Beyond Stockpiles: Preparedness in Sweden's Food System

Sammanfattning

Events in recent years have prompted a resurgence in Sweden’s civil defence planning, with national authorities increasingly focusing on securing the supply of critical goods and services such as food. Yet the societal functions that together uphold Sweden’s food system—primary production, manufacturing, distribution, and public meal service—are embedded in complex supply chains shaped by both domestic and international interdependencies. As the Swedish government and national agencies invest in measures such as grain stockpiles and mobile mills, it becomes relevant to question what forms of preparedness are appropriate (and feasible) for such a complex and interconnected sector. This study therefore investigates the current state of preparedness in Sweden's food system, exploring how preparedness is both understood and enacted across different actors. Drawing on systems thinking, the study is based on a case study comprising 32 interviews with private and public actors representing multiple stages of the food supply chain. The study finds that preparedness is unevenly understood and enacted across a supply chain characterized by misaligned priorities and practices. At the same time, material, temporal, and spatial asymmetries between actors converge such that the system faces a high degree of complex interactions and dependencies. Consequently, while some actors may be prepared to handle the small, everyday crises that typify the food sector, they cannot effectuate preparedness at system-level. The resulting situation is one in which no actor bears sole responsibility for the preparedness of the system, nor can they bring it about. This finding bears consequence for the Swedish government and national agencies’ current preparedness approach, which places large responsibility on private food system actors to account for and address their own preparedness.