The need to adapt existing global policy instruments to achieve sustainable development objectives is increasingly recognised worldwide. Responding to the global need to help countries progress towards transforming food systems, the EU proposed, negotiated and agreed to adopt a chapter dedicated to Sustainable Food Systems in its free trade agreement with New Zealand and its advanced framework agreement with Chile. This study aimed to identify the origins, rationale and enablers of this policy innovation. A theory-informed qualitative study methodology was applied based on interviewee data. We found that the idea of the Sustainable Food System Chapters originated from the need to respond to domestic and global pressures to maintain public and political support for pursuing trade and investment agreements. The adoption of the Sustainable Food System Chapters was enabled by political pressure; pre-existing global, foreign and domestic policies; and shared thinking that was previously translated into joint action. Policy-makers may use this evidence to support efforts to achieve greater policy coherence in trade agreement negotiations across economic, social and environmental domains.
Policy implications
- Governments should consider the adoption of Sustainable Food System Chapters as a useful framework/scaffolding to improve policy coherence across trade, health, and environmental policies and increase public support for new free trade agreements.
- The cooperative provisions of Sustainable Food System Chapters can form the basis for new progressive domestic policies to strengthen food systems.
- There is an opportunity for environmental and health policymakers to support the consideration of sustainable and healthy food systems in international agreements, through strategic engagement with trade and investment policymakers.
- The implementation of the Sustainable Food System Chapters and associated outcomes should be monitored by academics and policymakers to assess the impact of these chapters, alongside investigating opportunities to strengthen their provisions.
- Policymakers aiming to adopt innovative policy measures in domestic and international policy should consider how perceptions of technical, economic, social and political feasibility may support innovation. Policymakers could also consider the extent the pillars of successful innovation—political pressure; pre-existing global, foreign and domestic policies; and shared thinking—are in place during the innovation process.
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