especially at the local level – are still not prioritized. Similarities with other countries within Europe and their implications are also discussed. [Display omitted] •A replicable top-down Footprint approach is used for food sustainability assessment•A policy framework is proposed to assess gaps in sustainable food policies•Food sourcing, trade dependencies and dietary impacts are investigated•National and urban food policies gaps are identified and discussed•Sustainable food transition is weak although much needed in Portugal and globally