About this Research Topic

Background

There are myriad challenges facing local to global food systems. These range from unsustainable food production threatening food security as a result of water shortages, over-fishing, and soil erosion, to overconsumption, and to huge amounts of food waste and loss estimated at almost one billion tonnes in 2019 to diet and nutrition. There is increased attention on these critical issues, with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 aimed at ending hunger, achieving food security and improved nutrition, and promoting sustainable agriculture with its impacts on climate change, and SDG 12.3 targeting to halve per capita global food waste and reducing food losses across production and supply chains.

The role of law and policy in contributing to possible effective responses and solutions to these numerous food challenges is being recognized in the literature, with a growing body of literature on legislative initiatives to tackle sustainability issues across production and consumption processes of food. Further research is needed to develop the landscape of existing and possible governance options to enhance sustainable food systems. This Research Topic, therefore, focuses on addressing questions such as: Can regulatory instruments function as enablers of sustainable food systems? What are the challenges and opportunities for promoting the role of law and policy for enhancing sustainable food systems? What are design considerations for governance mechanisms of sustainable food systems? What is the role of public international law in the management of sustainable food systems? How should sustainable food systems be regulated in international trade agreements? Is there room for the further development of global treaties in respect of sustainable food systems?

We welcome Opinion, Original Research, Perspective, Policy and Practice Reviews, Review, and Systematic Review submissions focusing on, but not limited to, the following:
• Law and policy measures for fostering sustainable food systems (e.g. labeling; voluntary or mandatory reporting requirements on food waste; standards and certifications for sustainable food production or consumption);
• Regulatory opportunities and challenges for promoting circular economy approaches within food production and supply chains;
• Justice and equity issues related to the governance of sustainable food systems;
• Design considerations of governance mechanisms for sustainable food systems; • Law and policy incentives and barriers to prevent food waste before it is even produced, as well as those to reduce the ‘wasting’ of any produced food waste;
• The role of technological innovations (e.g. Internet of Things; Artificial Intelligence; smart labels) in supporting the governance of sustainable food systems;
• Governance frameworks for plant and algae-based foods and other novel foods;
• The enforcement of health claims and labeling of food;
• The role of food and agriculture in international trade agreements.

Keywords: regulation, governance, food law, food waste

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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