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This paper offers an exploratory review of how some of the major US and European food retailers have publicly addressed animal welfare. The findings reveal that six interlinked themes, namely, strategic corporate commitment, animal welfare as good business policy, a focus on supply chains, policies on specific categories of animals and animal products, antibiotics, and auditing, illustrated the food retailers’ approach to animal welfare. The authors raise a range of issues about the retailers’ approach to animal welfare, including the aspirational nature of their commitments, the emphasis on regular audits, the role of external assurance in the reporting process, pressure from animal welfare campaigns, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper offers an accessible review how some of the major US and European food retailers have publicly addressed the issue of animal welfare. Keywords: animal welfare, animal welfare statements, food retailers, supply chain, audit, external assurance

This dataset contains the reports of a series of 11online brokerage and matchmaking events organised in the focal countries (Beacon Regions) of theagroBRIDGESH2020 project (Task 4.3). The objective of the online brokerage event (titled "Let's build our SFSC") is to promote business-to-business collaboration among agri-food producers and farmers, with other businesses in the supply chain (distributors, packagers, hospitality) and develop new opportunities for Short Food Supply Chains. The events were organised using an online matchmaking platform that was selected following market research that was conducted previously in the project. The platform supports the booking of one-to-one meetings among participants to meet, discuss and negotiate business opportunities. The first version contains the reports of 9events organised in an equal number of regions, involving more than 150 participants in total, as summarised in the table below. The 2nd version includes the reports of 2additional online events in Denmark andTurkey that were organised in May 2023, engaging 60 additional stakeholders. Date Beacon Region Organiser (BRL) 24/02/2023 Bretagne & Pays de La Loire, France Vegepolys Valley (VGP) 02/03/2023 Central Macedonia, Greece Q-PLAN INTERNATIONAL (Q-PLAN) 09/03/2023 Lazio & Piemonte, Italy Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA) 14/03/2023 Ireland Munster Technological University (MTU) supported by Teagasc (TGC) 15/03/2023 Finland VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT) 27/03/2023 Lithuania UNIMOS Alliance (UNMF) 29/03/2023 Andalusia, Spain Technological Corporation of Andalusia (CTA) 30/03/2023 Latvia UNIMOS Alliance (UNMF) 31/03/2023 Poland UNIMOS Alliance (UNMF) 24/05/2023 Denmark Food and BioCluster Denmark (FBCD) 31/05/2023 Turkey Sabri Ulker Foundation (SUF)

Purpose To describe the patterns of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) consumption in the Netherlands; to test if exposure to the food environment is associated with UPFs consumption; and if this association differed across educational levels and neighbourhood urbanisation. Methods Cross-sectional study using 2015-data of 8104 older adults from the Dutch EPIC cohort. Proportion of UPFs consumption was calculated from a validated food-frequency questionnaire. Exposure to the food environment was defined as proximity and availability of supermarkets, fast-food restaurants, full-service restaurants, convenience stores, candy stores and cafés. Consumption of UPFs was expressed as both percentage of total grams and total kilocalories. Results The study population was aged 70(± 10 SD) years and 80.5% was female. Average UPFs consumption was 17.8% of total food intake in grams and 37% of total energy intake. Those who consumed greater amounts of UPFs had a poorer overall diet quality. Adjusted linear regression models showed that closer proximity and larger availability to any type of food retailer was associated with lower UPFs consumption (both in grams and kilocalories). Somewhat stronger significant associations were found for proximity to restaurants (β = − 1.6%, 95% confidence interval (CI) = − 2.6; − 0.6), and supermarkets (β = − 2.2%, 95%CI = − 3.3; − 1.1); i.e., Individuals living within 500 m from the closest supermarket, as compared to 1500 m, had 2.6% less calories from UPFs. No differences were found on analyses stratified for urbanisation and education. Conclusions Using various measures of exposure to the food environment, we found that exposure to restaurants and supermarkets was associated with somewhat lower consumption of UPFs.

Little is known about socioeconomic differences in the association between the food environment and dietary behavior. We systematically reviewed four databases for original studies conducted in adolescents and adults. Food environments were defined as all objective and perceived aspects of the physical and economic food environment outside the home. The 43 included studies were diverse in the measures used to define the food environment, socioeconomic position (SEP) and dietary behavior, as well as in their results. Based on studies investigating the economic (n = 6) and school food environment (n = 4), somewhat consistent evidence suggests that low SEP individuals are more responsive to changes in food prices and benefit more from healthy options in the school food environment. Evidence for different effects of availability of foods and objectively measured access, proximity and quality of food stores on dietary behavior across SEP groups was inconsistent. In conclusion, there was no clear evidence for socioeconomic differences in the association between food environments and dietary behavior, although a limited number of studies focusing on economic and school food environments generally observed stronger associations in low SEP populations. (Prospero registration: CRD42017073587)

Since 2012 the anti-GMO (genetically modified organism) movement has gained significant grassroots momentum in its efforts to require mandatory GMO food labels through state-level ballot and legislative efforts. Major food and agriculture corporations are opposed to mandatory GMO labels and have successfully defeated most of these initiatives. Nevertheless, these battles have garnered significant media attention and re-energized the debate over GMO crops and foods. In this paper, we argue that one of the most significant outcomes of this fight is efforts by food retailers and value-based food companies to implement voluntary non-GMO labels and brands. We draw on the governance and political consumerism literature to explore (counter) movement efforts for mandatory labels and how these efforts are being institutionalized through private voluntary governance institutions. Our assessment is based on in-depth, semi-structured interviews with key informants from consumer and environmental organizations, agriculture and biotech companies, and government regulatory agencies, as well as a content analysis of food industry websites. A growing number of food retailers recognize the reputational and economic value that new niche markets for non-GMO foods can offer, while the anti-GMO movement views these efforts as a step in the direction of mandatory GMO labels. We conclude that voluntary labels may act to settle the labeling debate by mollifying agri-food industry concerns about mandatory labeling and meeting the desire of political consumers for greater choice and transparency but without addressing the broader social and environmental sustainability concerns that drives the anti-GMO movement in the first place.

Le rôle des migrants italiens dans la diffusion du « goût italien » est bien connu dans au XXe siècle : le design, la mode et le « made in Italy » sont aujourd’hui largement appréciés. Mais on sait moins que la relation entre esthétique et culture italienne est portée par une lingue histoire, depuis la Renaissance. Ce lien s’est maintenu aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles quand l’économie italienne décline et se marginalise. Les migrants jouent un rôle clé pour conforter le goût italien dans les arts décoratifs, mais aussi dans la production de biens de consommation allant de la verrerie aux comestibles. Dans cet article, on examine deux cas : les ouvriers du stuc, issus du Tessin, une aire limitrophe entre l’Italie et la Suisse ; les détaillants de nourriture italienne à Londres dans la deuxième moitié du XVIIIe siècle. Si ces deux cas révèlent des différences structurelles, ils expriment aussi des traits communs qui tiennent à la manière dont ces communautés ont utilisé l’identité italienne et leurs liens sociaux pour soutenir leur cause personnelle et, à la fois, promouvoir l’esthétique et les codes de civilité italiens à travers l’Europe. The role of Italian migrants in spreading ‘Italian taste’ is well know in the twentieth century : Italian design, fashion and the ‘made-in-Italy’ are today appreciated globally. There is however little understanding of the fact that the relationship between aesthetic taste and Italian national culture has a long historical tradition going back to the Renaissance. This was kept alive during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries when Italy’s economy became marginal and declined. Migrants were key agents in upholding Italian taste in the decorative arts, but also in the production of consumer goods ranging from glass to food. This paper considers two cases : the stucco workers from the Ticino, a borderland area between Italy and Switzerland, who were active in central Europe and Britain in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries ; and the case of Italian food retailers in London in the second half of the eighteenth century. These two cases show different structures and working for these two communities, but reveal also some common features in the way both communities used Italian identity and social links to foster their individual cause and, at the same time, promote Italian aesthetics and polite manners throughout Europe.

This paper argues that social marketing initiatives in retailing need to be part of the institutional orientation of the firm, focused on a product familiar to both employees and consumers and integrated with human resource management practices of the firm in order to provide a distinct competitive advantage.