The Specialty Chief Editors of Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems shared with us their key insights on why Open Access is so important in the field of food sustainability.

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“The food challenges are often solved in areas and forums, in which costly subscription to access articles is not viable or possible. Open Access ensures that research will reach a wide audience and have the intended impact” Prof. Matti Kummu Specialty Chief Editor for the Water-Smart Food Production section with Prof. Mathias Neumann Andersen.

On this point, Prof. Maria Pilar Bernal, Specialty Chief Editor for the Waste Management in Agroecosystems section, highlights that “Scientific information should be available to all researchers”.

Our Specialty Chief Editors for the Climate-Smart Food Systems section add that “Our food systems connect producers, industries and consumers across the globe and, as such, addressing climate-related challenges in the food system has to be a universal endeavour. It is vital that spaces for engagement with these challenges are open to all; that everyone can access and contribute to the discussion around climate smart food systems.” Dr. Stephen Whitfield.  In addition, Prof. Robert Rees points out that “Open Access is now not only a requirement by many research funders, but is also acting as a catalyst for wider involvement and engagement with academic discussions and debate” and  Prof. Andrew Challinor emphasizes that Open Access  “is the great equaliser – only by freely sharing ideas can we make the greatest progress”.

 Prof. Michael Doyle and Prof. Rodolphe Barrangou, Specialty Chief Editors for the Agro Food Safety section, also state that “Open Access to relevant scientific literature is expected, if not mandatory, for most stakeholders, funding agencies and members of the scientific community. Access to valuable and insightful information is the foundation of our path forward.”

As an Open Access publisher, Frontiers makes research freely available at a global scale, maximizing its discoverability and impact. In addition, our automated and interactive review platform is designed to accelerate the peer-review process and allow our editors to focus on content through a collaborative and transparent system.

“The fast review process is well supported by the expertise and the platform available in Frontiers and the quality by the selected editorial board. We are all aware of the importance of timely publication of scientific work considering how fast science is moving. Food Sustainability is a more and more pressing issue what makes more relevant the importance of a fast and high-quality review process” Prof. José Teixeira, Specialty Chief Editor for the  Sustainable Food Processing  section.

Find more information on how Open Science can save the planet in the TEDx Brussels talk by Frontiers’ CEO, Kamila Markram.