Abstract
Meeting the demand for food, energy, and water as world population increases is a major goal for the food systems of the future. These future challenges, which are complex, multiscalar, and cross-sectoral in nature, require a food systems approach that recognizes the socio-ecological and socio-technical dimensions of food (Ericksen, 2008; Ingram, 2011; Rivera-Ferre, 2012). The United Nations' Future Earth Program aims to provide a new platform for consolidating the knowledge required for societies to transition to global sustainability (Future Earth Transition Team, 2012). In this paper, we explore how Future Earth could become a vehicle for inspiring the production of new research ideas and collaborations for sustainably transforming the future food system. We do this on the basis of a synthesis of views from 28 young (below 40 years old) food system scientists, representing five continents. Their expertise comes from disciplines including food engineering, agronomy, ecology, geography, psychology, public health, food politics, nutritional science, political science, sociology and sustainability science. This paper begins with an outline of the institutional framework of Future Earth and how it might support innovative transdisciplinary research on food systems, and the position of young scientists within this framework. Secondly, we outline the key insights expressed by the young scientists during the Food Futures Conference in Villa Vigoni, Italy, in April 2013, including the core research questions raised during the meeting as well as some of the challenges involved in realizing their research ambitions within their professional spheres.
Highlights
In 2009, the UK’s chief scientific advisor, Sir John Beddington, referred to the “perfect storm” of food, energy, and water crises that the world will be facing by 2050
We explore how Future Earth could become a vehicle for inspiring the production of new research ideas and collaborations for sustainably transforming the future food system
In facing the complexity of the theme itself, furthering understanding about issues regarding the future of food is possible only when experts from different areas are given a platform to communicate across disciplines and between different geographical regions
Summary
In 2009, the UK’s chief scientific advisor, Sir John Beddington, referred to the “perfect storm” of food, energy, and water crises that the world will be facing by 2050. Young scientists in the Food Futures Conference reported that in their respective institutions, transdisciplinarity is not always valued by their colleagues, nor does a transdisciplinary research profile necessarily encourage upward career mobility They emphasized that the traditional incentives to publish in journals recognized by departments that grant tenure tend to focus on disciplinary and departmental approaches to publication, and that the pressure to publish as well as to perform teaching and service duties during the tenure process can discourage developing innovative research (Mooney et al, 2013). The young scientists alluded more to the need to explore how to motivate people to create a culture of sustainability as a first priority They articulated the need for new methodologies and metrics to address future challenges to conduct research that is relevant for individuals it concerns (e.g., farmers and consumers). As table 1 indicates, there is clearly a hitherto unexplored space to incorporate previously underrepresented viewpoints on culture, personal and communal belief structures, norms, and behaviors
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