Special Issue "Sustainable Food and Feed Systems"

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue will cover four linked topics through theory and examples: (1) the definition of sustainability, (2) the multidimensional qualities of systems, (3) their porous boundaries allowing “entities” to flow in and out of a system, (4) the connectedness between systems that may drive one or more towards unsustainability, and (5) the structures and models through which (1) to (4) may be investigated.

Entities in this sense can be biophysical material, energy, people, money or commodities. While some papers may tackle (1), it is expected the bulk of the Special Issue will concentrate on (2) and (3) that is, the interdependence of processes within systems and the movement of materials between systems — together with some case studies around (4). The criteria through which a system is considered sustainable are not prescribed; authors may choose the Pillars of Sustainability, Ecosystem Services, the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, or any other representation.

1. Definitions of Sustainability

The upper-left figure (1) shows a process varying in relation to “safe” limits A1 and A2. If it moves outside these limits then it can still be corrected, but if it goes outside the further limits B1 and B2, the system is unsustainable and collapses (after Squire 2017 doi.org/10.1080/20964129.2017.1368873). Processes can be biophysical fluxes, economic outputs, basal states, considered (for example) in terms of:

1. Limits within which processes or outputs might fluctuate yet ultimately continue indefinitely.
2. Time scale for which a process is defined as operating sustainably.
3. Criteria and indicators—measured or modelled, quantitative, continuous, qualitative, discrete?

2. The Multidimensional Nature of Systems

The middle-left figure (2) shows a system in which several processes interact. For example, grain production depends on soil processes, element cycling, and manufacturing requirements. For the system to be sustainable, all processes have to be sustainable. Therefore papers might consider:

1. The main processes in the system under study, the linkages, the hierarchies.
2. Trade-offs between processes, specifically the part of the trade-off line over which each process still remains within safe limits.
3. The extent to which economic activity and ecosystem integrity can be both managed sustainably.
4. The conditions and mechanisms by which optimization can be achieved in space or time.

3. The Porous Boundaries of Systems

A system has boundaries through which materials pass in and out, as indicated by the grey arrows in the lower-left figure (3). Transfers include intended imports and exports through economic activity and trade, and movement of biophysical materials, those inwards indicated by “gain” and those outwards by “loss”. Gain include transfers related to climate (e.g., solar energy, rain) and external cataclysms (volcanic eruption, acid deposition, radioactive fall-out). Loss includes movement of water and soil, and GHG emissions. Unlike gains (in the senses defined), losses are manageable to a degree in most systems. Studies might quantify such exchanges and transfers through:

1. Factors that make the system less dependent on or sensitive to such transfers.
2. Conditions in which a system is best able to conserve, store, or effectively use beneficial gains.
3. Factors that make the system resistant or resilient to deleterious gains or losses.

4. The Interconnectedness of Systems

The properties of systems described in (3) above means that few if any food/feed systems operate in isolation. They are intimately linked to other systems, commonly in other parts of the world. One system’s loss may be another’s gain, and one’s export another’s import. Therefore, as an extension of (3) above, case studies are welcome that dissect interconnectedness, for example:

1. The conditions under which a system may be so dependent on other systems that it fails if imports are denied, indicated by the X in the upper-right figure (4), for example, by blockade, war, famine, epidemic, or financial collapse in the exporting system.
2. The conditions under which linked systems will likely fail due to external cataclysm (i.e., excessive or deleterious gains), and appropriate contingency planning to make this less likely.
3. The morality of an imbalanced connectedness — that one region, country or continent knowingly depletes another’s resources for its own benefit; and the global mechanisms that need to be put in place to correct such imbalances.

Increasingly in this topic, processes and entities are linked by hierarchical structures and models, represented by the lower-right figure (5). Papers exploring the use of such structures across topics (1) to (4) are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Geoff Squire
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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• sustainability
• food security
• food and feed
• ecological resilience
• global connectedness
• human/animal nutrition
• ecological/economic trade-off
• sustainable development
• food equity