Food sustainability and sovereignty in tension: An integrated assessment of nutritional, environmental, and self-sufficiency dimensions in the French food supply
Abstract
The ability to ensure sustainable diets depends on domestic agriculture and trade, linking the transition to sustainable food systems closely with food sovereignty. This study aimed to analyze the relationships between nutritional quality, environmental impact and self-sufficiency across food groups within the current French food supply. Using the food repertoire (n = 1997 food items) and adult consumption data (n = 2121) from a representative survey, the food supply was characterized according to its nutritional, environmental and selfsufficiency dimensions. Nutritional quality was estimated using PANFood, a nutrient-based food scoring system, inspired by the PANDiet system. Environmental impact was assessed using the Environmental Footprint (EF) score aggregating 16 impacts from the Agribalyse® database. Food self-sufficiency capacity was calculated as the ratio of domestic production to food supply using international (FAOSTAT) and national databases. These three indicators were calculated for each food group based on food item data weighted by their relative consumption, enabling multidimensional distribution analysis. Overall, self-sufficiency showed no or negligible correlation with the sustainability dimensions (i.e., nutrition and environment) and the indicators exhibited substantial heterogeneity within food groups. Fruits, vegetables, and legumes demonstrated high sustainability profiles, but moderate and variable self-sufficiency. Dairy products showed high self-sufficiency alongside varied sustainability profiles. Red and processed meat exhibited poor sustainability profiles and variable self-sufficiency capacity, although overall self-sufficiency remained moderate. In France, based on the current food supply, food self-sufficiency does not align with the nutritional and environmental sustainability dimensions. However, some food groups with favorable sustainability profiles could serve as levers to enhance self-sufficiency.
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BibTeX
@article{cerf2026food,
title = {{Food sustainability and sovereignty in tension: An integrated assessment of nutritional, environmental, and self-sufficiency dimensions in the French food supply}},
author = {Marianne Cerf and Hélène Fouillet and Dorra Ben Aissa and Christian Couturier and Carine Barbier and Jean-François Huneau and Julia Baudry and Anaëlle Bolo and Elie Perraud and Emmanuelle Kesse-Guyot and François Mariotti},
journal = {Cleaner Food Systems},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1016/j.clfs.2026.100067},
url = {https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05767814v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Food sustainability and sovereignty in tension: An integrated assessment of nutritional, environmental, and self-sufficiency dimensions in the French food supply
AU - Marianne Cerf
AU - Hélène Fouillet
AU - Dorra Ben Aissa
AU - Christian Couturier
AU - Carine Barbier
AU - Jean-François Huneau
AU - Julia Baudry
AU - Anaëlle Bolo
AU - Elie Perraud
AU - Emmanuelle Kesse-Guyot
AU - François Mariotti
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/28
JO - Cleaner Food Systems
DO - 10.1016/j.clfs.2026.100067
UR - https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05767814v1
AB - The ability to ensure sustainable diets depends on domestic agriculture and trade, linking the transition to sustainable food systems closely with food sovereignty. This study aimed to analyze the relationships between nutritional quality, environmental impact and self-sufficiency across food groups within the current French food supply. Using the food repertoire (n = 1997 food items) and adult consumption data (n = 2121) from a representative survey, the food supply was characterized according to its nutritional, environmental and selfsufficiency dimensions. Nutritional quality was estimated using PANFood, a nutrient-based food scoring system, inspired by the PANDiet system. Environmental impact was assessed using the Environmental Footprint (EF) score aggregating 16 impacts from the Agribalyse® database. Food self-sufficiency capacity was calculated as the ratio of domestic production to food supply using international (FAOSTAT) and national databases. These three indicators were calculated for each food group based on food item data weighted by their relative consumption, enabling multidimensional distribution analysis. Overall, self-sufficiency showed no or negligible correlation with the sustainability dimensions (i.e., nutrition and environment) and the indicators exhibited substantial heterogeneity within food groups. Fruits, vegetables, and legumes demonstrated high sustainability profiles, but moderate and variable self-sufficiency. Dairy products showed high self-sufficiency alongside varied sustainability profiles. Red and processed meat exhibited poor sustainability profiles and variable self-sufficiency capacity, although overall self-sufficiency remained moderate. In France, based on the current food supply, food self-sufficiency does not align with the nutritional and environmental sustainability dimensions. However, some food groups with favorable sustainability profiles could serve as levers to enhance self-sufficiency.
SN - 3050-8355
ER -