Unpacking Short Food Supply Chains (SFSCs). A Taxonomic Analysis of Existing Definitions

Short Food Supply Chains (SFSCs) are multifaceted and multifunctional entities with a unique—yet not fully exploited—potential to drive the transition toward sustainable agri-food systems. However, due to the heterogeneity and diversity of these ‘short circuits’ and the limited availability of comparable data to assess their prevalence and expansion across the EU, providing a new conceptualisation of SFSCs within the EU regulatory frameworks presents an ambitious challenge. This chapter introduces a conceptual analysis of SFSC initiatives across the EU, which will be further explored and expanded upon in Chap. 3 . It provides a comprehensive taxonomy of legal and non-legal SFSC definitions derived from various stakeholders across different institutional levels, encompassing both national and EU perspectives. By addressing the question of ‘How are SFSCs defined in the EU?’, this Chapter aims to demarcate key concepts identifying different forms of SFSC, laying the foundation for the subsequent legal analysis in Parts II and III of the book. The Chapter concludes that currently, there exists no legal definition that can be effectively operationalised.