Sustainability Performance of Food Chains: Linking Biodiversity and Nutritional Value in Italian Wheat-to-Bread Chains

Food chains are increasingly being questioned by decision makers in government, industry, and civil society organizations, for their potential to steer or restrain a transition toward improved sustainability. Framing and assessing the performance of food supply chains has become crucial, despite the challenges deriving from the multiple dimensions of sustainability to be considered, the diversity of actors involved and the lack of a shared methodology. Moreover, food chains show dissimilar degrees of complexity and differ depending on the number of exchanges, geographical and social distance, technological features, product characteristics and governance, and commercial arrangements. A food system approach allows to identify opportunities and implications for improving or worsening food system outcomes, which include food and nutrition security, environmental and socioeconomic outcomes. By adopting a Drivers Pressures States Impacts Responses (DPSIR) framework, a set of indicators is developed, suitable for the assessment of 2 attributes crucial for the sustainability of the wheat-to-bread supply chain: biodiversity and nutritional value. The set of indicators are applied to different wheat-to-bread chains in Italy in terms of degree of localness, technology adopted, governance, and product features. Results show that biodiversity and nutritional value of bread are interlinked attributes, as varietal diversity of wheat can enhance the nutritional value of bread and leads to the territorial redefinition of the product. Furthermore, the recovery of ancient wheat varieties opens opportunities for improvement of nutritional value of bread, but has several implications on the production processes, from cultivation of wheat, to milling and baking. The assessment allows to shed light on the synergies and trade-offs between food supply chains sustainability profiles and potential pathways for improvement.