Background

The demand for biodiversity-promoting foods (biodiv) has been rising steadily for years. At the same time, however, the opportunity for the majority of consumers in Germany to consume biodiverse foods is decreasing. This is largely due to the very high prices for food produced using biodiversity. At the same time, the revenues of the farms that produce these foods are falling, while production costs are rising.

In order to achieve a transformation in food production towards more biodiversity, it is therefore important to develop new marketing concepts that both generate a secure income for farms and remain affordable and easily accessible for the majority of society.

Aims of the subproject

• Survey of the status quo in the food retail value and supply chain.
• Identification and quantification of biodiversity-promoting measures outside of primary agricultural production within the supply chain up to the consumer.
• Re-planning of an adapted value chain with a focus on the area of digital networking and the possibilities of decentralized solutions.

Procedure in the subproject

• Analysis of existing supply chains/product flows in the meat and maize/beans sectors and their evaluation with regard to their impact on biodiversity.
• Market analysis of existing biodiversity labels in the food retail sector and analysis of their content in the context of biodiversity promotion.
• Analysis of the legal framework conditions in the supply chain with a particular focus on the special requirements in the meat sector.
• Modeling of potential new sales channels based on stakeholder requirements and legal requirements.
• Based on these findings, pilot trials for the sale and distribution of biodiverse goods should ideally be launched in the further course of the project.

The subproject is being worked on jointly by project teams from HfWU Nürtingen and DHBW Mannheim. The DHBW will use its strong access to established players in the food retail sector, while the HfWU will cooperate closely with players who have already implemented alternative concepts for supplying the population with regionally produced food.

Over the course of the project, the results of the respective studies will be successively presented to the practice partners and the public.