Food sustainability and sovereignty in tension: An integrated assessment of nutritional, environmental, and self-sufficiency dimensions in the French food supply

The ability to ensure sustainable diets depends on domestic agriculture and trade, linking the transition to sustainable food systems closely with food sovereignty. This study aimed to analyze the relationships between nutritional quality, environmental impact and self-sufficiency across food groups within the current French food supply. Using the food repertoire (n=1,997 food items) and adult consumption data (n=2,121) from a representative survey, the food supply was characterized according to its nutritional, environmental and self-sufficiency dimensions. Nutritional quality was estimated using PANFood, a nutrient-based food scoring system, inspired by the PANDiet system. Environmental impact was assessed using the Environmental Footprint (EF) score aggregating 16 impacts from the Agribalyse® database. Food self-sufficiency capacity was calculated as the ratio of domestic production to food supply using international (FAOSTAT) and national databases. These three indicators were calculated for each food group based on food item data weighted by their relative consumption, enabling multidimensional distribution analysis. Overall, self-sufficiency showed no or negligible correlation with the sustainability dimensions (i.e., nutrition and environment) and the indicators exhibited substantial heterogeneity within food groups. Fruits, vegetables, and legumes demonstrated high sustainability profiles, but moderate and variable self-sufficiency. Dairy products showed high self-sufficiency alongside varied sustainability profiles. Red and processed meat exhibited poor sustainability profiles and variable self-sufficiency capacity, although overall self-sufficiency remained moderate. In France, based on the current food supply, food self-sufficiency does not align with the nutritional and environmental sustainability dimensions. However, some food groups with favorable sustainability profiles could serve as levers to enhance self-sufficiency.