About this Research Topic

Background

Over the past decades, food systems have been challenged by many global issues (such as climate change, overexploitation of natural resources, and rapid world population growth), and the recent crises (i.e., outbreak of pandemics and armed conflicts) have further contributed to affect the global food security. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were established by 193 United Nations countries in 2015 aiming to “transform the world by 2030” at all levels. Due to widespread conflicts, uncertain economic conditions, and the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the SDGs seem to be unachievable unless innovative solutions and new approaches are considered at all food production and consumption stages, from farm and sea to table.
Therefore, the fourth industrial revolution (called Industry 4.0) has emerged in recent years as a promising strategy in this regard. Industry 4.0 has been defined in many recently published studies as the convergence between digital, physical, and biological domains (Hassoun et al., 2022).
The increasing demand for the development of innovative sustainable technologies has boosted the focus towards Industry 4.0 innovations. Growing evidence demonstrates the high potential of Industry 4.0 technologies (e.g., artificial intelligence, big data, smart sensors, and robotics) to foster ecological and digital transitions of food systems.
In this Research Topic, we aim to highlight the link between Industry 4.0 and food sustainability and how the implementation of recent technological advances could provide unique opportunities to address many global challenges in agriculture and the food industry. Significant economic, social, and environmental benefits are expected by further harnessing Industry 4.0 solutions to enhance food sustainability and accelerate the achievement of SDGs.
The scope of this Research Topic aims at highlighting the emerging technologies that can be used to facilitate the implementation of the SDGs and move toward achieving a healthier sustainable food system. A special focus will be put on recently emerged digital sustainable technologies in agriculture (precision farming/agriculture) and the food industry (smart food factories). We welcome original research, review articles and short communications including but not limited to the following themes:

• Development of innovative, smart, and sustainable food technologies
• Innovative strategies for food shortage mitigation
• Emerging technologies for food waste and food loss reduction
• Innovative strategies for food waste valorization
• Role of digitalization and automation in improving food sustainability

Keywords: Digital shift, ecological transformation, food systems, food waste, food security, fourth industrial revolution, technological innovation, sustainability, SDG, smart food factory, precision agriculture

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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