The sustainability assessments of the supply chain of agri-food products: The integration of socio-economic metrics

The agri-food sector plays a crucial role in transforming the current system into a more sustainable, resilient, and inclusive one. The European policies to guide economic and social development need tools to generate sustainable production. Awareness of the social problems of the value chain reveals the need to evaluate the agri-food system's social impacts. By social problems of the value chain we mean: child labor used to harvest agricultural products, working hours, health and safety of workers. Furthermore, the socio-employment integration of disadvantaged workers and the information asymmetry hinder communication with the consumer and denigrate the quality of the products. The Social-Life Cycle Assessment methodology, which focuses on social impacts and socio-economic assessments, could support global sustainability assessment. This study provides insights to improve sustainability assessments in the agri-food sector, also through the analysis and application of SLCA guidelines and methodological developments in case studies and applications on agri-food products.