The NewTools project aims to facilitate transformation of the Norwegian food system by involving stakeholders representing all key parts of the food chain and providing tools for development and communication supporting the actual transdisciplinary workflow. It is a collaborative project aiming at
1) creating an efficient platform for sharing data, methods and knowledge;
2) collaborate to develop key indicators to be used as tools for transformating the food system.
Main indicators will be summary scores for foods, one for nutritional value and one for sustainability, which can be used in a number of ways besides food labelling, guiding consumers to choose healthy and sustainable foods. Along with the indicators, the processes of working with and applying the scores can function as new tools e.g. for new food product development, improvement of existing products, public food procurement and political decisions. The project will build on, and facilitate the establishment of, a common understanding among a range of actors involved in desirable food system transformations, enabling processes of the type “farm to fork to farm”. It will provide reliable data and use quality-assured methodology to create a solid and lasting foundation for transformation work. An immediate application is as part of the Norwegian response to EU’s Farm to fork (F2F) initiative. F2F proposals include a food labelling framework that covers the nutritional, environmental and social aspects of food products. Constituting a consortium with broad representation, including research institutions, governmental agencies, production-, processing- and distribution actors, consumer representatives such as the Norwegian Consumer Council, retailers, labelling experts and NGOs, the knowledge created and shared will contribute to the tools needed for significant transformations towards a more resilient and sustainable food system.
