The University of Hawaiʻi is leading global scholarship on food system transformation with the completion of a major open access e-book, Food System Transformation and the Realization of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, published in Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, Social Movements, Institutions & Governance.
The research topic brings together 29 peer-reviewed articles from more than 150 scholars across the globe, exploring how food systems influence at least 16 of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).
The research findings are particularly relevant in Hawaiʻi, where chronic household food insecurity, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander health inequities, and climate change vulnerabilities highlight the urgent need for integrated agri-food system research, education, planning and policy strategies.
“The publication of this research topic and its open access e-book marks a significant milestone in advancing the science and practice of food-system transformation toward the UN SDGs,” said Albie Miles, associate professor of sustainable food systems at UH West Oʻahu and the project’s leader. “We hope the collection will support progress toward a more equitable, sustainable and resilient food system in Hawaiʻi and around the world.”
The collection was co-edited by Miles and Travis Idol, professor at UH Mānoa’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience. They worked alongside an international editorial team.
Important UH contributions include an article that develops a Hawaiʻi-specific framework for monitoring food security indicators to measure progress toward SDG 2: Zero Hunger. Another article documents the need for a U.S.-based National Community of Practice (NCOP) for food-system planning and implementation that directly informed the creation of the NCOP now underway at the MSU-Center for Regional Food Systems.
As an open access e-book, the full collection is freely available to researchers, educators, policymakers, and community leaders worldwide.
