4th International Conference on Global Food Security Achieving local and global food security: at what costs?

The 4th International Conference on Global Food Security addresses the topic of food security at all spatial levels from local to global, and from an interdisciplinary and systemic food systems perspective. It aims to better understand environmental, nutritional, agricultural, demographic, socio-economic, political, technological and institutional drivers, costs and outcomes of current and future food security. Interactions with contextual factors including climate change, urbanisation, greening the economy and data-driven technologies will be central. The conference addresses the triple burden of malnutrition: hunger, micronutrient deficiencies and obesity. It explores the state-of-the-art of interdisciplinary insight, addresses the trade-offs that occur – and synergies that can be sought –in transforming food systems. These are aimed at reconciling the competing environmental, economic or social objectives and outcomes towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals at different levels across spatial and temporal scales.

Contributions which bridge themes or scales, foster interdisciplinarity and integration or address interactions between science and non-academic stakeholders (civil society, private sector and policy makers) are particularly welcome. Single discipline or specific studies are welcome in parallel sessions or as posters.

Topics for sessions and abstracts
The conference emphasizes integrated analyses and perspectives and therefore particularly welcomes contributions on the following cross-cutting topics:

1. Food security and the Sustainable Development Goals: synergies, tensions and trade-offs

2. Circularity of food systems at local, regional or global levels

3. Food security and policy, governance, institutions and trade

4. Transitions to post-carbon food systems in a post-carbon economy

5. How to assess future food security: on foresight, forecasting, projecting, predicting and exploring the future

6. Influencing food consumption and demand considering the food environment

7. Development, impact and ethics of novel and data-driven technologies in food systems

Such contributions will address all dimensions of food security, preferably in an integrated way. In addition we also accept more specialized contributions that focus on one (or preferably more) of the four dimensions of food security, i.e.:

8. Availability: production, distribution and exchange of food

9. Access: affordability, allocation and preference of food

10. Utilisation: nutritional value, social value and safety of food

11. Stability and dynamics of food security aspects