Reshaping Chinese agrifood systems to enhance human nutrition: a scoping review of research.

Abstract

Food security in China has broadened to include achieving balanced nutrition and health while addressing resource and environmental burdens, mitigating climate change, improving livelihoods, and promoting social equity and welfare. This paper explores how China has established the link between agriculture, nutrition, and multiple goals through a system approach over the past decade. A scoping review method was used to analyze the recent research trajectory in China, with a specific focus on research on agrifood systems and improved human nutrition in China from 2014 to 2023. The results show a shift in research focus from predominantly agricultural production to an emphasis on food consumption and diets, thereby providing an evidence base for transforming agrifood systems. Future research should explore how to promote this transformation through technological innovation, agrifood policy optimization, and in-depth stakeholder engagement to further improve human nutrition while not compromising environmental goals of the agrifood system.