Pulses for Sustainability: Breaking Agriculture and Food Sectors Out of Lock-In

Crop diversification can improve the sustainability of Western agriculture. In particular, pulses are crops that can help both agriculture and the food industry become more ecological, as they reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help reduce animal-based consumption. Today, however, the development of these crops in Europe has been hindered due to lock-in, since major crops have been co-developed to a greater extent in farming and food systems. After briefly reviewing the major mechanisms that lead to this lock-in, this article adopts a co-evolution framework to address the interconnected transition of agriculture and food systems. We explore how current societal trends in the agrifood system offer new opportunities for pulses, and how simultaneous changes both in production and consumption can facilitate this dual transition. Drawing on insights from the literature and interviews with stakeholders in France—taken here as examples—we argue that to develop pulses, strong support is required from public institutions to coordinate and guide the multiple actors involved in the same direction

Enabling planetary science across light-years. Ariel Definition Study Report

Ariel, the Atmospheric Remote-sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large-survey, was adopted as the fourth medium-class mission in ESA's Cosmic Vision programme to be launched in 2029. During its 4-year mission, Ariel will study what exoplanets are made of, how they formed and how they evolve, by surveying a diverse sample of about 1000 extrasolar planets, simultaneously in visible and infrared wavelengths. It is the first mission dedicated to measuring the chemical composition and thermal structures of hundreds of transiting exoplanets, enabling planetary science far beyond the boundaries of the Solar System. The payload consists of an off-axis Cassegrain telescope (primary mirror 1100 mm x 730 mm ellipse) and two separate instruments (FGS and AIRS) covering simultaneously 0.5-7.8 micron spectral range. The satellite is best placed into an L2 orbit to maximise the thermal stability and the field of regard. The payload module is passively cooled via a series of V-Groove radiators; the detectors for the AIRS are the only items that require active cooling via an active Ne JT cooler. The Ariel payload is developed by a consortium of more than 50 institutes from 16 ESA countries, which include the UK, France, Italy, Belgium, Poland, Spain, Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Portugal, Czech Republic, Hungary, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Estonia, and a NASA contribution

Job Qualification, Distance between Towns and Geographical Relocation for French Youth

Geographical mobility of professionally active youth is often considered as an attribute of the most qualified among them. Nevertheless, joint consideration of geographical relocation at an infraregional scale and of the distance travelled in migration between cities shows that the spatial mobility of youth towards the least-qualified jobs is not only non-negligible, but displays substantial amplitude. Even so, mobility behaviour still differs according to the qualification level of the targeted employment and is particularly dependent on territorial characteristics as well.

Technical knowledge and production contracts between a company and its suppliers: lessons from a French case-study

Changing farming practices to improve crop diversification requires knowledge acquisition and transfer between the actors involved. Drawing on the theory of transaction costs and the knowledge economy, this article analyses the ways in which production contracts between an agri-feed company (the buyer) and storage organisations (suppliers) promote the transfer of technical knowledge needed for growing a minor crop in France. Semi-structured interviews with the company and its suppliers showed that there was a considerable need of technical knowledge for drawing up the contract, and that collectively organising the contract fostered knowledge transfer among actors

La transition agroécologique de la restauration collective en France : une mise en perspective multi-niveaux

Avec plus de trois milliards de repas servis chaque année, la restauration collective est un secteur clé du système agri-alimentaire en France, récemment mis à l’agenda des politiques de transition agroécologique. La réussite de ces politiques implique de mieux connaître ce secteur complexe et peu étudié. Combinant différents matériaux recueillis de 2018 à 2021, dont une enquête par questionnaire auprès de plus de 300 cuisines, les auteurs mobilisent la perspective multi-niveaux (MLP) des Transition Studies pour dresser un panorama du secteur et conduire une réflexion sur sa transition en s’intéressant : i) à sa gouvernance et recomposition face aux enjeux agroécologiques ; ii) aux cuisines et démarches de labellisation environnementale. Cette analyse apporte un éclairage actualisé pour le secteur, les politiques publiques et les chercheurs.With more than 3 billion meals served each year, institutional food services (IFS) are a key sector of the agri-food system in France, recently integrated into agroecological transition policies. However, the complex structure of this sector is relatively unknown, which can hinder the success of such policies. Combining different materials collected from 2018 to 2021, including a survey addressed to 300+ kitchens, we use the Multi-Level Perspective (MLP) heuristic framework to draw up a first panorama of the sector and understanding of its transition by focusing on: i) its governance and transformation through agroecological issues; ii) IFS kitchens and environmental labelling. This analysis provides a new perspective for stakeholders, policy makers and researchers