Enhanced Mushroom Supply and Consumption to Address Challenges of Global Warming
A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2026 | Viewed by 10
Special Issue Editor
2. Biotechnology Department, Tel Hai College, Upper Galilee 12210, Israel
Interests: edible mushrooms; medicinal mushrooms; compost; mushrooms ingredients; exotic mushrooms
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Global climate change is exerting increasing pressure on agricultural productivity and food security around the world. Extreme weather events—ranging from prolonged droughts to erratic heatwaves and cold snaps—threaten traditional crop systems, while the global demand for food continues to rise.
In this context, edible mushrooms present a promising, climate-resilient food source. Mushrooms cultivated in controlled environments are less vulnerable to climate extremes. Additionally, mushroom cultivation relies heavily on organic waste streams as substrates, contributing to waste valorization, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and a more sustainable food system.
However, realizing the full potential of mushrooms in climate adaptation and food security requires addressing key barriers to both supply and consumption. These include lowering production costs, improving varietal resilience, enhancing post-harvest handling, demonstrating health-promoting properties, and expanding consumer-friendly product development.
This Special Issue of Foods, titled "Enhanced Mushroom Supply and Consumption to Address Challenges of Global Warming," invites high-quality research articles and reviews that address the multifaceted role of mushroom cultivation and consumption in sustainable food systems and climate change impact mitigation. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Innovations in mushroom cultivation techniques and cost efficiency.
- Breeding and identification of heat- and drought-tolerant mushroom strains.
- Use of diverse organic waste streams in mushroom substrate formulation.
- Advances in post-harvest technology and supply chain logistics.
- Increasing contents of mushrooms' medicinal and functional bioactive compounds.
- Development of mushroom-derived products to match consumer preferences.
- Strategies to increase affordability and market diversity of edible mushrooms.
- Socio-economic and policy frameworks supporting mushroom-based food systems.
Prof. Dr. Dan Levanon
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Foods is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- mushroom cultivation
- mushroom consumption
- organic waste recycling
- climate resilience
- heat tolerance
- drought resistance
- medicinal mushrooms
- sustainable food systems
- post-harvest innovation
- circular bioeconomy
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