Quelle alimentation pour des systèmes alimentaires durables ?

The question of the sustainability of diets and food systems is of increasing interest both for diverse scientific disciplines and for the international community in the context of the SDGs calling to eradicate hunger and malnutrition. The purpose of this paper is to analyze some of the links between the two notions of sustainable diet and sustainable food system in order to facilitate their implementation. The notion of sustainable diet was defined in 2010, combining two very different perspectives: nutrition, focused on individuals, and global sustainability, in all its dimensions, environmental, economic and social. The nutrition perspective can be easily linked to the objective of health improvement. The sustainability perspective requires more complex analyses. We propose to consider it as the contribution of a diet to the sustainability of a food system. Such an approach, covering the three dimensions of sustainable development, enables to identify interactions and interrelations between food systems and diets. It gives the possibility to find levers of change towards sustainability. Diets are at the same time the result of the way food systems function and drivers of systemic changes. Drivers of change for each category of actors inside food systems, consumers, private sector… are different and can be triggered by different concerns (health, environment, social and cultural aspects). Integrating these different dimensions and motivations can encourage transition towards sustainable diets, depending on the specificities of each food system. Adoption of sustainable diets can be facilitated and activated by the very structure of food systems, as well as by appropriate policies and incentives.