Environmental and Economic Performance of Farming and Food Systems

Dear Colleagues,

Understanding the environmental and economic consequences of current and future farming and food systems is fundamental for addressing the complicated and interrelated sustainability challenges we face as a society. Food production and consumption account for a substantial part of the total greenhouse gas emissions, energy and water consumption, and other environmental impacts. Traditional and emerging approaches to address these issues have economic consequences that may be positive or negative for farmers, consumers, and others in the supply chain. The goal of this Special Issue is to offer insights into how different practices, systems, technologies, and approaches to food production affect environmental and economic performance.

Field experiments, case studies, and reviews assessing environmental and/or economic aspects of farming and food will be considered. Topics could include the following: production systems, such as organic farming, cover cropping, conservation tillage, crop and livestock integration, hydroponics/aquaponics, agroforestry, rooftop farming, and urban farming; new developments in life and food sciences, such as conventional breeding, genetic engineering, plant-based meat and milk alternatives, and CRISPR; supply chain innovations, like community supported agriculture (CSA), food hubs, farmers’ markets, value-added production, blockchain technologies, e-commerce, and third-party certifications; and information technologies and robotics, such as smart farming, artificial intelligence (AI), robotic weeders, drones, robotic milking systems, and the Internet of Things (IoT).

Performance assessment methods and variables could include life cycle assessment (LCA), greenhouse gas emissions, water-use efficiency, energy efficiency, soil quality, costs of production, profitability, farm resilience, biodiversity protection, pesticide and fertilizer use, labor efficiency, food miles, and dietary and health effects.

Prof. Sean Clark
Guest Editor

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