European Centre for Governance in Complexity
"Thou shalt not take the name of bioeconomy in vain"
ECGC members Mario Giampietro and Sandra Bukkens and ECGC Co-Director Silvio Funtowicz recently (2025) published a paper in Sustainability Science, in which they perform a critical analysis of the use of the concept of "bioeconomy" in contemporary policy discourse, in particular in the EU. In this interview, first and last authors Mario Giampietro and Sandra Bukkens share some reflections.
​What is the main message of the paper?
Sandra & Mario: The situation we are experiencing is forcing us to change attitudes in relation to sustainability. More technical innovations and more business models will not solve the problems we are facing. The American dream and the Cartesian dream of prediction and control are just dreams. Following the wisdom of the late ecological economist Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen we should re-educate ourselves, leaving alone obsolete ideologies and misleading economic theories. We should start a deliberation on how to undergo the “tragedy of change” – i.e. how to renounce to some aspects of our identity to be able to retain other aspects of it. We must learn how to do things in a different way, and be honest to admit that we do not really know how to do it yet.
Why did you write a paper with such an unconventional title?
​
Sandra & Mario: The title plays with the wording of the Ten Commandments in Judaism and Christianity, the one that warns against misuse of the name of the Lord. Our point is that the term “bioeconomy” indeed is used in empty and vain ways by our governments. The rosy sociotechnical imaginary of bioeconomy as a panacea for a soft transition to a zero emission, environmentally friendly and equitable future society does not belong to any informed analysis on viable futures. Rather it is a “noble lie” that everyone (government, media, scientists, the civil society) in our society wants to believe in order to reduce the stress generated by the scaring polycrisis of sustainability we are experiencing. We hope that the paper sparks discussion and inspiration to get beyond such noble lies.
Sandra Bukkens
Sandra Bukkens is active member of the ECGC, doing research in the field of human nutrition and food systems, also affiliated with the Universidad Científica del Sur in Peru. She worked at the Rowett Research Institute, Aberdeen; Cornell University, Ithaca, NY; the Italian National Research Institute for Food and Nutrition, Rome; the University of Padova; and the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Her research has focused on energy metabolism, entomophagy, and multi-criteria evaluation of the performance of food systems in both developed and developing societies. In addition, she has vast experience in the management of European research projects and the organization of international conferences, workshops, and summer schools.
Mario Giampietro
Mario Giampietro is active member and one of the founding fathers of ECGC since its inception in 2015, where his research is focused on the bioeconomy, biosemiotics, and governance in complexity. In 2023, he retired from the Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA), for which he was ICREA Research Professor at the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. He has dedicated his academic career to the integrated assessment of (uncomfortable) sustainability issues using concepts from complex systems theory. He has (co)authored over 150 publications, including six books.
Silvio Funtowicz
Silvio Funtowicz is member and Co-Director of the ECGC. He recently (2025) received the Kenneth Boulding Award by the International Society for Ecological Economics, together with Jerome Ravetz.