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Sustainable commoditization of seafood

Nature Sustainability volume 3, pages 677–684 (2020)Cite this article

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Abstract

Debates on seafood in the Global South tend to prioritize food security, whereas debates on seafood in the Global North emphasize sustainability. We track the evolution of both debates and propose the concept of ‘sustainable commoditization’ to reconcile them. We identify three pillars of action that are necessary for sustainable commoditization of seafood in the Global South, namely: (1) sustainable intensification; (2) supply chain transformation; and (3) supporting policy and regulation. We believe that the concept of ‘sustainable commoditization’ is applicable well beyond the seafood sector and is especially relevant for agriculture and forestry more generally.

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Fig. 1: The triangle of sustainable commoditization.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

    Ben Belton & Thomas Reardon

  2. WorldFish, Batu Maung, Penang, Malaysia

    Ben Belton

  3. Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA

    David Zilberman

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  1. Ben Belton
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B.B., T.R. and D.Z. designed the research. B.B. and T.R. performed the research. B.B., T.R. and D.Z. wrote the paper.

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Correspondence to Thomas Reardon.

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Belton, B., Reardon, T. & Zilberman, D. Sustainable commoditization of seafood. Nat Sustain 3, 677–684 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-020-0540-7

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