About the Book
“From the very first pages, this collective work impresses with the rigour of its composition. A carefully-structured table of contents guides the reader through the multiple dimensions of agro-environmental standards – from their institutional definitions to the assessment of their impact on the management of quality, safety and traceability. The book also explores their practical implementation across diverse sectors such as regenerative agriculture, livestock farming, forestry, carbon markets, and Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) schemes. It will become an essential reference – helping policymakers, producers and researchers navigate the shifting complexities of these standards.” (Book Review Published in Nature Built Social Environment Health)
There is increasing scrutiny of the safety, environmental and social impact of food production. However, the complexity of modern agri-food supply chains has significantly complicated the process of setting and enforcing appropriate standards. The thematic scope of standards has also expanded from its original focus on safety and quality to cover social responsibility and ethical trading, animal welfare, environmental sustainability, biodiversity loss and nature-related risks.
Finally, the range of stakeholders involved in setting and monitoring standards governing agri-food supply chains has proliferated, from official national, regional and international bodies to non-government organisations (NGOs), the food industry itself and now the investment sector concerned to ensure their clients meet environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards.
Improving standards and certification in agri-food supply chains: Ensuring safety, sustainability and social responsibility comprehensively addresses the challenges raised by this complex picture and features contributions from leading international experts from the Codex Alimentarius Commission and the Rainforest Alliance. The book discusses how to reconcile the roles of different stakeholders in standard setting, how changes in governance and technology can improve accountability, as well as the different ways of enhancing good agricultural practices (GAP) to meet new ways of producing food.
The book also discusses the challenges and solutions in achieving effective standards promoting more socially responsible production and how best to address emerging practices to improve environmental sustainability such as regenerative agriculture.
Table of Contents:
Part 1 Setting standards
1.The international context: the role of Codex Alimentarius in setting safety and quality standards for global agri-food supply chains: Tom Heilandt and Amanda Hielm, Codex Alimentarius Commission, Italy
2.The role of governments in driving sustainability standards: governance structures and green finance: Louise Manning, University of Lincoln, UK; and Aleksandra Kowalska, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Poland
3.The role and range of voluntary standards and certification systems governing sustainable agricultural practices: Mathieu Lamolle and Gregory Sampson, International Trade Centre (ITC), Switzerland
4.The role of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in improving safety, quality and sustainability standards in agri-food supply chains: Pilar Pampin and Clare Mike, LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming), UK
Part 2 The expanding scope of agri-food chain standards
5.Sustainability standards and certification for agriculture: an overview: Anne Tallontire, University of Leeds, UK
6.Carbon farming, regenerative agriculture and environmental sustainability: practices and standards: Louise Manning, University of Lincoln, UK; and Rounaq Nayak, Bournemouth University, UK
7.Biodiversity and nature credit markets: opportunities and challenges for landowners and land managers: Jo Treweek, eCountability Ltd, UK
8.The role of standards in improving the sustainability of livestock production: current challenges and future perspectives: E.M. De Olde, Wageningen University & Research, The Netherlands; and K. McGarr-O’Brien, Wageningen University & Research, The Netherlands and Teagasc, Ireland
9.Developing good agricultural practices (GAP) across global agri-food supply chains: challenges and opportunities: Louise Manning, University of Lincoln, UK; and John G. Keogh, McGill University, Canada
10.Improving sustainable agricultural principles and practices: the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN): Mona McCord and Oliver Bach, Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN), USA
11.Fulfilling the promise of sustainability certification: reflections from the Rainforest Alliance: Deanna Newsom, Rainforest Alliance, USA; Henk Gilhuis, Rainforest Alliance, The Netherlands; Rens Rutten, PUM Netherlands, The Netherlands; and Talia Sechley, Rainforest Alliance, USA
12.Forest certification – an answer to the challenge of sustainable forest management?: Anna Thorning, Mid Sweden University, Sweden and Cecilia Mark-Herbert, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden
Part 3 Measuring compliance and improving performance
13.The role of technology in monitoring and verifying safety, quality and sustainability in agri-food supply chains: Aleksandra Kowalska, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Poland; Laura Clapham, University of Cambridge, UK; and Louise Manning, University of Lincoln, UK
14.Measuring and improving good agricultural practices (GAP) related to safety of fresh produce: the case of controlled environment agriculture: Louise Manning, Lincoln University, UK; and Jim Monaghan, Harper Adams University, UK
15.Measuring and modelling on-farm greenhouse gas emissions : the basis for achieving climate-neutral farming: Matthias Kuhnert, Mohamed Abdalla, and Sylvia H. Vetter, University of Aberdeen, UK; and Durba Kashyap, INRA, France
16.The role of standards and certification in delivering safe, sustainable and socially responsible agri-food supply chains: Louise Manning, University of Lincoln, UK
About the Author :
Dr Louise Manning is Professor of Sustainable Agri-food Systems at the Lincoln Institute for Agri-food Technology at the University of Lincoln, UK. With over 30 years of experience in both industry and research, and over 125 peer-reviewed publications, Professor Manning is internationally-renowned for both her research and consultancy work on food safety and quality, agri-food systems, food integrity and crime. She is an Associate Editor for the British Food Journal and is a member of the Board of Trustees for Rothamsted Research. Professor Manning has previously edited Developing smart agri-food supply chains: Using technology to improve safety and quality, published by Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing in 2021.
Review :
“From the very first pages, this collective work impresses with the rigour of its composition. A carefully-structured table of contents guides the reader through the multiple dimensions of agro-environmental standards – from their institutional definitions to the assessment of their impact on the management of quality, safety and traceability. The book also explores their practical implementation across diverse sectors such as regenerative agriculture, livestock farming, forestry, carbon markets, and Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) schemes. It will become an essential reference – helping policymakers, producers and researchers navigate the shifting complexities of these standards.” (Book Review Published in Nature Built Social Environment Health)
