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Sustainable Nutrition: Bridging Food Systems, Climate Change, and Human Health

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Global Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 790

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Centre for Healthcare Research (CHR), Coventry University, Coventry CV8 3LG, UK
Interests: nutrition; sustainability; maternal and women’s health; health inequality; equity and diversity
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Josué de Castro Nutrition Institute, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-902, Brazil
Interests: nutritional epidemiology; public health nutrition; sustainable nutrition; maternal and women’s health; dietary intake among scholars; health and social inequalities; equity and diversity
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Institute for Medical Research, University of Belgrade, 11 000 Belgrade, Serbia
Interests: nutrition; micronutrient deficiencies; dietary diversity; sustainability; minerals; food security; nutritional epidemiology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sustainable food systems are crucial for both human health and climate change mitigation. Climate change impacts food security, diet quality, and nutrition outcomes, while our dietary patterns also affect climate change [1]. Sustainable diets, characterised by high plant-based and reduced animal-sourced foods, offer potential health benefits and environmental advantages [2]. These diets can lead to lower greenhouse gas emissions and potential reductions in diet-related non-communicable diseases. Promoting sustainable food systems requires addressing challenges such as population growth, urbanisation, and the need for climate-friendly agriculture, place-based food procurement, and shorter supply chains [1,3].

Integrating food consumption and nutrition considerations into climate adaptation and mitigation planning is essential for developing sustainable food systems that benefit both human health and the planet [4,5]. Urgent action is needed to measure and address the complex interactions between food systems, climate change, and human health [1].

This Special Issue aims to further advance scientific and professional knowledge in the field of sustainable nutrition. We have a particular interest in studies related to the following: agroecology, food security, hunger, malnutrition, food systems, horticulture, biodiversity, non-conventional edible plants, underutilised crops, food waste, the circular economy, shorter supply chains, food procurements, etc.

This Special Issue will accept manuscripts on sustainable nutrition practice, policy, and research, exploring a wide range of topics and disciplines, such as epidemiology, public health, nutrition, agroecology, food science, behavioural sciences, social sciences, demography, economic evaluation, policy analysis, advocacy, and professional development. It will include the following types of articles:

  • Primary research (qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods studies);
  • Systematic, mapping, scoping, and narrative reviews;
  • Methodological papers;
  • Case studies;
  • Commentaries and position papers;
  • Brief reports.

References

  1. Owino, V.; Kumwenda, C.; Ekesa, B.; Parker, M.E.; Ewoldt, L.; Roos, N.; Lee, W.T.; Tome, D. The impact of climate change on food systems, diet quality, nutrition, and health outcomes: A narrative review. Clim. 2022, 4, 941842. https://doi: 10.3389/fclim.2022.941842.
  2. Jarmul, S.; Dangour, A.D.; Green, R.; Liew, Z.; Haines, A.; Scheelbeek, P.F. Climate change mitigation through dietary change: A systematic review of empirical and modelling studies on the environmental footprints and health effects of ‘sustainable diets’. Res. Lett. 2020, 15. https://doi:10.1088/1748-9326/abc2f7.
  3. Lutz, M. Healthy sustainable food patterns and systems: A planetary urgency. Medwave 2021, 21, e8436. https://doi:10.5867/medwave.2021.07.8436.
  4. Orkusz, A.; Bogueva, D. Children’s Diets and Planetary Health: A Study in Wroclaw, Poland, and Sydney, Australia. Foods 2024, 13, 3536. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13223536.
  5. Willett, W.; Rockström, J.; Loken, B.; Springmann, M.; Lang, T.; Vermeulen, S.; Garnett, T.; Tilman, D.; DeClerck, F.; Wood, A.; et al. Food in the Anthropocene: The EAT-Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems. Lancet 2019, 393, 447–492.

Prof. Dr. Amanda Rodrigues Amorim Adegboye
Dr. Maria Beatriz Trindade De Castro
Dr. Marija Knez
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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2500 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

  • sustainable food systems
  • sustainable nutrition
  • climate change mitigation
  • dietary patterns
  • sustainable diets
  • plant-based diets
  • agroecology
  • sustainable food procurement
  • food security
  • non-conventional edible plants
  • underutilised crops
  • shorter supply chains
  • biodiversity
  • dietary diversity

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

35 pages, 1530 KiB  
Article
Integrating Australian Native Foods for a More Sustainable Food System: A Qualitative Co-Design Study with Aboriginal Communities
by Carla Vanessa Alves Lopes, John Hunter, Renee Cawthorne, Shirley Gilbert, Ayoola Shogunle, Cassandra Ebsworth, Mike Bartlett, Rimante Ronto and Seema Mihrshahi
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2025, 22(4), 646; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22040646 - 19 Apr 2025
Viewed by 579
Abstract
(1) Background: Integrating native foods into food systems has shown promising benefits for health, the environment, and the revitalisation of Aboriginal culture. This study aims to explore the benefits, facilitators, and barriers of integrating Australian native foods into the current food system and [...] Read more.
(1) Background: Integrating native foods into food systems has shown promising benefits for health, the environment, and the revitalisation of Aboriginal culture. This study aims to explore the benefits, facilitators, and barriers of integrating Australian native foods into the current food system and how traditional knowledge around these foods can be revitalised in a culturally safe way. (2) Methods: This qualitative co-design study involved the following four phases: (I) Relationship building with the communities and cultural training for the research team; (II) Establishment of the Aboriginal Reference Group (ARG) for community involvement and governance; (III) Data collection through interviews and focus groups with participants from two urban Aboriginal communities in Sydney and experts in native foods; and (IV) Collaborative data analysis using both deductive and inductive thematic analysis. (3) Results: We interviewed 22 participants who acknowledged the nutritional, health, cultural, environmental, and economic benefits of Australian native foods. They strongly identified the impact of colonisation and imposed Western culture as root barriers impacting other barriers at the structural, socioeconomic, social, and environmental levels. Participants aspire to achieve food security and sovereignty in a more sustainable food system including native foods. To achieve their aspirations, a framework based on Aboriginal values and principles was developed to guide multicomponent initiatives using native foods. (4) Conclusions: A compassionate food model based on emancipatory community-based and land-based education is essential, connecting ancient and contemporary knowledge to transform the food system. Future research should focus on implementing and evaluating the multicomponent interventions suggested by the participants. Full article
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