Food, Supply Chains, and Sustainable Development—Third Edition

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, food systems, supply chains, and sustainable development have attracted growing scholarly and policy attention. Increasing pressures related to food security, climate change, resource scarcity, and geopolitical uncertainty have intensified the need to design and operate food supply chains to be efficient, resilient, and environmentally and socially sustainable (Wu et al., 2018). Moreover, emerging technologies used to support food supply chain operations—ranging from logistics and packaging to information processing and decision support—are becoming more critical to achieve sustainability.

The food supply chain spans the entire process from agricultural production to final consumption. It involves multiple stages and stakeholders, including farmers, processors, distributors, retailers, governments, and consumers (Govindan, 2018). Achieving sustainable food supply chains therefore requires coordination. Such coordination has the potential to improve social welfare, balance economic and environmental objectives, and mitigate adverse environmental impacts (Moreno-Miranda et al., 2022). Despite substantial progress, many structural barriers, incentive misalignments, and information asymmetries remain. In particular, how different stakeholders can be effectively engaged and coordinated in increasingly complex and data-rich environments remains an open research challenge.

Recently, digital technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, large language models (LLMs), the Internet of Things (IoT), and data-driven analytics, are creating new opportunities to transform food supply chains. These technologies enable improved demand forecasting, waste reduction, supplier evaluation, traceability, risk management, and decision support. However, they also raise new questions related to transparency, governance, ethics, and implementation. Understanding how such technologies can be responsibly and effectively deployed to support sustainable food supply chains is an important research frontier.

This Special Issue of Sustainability, titled “Food, Supply Chains, and Sustainable Development—Third Edition”, aims to advance knowledge on strategies, technologies, and governance mechanisms that enable stakeholders to simultaneously achieve economic viability and sustainability goals. The Special Issue seeks to explore the evolving relationships among farms, firms, governments, and consumers, particularly in the context of digital transformation and intelligent decision-making. We welcome qualitative and quantitative research contributions, including empirical studies, analytical models, simulations, surveys, and case studies.

This Special Issue welcomes submissions covering, but not limited to, the following topics: 

Strategies of food enterprises to reduce losses, emissions, and waste while improving sustainability performance;

Trade-offs and complementarities among corporate social responsibility, environmental impacts, and economic outcomes;

Applications of AI, machine learning, LLMs, and data analytics in food supply chain management and coordination;

Digital technologies (e.g., IoT, blockchain, intelligent logistics, smart packaging) that enhance operational efficiency, traceability, and sustainability;

Innovative theories and methods for vertical and horizontal coordination in food supply chains;

Government interventions and policy instruments to mitigate environmental impacts and enhance resilience;

Public policies and incentive mechanisms that encourage sustainable practices among enterprises;

Approaches to improving consumer awareness, participation, and behavior related to sustainable food consumption.

References

Moreno-Miranda, C., Dries, L. Integrating coordination mechanisms in the sustainability assessment of agri-food chains: From a structured literature review to a comprehensive framework. Econ. 2022, 192, 107265.

Govindan, K. Sustainable consumption and production in the food supply chain: A conceptual framework. J. Prod. Econ. 2018, 195, 419-431.

Wu, P. J., Huang, P. C. Business analytics for systematically investigating sustainable food supply chains. Clean. Prod. 2018, 203, 968-976.

Prof. Dr. Victor Shi
Dr. Shervin Espahbod
Guest Editors

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