The sustainability of the food supply chain is a core issue in the research and policy debate and is one of the priorities in the EU Horizon 2020 Strategies (EU, 2014). As a result, increasing knowledge of the resource efficiency of the food supply chain can help to meet EU global challenges. The literature review on food chain performance reveals methodological differences when investigating multiple dimensions, i.e. economics, social, human health, environmental, ethics; thus, comparisons are arduous. The majority of studies focus on environmental, social and economic performance overlooking health and ethical aspects. The paper will investigate the scientific literature focusing on the contribution of supply chain on economic, social, health, environmental and ethical performance. Results could help in understanding the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches as well as their reliability in assessing how food chain sustainability is affected by its length.