About this Research Topic

Background

Disruptive technology refers to an innovation or advancement that disrupts an existing market, industry, or business model, typically by introducing a new product, service, or process that changes traditional ways of doing things and creates a significant impact on how business is conducted. This can often displace established companies and business models.
There is vast literature on the impacts of disruptive technologies on food systems, with most studies reporting on the revolution that food systems are experiencing as a result of their interactions with Industry 4.0 players. Disruptive technologies that have been institutionalized in the food system include blockchain, digital twin, vertical farming, cellular agriculture, AI and Data Analytics, online marketplaces, and food waste reduction technology. These innovations have reinvented the entire food value chain and led to the evolution of consumer lifestyles. The impact of disruptive technologies is hence systemic, affecting how food is produced, processed, distributed, and consumed.
While disruptive technology offers significant potential for positive changes, such as efficiency, transparency, and accessibility, it is crucial to carefully evaluate their implications on sustainability to ensure that they contribute to a more equitable and resilient food system. It's also important to note that the emergence of new technologies or social solutions has different impact profiles, with favorable consequences for some SDGs and unintended adverse side effects for others.
The problem addressed in this Research Topic can be summarized through the following question: Have disruptive technologies accelerated the achievement of sustainable development goals for food system stakeholders?
To better understand this issue, we aim to better understand the nature and degree of sustainability of food systems at local, regional, and international levels. To fill the existing gap, we welcome submissions based on diverse approaches and methods (e.g., empirical, and qualitative analyses, simulation models, case studies, and systematic reviews) from different relevant disciplines, including life cycle analysis, food systems science, and sociology of innovation, providing the studies are accessible to scientists from different disciplines.

Among the other questions we are interested in answering:

1. What is the nature of the change observed in food systems and what are the sustainability gains?
2. At what scale are the transformations taking place?
3. What is still a promise in food systems and what are the truly institutionalized innovations?
4. Have disruptive technologies changed consumers' eating habits and lifestyles?
5. Do disruptive technologies bring out new forms of sobriety in consumption behavior?
6. Do disruptive technologies foster the emergence of new business models in agriculture and food supply chains?
7. Do disruptive technologies support sustainable development goals in food systems?


Original research, review, and mini-review around the following themes are welcome.

Keywords: Food Systems, Disruptive Technologies, Sustainability, SDGs, Consumers' habits, Innovative Business Model, Food Supply Chain

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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