Sustainability in Food Security, Food Safety, and the Agri-Food Supply Chain

Dear Colleagues,

Food security is one of the most important aspects of the strategic initiatives of countries worldwide. Achieving sustainable food security requires the creation of strategic initiatives by mapping the vulnerabilities of the food supply chain system and thus improving its resiliency (Wahbah et al. 2022).

To address the current challenges in agrifood systems and the agricultural supply chain industry, creative solutions, technology, innovation in production and distribution, and sustainable consumption are needed to achieve sustainability in the agrifood system (Ammar et al. 2023). There is a lack of research with this focus; therefore, this Special Issue calls for research and action from stakeholders. This call to action will support current and future agricultural food systems and supply chains through local and regional food system development with a focus on redesigning end-to-end food supply chains.

Contributions to this Special Issue should aim to address the imperative aspects of the Sustainable Developmental Goals (SDGs), including Goal #1 (no poverty), Goal #2 (zero hunger), Goal #3 (good health and well-being), and Goal 12 (responsible consumption and production). This Special Issue’s scope will address these important SDGs from both academic and industry standpoints through an array of research methods and applications. It will address this research gap, thus creating an impact for Sustainability, and it will open doors for further research.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome, including (but not limited to) the following areas:

• The role of AI, ML, and deep learning in food supply chains, food security, and food safety;
• Systematic literature reviews of food security;
• Technological innovations in food security and agrifood supply chains;
• Theoretical investigations into consumer-centric food supply chains with a sustainability focus;
• Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-method applications of sustainable food supply chain operations;
• Barriers and drivers to the adoption of sustainability practices in food supply chains;
• Food safety interventions for the sustainable fulfilment of rising consumer needs for safe, healthy, and nutritional food supplies;
• Public policy-making paradigms and emerging debates on sustainable food SCs;
• Data-driven digital implementations that ensure food transparency and traceability for sustainability;
• Ethnography and grounded theory in food security studies;
• Food waste assessments of end-to-end food supply chains;
• Studies of sustainable carbon footprints in the agrifood sector and circular supply chains.
• We look forward to receiving your contributions.

References

Ammar, K. A., Kheir, A. M., Ali, B. M., Sundarakani, B., & Manikas, I. (2023). Developing an analytical framework for estimating food security indicators in the United Arab Emirates: a review. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 1-20.

Wahbeh, S., Anastasiadis, F., Sundarakani, B., & Manikas, I. (2022). Exploration of food security challenges towards more sustainable food production: A systematic literature review of the major drivers and policies. Foods, 11(23), 3804.

Prof. Dr. Balan Sundarakani
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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• food security
• agrifood supply chain
• resiliency
• framework for food supply chains
• sustainability
• technology’s role in food supply
• urban farming
• creative solutions for food security
• sustainable food production and consumption