Theme 4. Food Production, Consumption, Food Landscape & WEFE Nexus resources

Convenors: Georgios Kleftodimos, Anda Ādamsone-Fiskoviča, Mikelis Grivins, Irene Blanco Gutiérrez

Rationale

In the face of intensifying disruptions—climate change, geopolitical instability, energy volatility, water scarcity, economic shocks, and rising inequalities—food systems are increasingly vulnerable to breakdown. These disruptions are no longer isolated events; they expose systemic weaknesses across production, processing, distribution, and consumption. Without bold and coordinated intervention, these pressures threaten not only the sustainability of food systems but also their fundamental ability to nourish populations and provide livelihoods.

At the same time, technological, digital, and organizational innovations are reshaping agri-food systems. Yet without adequate oversight and assessment frameworks, these innovations risk deepening social inequalities or failing to realize their transformative potential.

This theme aims to explore how food production and consumption—including intermediary steps in the agri-food value chain such as processing, distribution, and retail—can contribute to transforming food systems into more resilient, just, and resource-efficient configurations. These dynamics will be examined through the analysis of multiple innovations at different levels of the value chain, as well as through the study of interdependencies and resource optimization frameworks. The Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems (WEFE) Nexus perspective will provide compelling examples of territorial innovation, participatory governance, and cross-sectoral modeling aimed at enhancing systemic resilience.

The transition to more sustainable agri-food systems requires new tools and inclusive processes. Collaborative and participatory approaches, combined with integrative methods such as bio-economic modeling and decision support systems (DSS), can help stakeholders navigate trade-offs, optimize resource allocation, and co-design sustainable development pathways. At the same time, the food environment approach serves as a crucial bridge between production systems and consumption practices, linking value chain sustainability with healthy and equitable diets.

Objectives

This theme aims to : a) Promote integrative and collaborative thinking across food value chains, linking production and consumption within systemic transition frameworks; b) Foster interdisciplinary debate bio-economic models, and impact-based scenario analysis for supporting decision-making under uncertainty; c) Examine how WEFE Nexus-based innovations and territorialized food environments can support resilient agri-food transformations; d) Highlight how Living Labs, foresight processes, and participatory platforms can empower value chain actors and institutions to shape inclusive transitions; e) Identify risks of unintended consequences or inequities arising from digital and technological innovation in food systems.

Orientation for papers

Short papers are invited to address a range of topics, which include, but are not limited to, the following sub-themes:

Subtheme 4.1 - Food environments and sustainable production and consumption. Analyses of how social, physical, institutional, and digital environments influence food production strategies and consumption behaviors and support transitions toward sustainable food systems and diets.

Subtheme 4.2 - Territorial innovation and regional transitions of agri-food value chains. Case studies of initiatives that promote multi-level governance, cross-sectoral coordination, and territorial embeddedness of agri-food value chains.

Subtheme 4.3 - WEFE Nexus integration into food systems. How can the Nexus framework guide systemic innovation in water, energy, food, and ecosystem management? What are its implications for value chain sustainability in diverse agroecological contexts?

Subtheme 4.4 - Bio-economic modeling and decision-support tools. Applications of DSS and integrated modeling for guiding stakeholder decisions, exploring policy options, and anticipating trade-offs across food system transitions are encouraged.

Subtheme 4.5 - Inclusive governance and resilience of agri-food value chains. Reflections on how value chains adapt—or fail to adapt—to climate, geopolitical, or market disruptions, and what tools or strategies promote long-term resilience. Participatory foresight, empirical contributions and methodological innovations around co-design approaches, Living Labs, citizen engagement, and actor-based scenario development.

Subtheme 4.6 - Digital and organizational transformations. Critical analyses of how digitalization, platform economies, and novel organizational forms reshape relationships, power dynamics, and access across value chains.