In an age marked by extreme weather events, sustainability has become imperative in all facets of society. The food sector – being one of the largest dependent on natural resources – has recognized the influence of its activities in the alarming and imminent environmental collapse. Proof of this is that today all spheres of the food sector are constantly pressured to implement practical methods and solutions to maintain economic viability while adapting to environmentally sustainable models. However, alleviating the pressures of the current food system to make it sustainable not only means reducing the magnitude of environmental burdens, but it is also necessary to fight against difficulties in obtaining dietary diversity, reduced nutritional quality, instabilities of supply, as well as increased food losses and reduced food security. Still, this same food system will have to meet 60% of the population's growing needs by 2050, and will still face enormous pressure in the face of sociocultural transformations. So, if feeding the planet's current population represents a critical challenge to our sustainable future, what could our emergency solutions be? Are we doomed to inflection points that will plunge us into unknown and nebulous territory? From this perspective, in the search for immediate solutions, the biorefineries' role, intertwined with the circular bioeconomy, emerges as an essential agent of sustainable transformation, being considered a key concept for win-win approaches. This is because, through principles of integration and intensification processes, the global food chain can reinvent itself and promote more efficient valorization for producing products with high added-value, through biomasses and biowastes, preserving resources and protecting the environment. Therefore, collaborative efforts between researchers, industry, and policymakers are essential to harness the power of these techniques, realizing the full potential of implementing biorefineries to ensure nutritional sustainability in multiple sectors of the global food chain.
Given its importance, this research topic aims to provide more up-to-date findings regarding methodologies and perspectives to address the gaps and bottlenecks that delay or hinder the development of biorefineries as a promising strategy to ensure nutritional sustainability based on the environment-society-economy nexus. Besides, it supports specific criteria and insights throughout the entire value chain, to ensure efficiency in production capacity and consequent integrated bioeconomic viability.
This research topic will welcome original research articles, reviews, short communications, and opinions about the role of biorefineries in enhancing nutritional sustainability, emphasizing the main considerations and recommendations on the following topics, including but not limited to:
• Potential biomasses for the next generation of sustainable ingredients/foods
• Biotechnological advances for sustainable food nutrition
• Innovative approaches to reduce agricultural and food wastes
• Integration and intensification processes applied to the food chain in biorefinery approaches
• Sustainability metrics and indicators for the global food system
• Social acceptance and policy interventions to sustainable food systems
Keywords:
biomasses, food nutrition, food systems, biorefinery approaches, sustainability
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.
In an age marked by extreme weather events, sustainability has become imperative in all facets of society. The food sector – being one of the largest dependent on natural resources – has recognized the influence of its activities in the alarming and imminent environmental collapse. Proof of this is that today all spheres of the food sector are constantly pressured to implement practical methods and solutions to maintain economic viability while adapting to environmentally sustainable models. However, alleviating the pressures of the current food system to make it sustainable not only means reducing the magnitude of environmental burdens, but it is also necessary to fight against difficulties in obtaining dietary diversity, reduced nutritional quality, instabilities of supply, as well as increased food losses and reduced food security. Still, this same food system will have to meet 60% of the population's growing needs by 2050, and will still face enormous pressure in the face of sociocultural transformations. So, if feeding the planet's current population represents a critical challenge to our sustainable future, what could our emergency solutions be? Are we doomed to inflection points that will plunge us into unknown and nebulous territory? From this perspective, in the search for immediate solutions, the biorefineries' role, intertwined with the circular bioeconomy, emerges as an essential agent of sustainable transformation, being considered a key concept for win-win approaches. This is because, through principles of integration and intensification processes, the global food chain can reinvent itself and promote more efficient valorization for producing products with high added-value, through biomasses and biowastes, preserving resources and protecting the environment. Therefore, collaborative efforts between researchers, industry, and policymakers are essential to harness the power of these techniques, realizing the full potential of implementing biorefineries to ensure nutritional sustainability in multiple sectors of the global food chain.
Given its importance, this research topic aims to provide more up-to-date findings regarding methodologies and perspectives to address the gaps and bottlenecks that delay or hinder the development of biorefineries as a promising strategy to ensure nutritional sustainability based on the environment-society-economy nexus. Besides, it supports specific criteria and insights throughout the entire value chain, to ensure efficiency in production capacity and consequent integrated bioeconomic viability.
This research topic will welcome original research articles, reviews, short communications, and opinions about the role of biorefineries in enhancing nutritional sustainability, emphasizing the main considerations and recommendations on the following topics, including but not limited to:
• Potential biomasses for the next generation of sustainable ingredients/foods
• Biotechnological advances for sustainable food nutrition
• Innovative approaches to reduce agricultural and food wastes
• Integration and intensification processes applied to the food chain in biorefinery approaches
• Sustainability metrics and indicators for the global food system
• Social acceptance and policy interventions to sustainable food systems
Keywords:
biomasses, food nutrition, food systems, biorefinery approaches, sustainability
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.