Our current food systems do not deliver the food security, environmental or socio-economic outcomes that policy makers, consumers or other food system actors expect from them. Steering our highly complex food systems towards a sustainability transformation requires a vast knowledge base and coordinated actions from a range of public and private actors. To inform choices assessing the food system status with respect to a number of sustainability criteria as well using foresight and qualitative and quantitative scenario building methods to evaluate options for change has emerged as an integrated, multi-dimensional approach that captures the various perspectives of stakeholders. The talk will use the example the EU Horizon2020 project ‘Metrics, Models and Foresight for European SUStainable Food And Nutrition Security’ (SUSFANS) to discuss how scenarios building methods as part of wider assessment work can and have been used by various communities as a tool for supporting the negotiations of tough choices towards transformation.