Building Resilience in Food Security: Sustainable Strategies Post-COVID-19

Abstract

The outbreak of COVID-19 has posed formidable challenges to the food industry, exacerbating threats to food security worldwide. In response to this crisis, this comprehensive review systematically maps the existing literature concerning sustainability and resilience within the realm of food security. A meticulous categorization of the identified papers is performed, focusing on elucidating the underlying causes of food insecurity, assessing their profound impacts on public health, delineating the requisite strategies and actions, and discerning the commonalities and distinctions between sustainability and resilience. Systematic searches across reputable databases, including PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, and Springer, were conducted to retrieve pertinent papers published from 2019 to 2022, specifically addressing the threats to food security in the post-pandemic landscape. From an initial pool of 105 papers, 26 met the stringent inclusion criteria for subsequent in-depth analysis and categorization, employing thematic content analysis to elucidate their thematic focus on causative factors, repercussions, mitigation strategies, and intersections between sustainability and resilience. Drawing insights from the amalgamated findings, this study proposes a holistic, systematic conceptualization for integrating sustainability and resilience principles within the food sector. This structure offers a roadmap for fortifying food security, ultimately advancing the cause of public health and well-being. It is poised to serve as a valuable resource for researchers, facilitating the exploration of sustainability and resilience in the context of food supply chains and providing policymakers with actionable insights for implementing these vital approaches.