Has transformation of food systems reached an impasse? Considerations on the role of agri-food research

The ongoing process of food system transformation, underscored with a renewed sense of urgency, seems to have reached an impasse. While the challenges posed by COVID-19, the conflict in Ukraine and the crisis in the Red Sea, revealing the vulnerability of globalized food systems to systemic shocks, have changed priorities in public action, the costs associated with transformation have sparked a significant debate regarding the goals of the transformation. In the meanwhile, the power equilibrium in the political arena has changed, and the increasingly vocal grievances of the groups who feel endangered by the transition—see the farmers' protests during the winter 2024—have made policymakers more prudent on these matters.