From Waste to Systems Change: Governance, Innovation and Integration for Sustainable Food Futures

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue aims to advance a focused, interdisciplinary dialogue on transformative approaches to food waste prevention and valorization. Food waste is not merely a technical or logistical challenge but a systemic issue embedded in behavioral, regulatory, and socio-economic contexts. To move beyond conventional recycling and valorization technologies, this Issue prioritizes contributions that explore governance frameworks, regulatory innovation, behavioral change mechanisms, and inclusive stakeholder engagement to drive systemic change.

We invite research that addresses food waste prevention at the source—particularly through policy design, incentive structures, supply chain coordination, and consumer behavior. In addition, the Issue seeks to explore innovative valorization pathways that are economically viable and scalable, while also examining the social and environmental trade-offs through tools such as life cycle assessment and social impact metrics.

A central objective of this collection is to understand how interdisciplinary research can be translated into industrial practice and policy impact. We encourage papers that offer actionable insights, case-based learning, and integrative frameworks that bridge disciplinary silos, with particular interest in the roles of governance, civic engagement, and system-level interventions in supporting sustainable, resilient, and circular food systems.

Dr. Gianpiero Pataro
Dr. Giovanni De Feo
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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.