Achieving Food System Resilience & Equity in the Era of Global Environmental Change

The agri-food system is the primary driver of global environmental change and human health. How food and agricultural systems are designed, structured, and managed will have a profound influence on the ability of our global society to sustain globally important ecosystems services, mitigate and adapt to anthropogenic climate forcing, respond to economic and public health crises, and ensure food security, human health, and social stability into the future.

Climate impacts on global agriculture, fisheries, and food systems have steadily increased over the last 10 years and are projected to increase over this century. Evidence indicates that climate change will affect yields and producer earnings, food distribution processes and infrastructure, food quality and safety, food pricing, and thus food security and human nutrition. With growing evidence of the significant destabilization of the Earth’s climate system this century, regions must prepare for severe climate-induced shocks that may result in more frequent and severe weather disasters, disruption of critical supply chains and fisheries, increased food insecurity, and the catastrophic loss of life, livelihoods, property, and infrastructure.

Deadly pathogens emerging from agriculture are also anticipated to increase along with the human population and the expansion and intensification of agriculture. The global syndemic of climate destabilization, chronic illness, the COVID-19 pandemic, food insecurity, economic shocks, and the loss of ecosystem services must be simultaneously accounted for in attempts to achieve ecologically sustainable, resilient, and socially equitable food systems.

The objective of this Research Topic is to provide academics, elected officials, government agencies, urban and regional planners, community leaders, and other food system practitioners with an up-to-date scientific analysis of the systemic risks of anthropogenic climate destabilization and other stochastic shocks to agriculture, food security, human health, and economies while providing key principles, case studies and actionable strategies for achieving food system resilience and equity.

Specific content areas to be addressed in this Frontiers Research Topic may include, but is not limited to the following:
1. Food Systems, Global Environmental Change and Public Health: Impacts, Costs, and Systemic Risks
2. Indicators and Attributes of Resilient & Equitable Food Systems
3. Principles and Practices for Achieving Food System Sustainability, Resilience & Equity
4. Case Studies in Achieving Food System Resilience and Equity
5. Vulnerability Assessments: Measuring and Tracking Progress in Achieving Food System Resilience and Equity
6. Research, Regional Planning and Policy Recommendations for Achieving Food System Resilience & Equity
7. Structural Obstacles and Opportunities for Food Systems Transformation Toward Achieving Food System Sustainability, Resilience & Equity

Themes and article types that we would like to see in this collection can include the following:
• Systematic Review, Review, and Original Research: Food Systems and Global Environmental Change (climate destabilization, emissions, loss of ecosystem services) and Public Health Crises (chronic illness, malnutrition, and COVID-19): Impacts, Costs, and Systemic Risks;
• Systematic Review, Review and Original Research: Qualifying and Quantifying Impacts of Actual and Potential Stochastic Shocks on Food Systems and Food Security: Assessing National, Regional and Global Food Systems;
• Systematic Review, Review, Original Research, Policy and Practice Reviews: Key Indicators and Attributes, Principles and Practices of Sustainable, Resilient & Equitable Food Systems
- Agroecosystem and Farming System Resilience: A Review and Synthesis of Comparative Analysis of Agroecological and Conventional Farming Systems on Farming Systems Resilience Potential, Productivity & Other Globally Important Ecosystem Services
- Post-production Food System Resilience & Equity: A Review and Synthesis of Key Attributes, Indicators, Principles & Practices of Food System Resilience & Equity
• Policy and Practice Reviews: Sub-regional, Regional and National Models in Achieving Food System Resilience & Equity;
• Policy and Practice Reviews: Adaptive Management Approaches to Regional Food System Development;
• Perspective: Food System Transformation as Restorative Justice;
• Methods, Systematic Review, Review, Original Research: Measuring Food System Vulnerabilities: Quantifying and Qualifying Food System Resilience and Equity; Tracking Progress in Food System Resilience and Equity Through Time;
• Systematic Review, Review, Policy and Practice Reviews: Integrating Regional and National Food System Development Goals with Disaster Preparedness, Disaster Management, and Resilience Planning;
• Systematic Review, Review, Policy and Practice Reviews: Research, Education, Regional Planning and Integrated Policy Recommendations for Achieving Food System Resilience & Equity;
• Systematic Review, Review, Policy and Practice Reviews, Perspective: The Role of Biocultural Restoration of Indigenous Food Ways in Achieving Food System Resilience and Equity;
• Systematic Review, Review, Policy and Practice Reviews: Integrated Approaches to Sub-national, National and Global Food System Transformation Initiatives for Achieving Food System Resilience & Equity and International Covenants (Human Rights), Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) and International Treaties (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Convention on Biological Diversity);
• Systematic Review, Review, Policy, and Practice Reviews, Perspective: Structural Obstacles and Opportunities for Food Systems Transformation Toward Achieving Food System Sustainability, Resilience & Equity.