A just food system transformation is imperative to meet this century’s goals of environmental sustainability, economic fairness, and equitable social well-being. While considerations of justice are beginning to inform food system transformation debates, there remains a lack of conceptual and practical integration of these two historically separate disciplinary perspectives. This perspective therefore proposes the just transformation matrix (JUSTRA), which integrates justice and transformation concerns using an interrogative approach. Interrogatives probe the historical, present, and future intersections of justice with specific food system elements. If used conscientiously, the JUSTRA can assist a wide spectrum of food system actors in strategizing, implementing, and monitoring just food system transformations. It can also help stakeholders to more thoughtfully engage with power imbalances both among users and in the food system more broadly—if used “in bona fides.” Thus, while further testing is necessary to fully realize the potential of the JUSTRA, the matrix can become a powerful tool in multi-stakeholder dialogues to navigate unpredictable, diverse, and power-laden complexities of just food system transformations.

Non-technical summary. Ensuring more equitable transformations requires addressing how different contextual dimensions of identity, such as gender and class, hinder equity. However, previous analyses on equity have addressed these dimensions separately. We suggest advancing beyond these methods by integrating intersectional analysis into the distributive, procedural, and recognition aspects of equity when examining social–ecological transformations. A review of 37 studies on social–ecological transformation shows that social–ecological transformation scholars commonly addressed social, spatial, and environmental transformations. In contrast, few studies have gone into depth in analyzing the reasons for power imbalances. We encourage scholars to use critical questions to reflect on social–ecological transformations collectively.

Technical summary. Ensuring equity in social–ecological transformations involves understanding how aspects of identity – such as gender, age, and class – affect experiences on the path to sustainability. Previous studies have often focused on one dimension of difference, but an intersectionality framework is essential for recognizing interconnected identities. In this paper, we review 37 empirical studies on social–ecological transformations, identifying key assets of transformation, including economic, social, cultural, political, spatial, environmental, and knowledge-based assets. We apply an analytical framework based on intersectional equity, incorporating intersectionality in equity analysis, which examines how power dynamics contribute to inequities in distribution, procedure, and recognition. Our findings show that social, spatial, and environmental assets of transformation are the most frequently mentioned in our sampled literature, together with benefits, costs, inclusiveness, and knowledge of equity dimensions. Power imbalances occurred the most often, while different aspects of identity were mentioned only in two-thirds of the studies. We believe an intersectional equity approach will help better conceptualize transformation concerning (in)equity. Based on our reflections, we suggest critical questions encouraging scholars to evaluate them iteratively with an interdisciplinary group.

Social media summary. An intersectional equity approach is key to just social–ecological transformations. We review 37 studies to show why.

Increasing the supply and human consumption of grain legumes is one important strategy to orient food systems towards healthy and sustainable diets. This requires well-performing value chains and collaboration among a diverse set of actors, from governments to farmers. Using Sweden as an illustrative case, this study explores actors’ perceptions of influence over actions identified to have leverage to change grain legume consumption and production, and examines system structures that support or hinder these actions. Semi-structured interviews with value chain actors and information from organizational websites were used to map the grain legume value chain and agricultural knowledge and innovation system in Sweden, and to elicit actors’ perceptions. Social network analysis was used to examine structures of interaction among actors based on their roles in the food system. The findings indicate most value chain actors attribute influence to actor roles other than their own, with the national government named the most frequently. However, actors perceive influence differently over actions to change production and consumption. Fostering dialogues with actors across the value chain, especially within large grain legume projects, may help develop new models of interaction in support of healthy and sustainable diets.

Food production and consumption need to substantially change to meet global environmental and public health goals. Increasing grain legume consumption in most countries is key to providing nourishing food for all while contributing to cropping system sustainability with relatively low environmental impact. But what actions have the potential to increase such consumption? The wide knowledge of how to cultivate grain legumes among Swedish farmers, low current consumption in most of the population, and prior shifts in dietary patterns make Sweden an interesting context for studying the potential increase of grain legumes in diets. We identify system-level actions in peer-reviewed and grey literature with the potential to increase grain legume consumption and apply the leverage points framework to evaluate the transformative potential of these actions for the food system in Sweden. Our findings show that most actions suggested in the literature so far focus on increased production, while fewer suggestions integrate production and consumption. Few actions address the deeper leverage points with most transformative potential compared with those with less transformative potential. We qualitatively analyze the actions and develop a chain of leverage illustrating how several actions together could be combined to support change at the deepest leverage point, creating social norms for the consumption of healthy foods. The chain includes developing new tools, facilities and products; changing standards; building feedback loops; changing the food environment; building new information flows between actors; and reforming the value chain. To implement the actions identified in this analysis, a range of value chain actors and supportive policies at the national and European Union levels will be needed.

Academia has experienced acceleration and expansion in parallel with the Great Acceleration, which has shaped the Anthropocene. Among other pressures, the expectation to be internationally mobile conflicts with many values held by sustainability scholars and results in disillusionment. The changes in the academic system can be seen through the framework of the adaptive cycle, which can help us understand historical parallels and shape the system to better align with sustainability values in future. We hope this piece can contribute to the discussion of the next steps forward to reimagine academia.