The role of ecosystem services in the pursuit of the doughnut economy – Implications for meat and dairy agroecosystems

Abstract

The doughnut economy framework provides an increasingly popular visualisation of sustainable development, in which the ecological ceilings tied to planetary boundaries are not breached and needs associated with social foundations are satisfied. This conceptual study explores the ecosystem services (ES) of meat and dairy agroecosystems, considering the various ways in which they may impact the core ecological and social components of the doughnut economy framework. Based on ES drawn from a recent systematic literature review, this study discovers that meat and dairy agroecosystems may both contribute to and undermine the pursuit of the doughnut economy in multifaceted ways. Although contributing to the social foundations through provisioning of nutritious food, income and work, and positive health outcomes, ES losses from agroecosystems typically impose direct strain on various ecological ceilings, especially those tied to climate change, land conversion, biodiversity loss, nitrogen and phosphorous loading, and freshwater withdrawals. Furthermore, ES gains, which underpin the pursuit of social foundations, such as food and income and work, can lead to trade-offs with these ecological ceilings, the extent to which depends on the production mode employed. This helps to underscore the importance of sustainable management of agroecosystems, including low-impact and regenerative techniques that can promote the supply of various ES. The paper discusses how the future quantification of indicators and thresholds is important for the practical operationalisation of the doughnut economy framework in different sectoral, spatial, and temporal contexts.