Safe, Resilient, and Sustainable Food Systems: Linking Food Contaminants, Spatial Vulnerability, and Healthy Diets in a Changing Climate.

The field of sustainable food systems sits at the intersection of public health, environmental science, and agricultural policy, seeking to ensure that global populations have access to safe, nutritious diets amidst evolving ecological and social landscapes. Climate change, along with rapid urbanization, persistent environmental contamination, and widening social disparities, presents profound challenges for both food safety and dietary quality. Recent research highlights escalating exposures to pesticides, heavy metals, and other contaminants in food chains, while nutritional inequities and spatial disparities in food access are becoming increasingly pronounced. Although there is growing recognition of the importance of integrated approaches that address these risks, many studies remain siloed, focusing either on environmental hazards, food security, or nutrition without considering the interdependencies between these domains.This Research Topic aims to unite interdisciplinary perspectives to investigate how food systems can be redesigned for greater safety, resilience, and sustainability. Key objectives include elucidating the links among climate-related vulnerabilities, contaminant exposures, and nutritional outcomes; assessing the effectiveness of governance and policy interventions in mitigating risk and promoting equitable access; and identifying spatial patterns in food insecurity and environmental hazards that impact diet quality. Central research questions include: How can food production adapt to climate threats while minimizing contaminants? What governance models improve both safety and nutritional equity, especially in high-risk regions? Which monitoring approaches best detect emergent risks to food and health?The scope of this Research Topic is limited to studies that examine the interplay between environmental risks, spatial vulnerability, and food system resilience in the context of promoting healthy, sustainable diets. Studies focusing solely on medical interventions or unrelated industry practices are outside the intended focus.To gather further insights in building safer, more resilient, and sustainable diets, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:o Intersections of food safety, contaminants, and nutritional health under climate changeo Spatial analysis of vulnerability, food insecurity, and access to nutritious foodso Climate-resilient food production and sustainable agricultural practiceso Impacts of urban and regional planning on food system resilienceo Governance, public policy, and cross-sector interventions addressing food safety and sustainabilityo Environmental monitoring and early warning systems for food-related riskso Social determinants, equity, and strategies for reducing disparities in diet qualityo Case studies of integrated approaches to food system transformationo Development and validation of indicators to assess risk, resilience, and sustainability in food systemsWe invite a broad range of article types to advance this Research Topic, including original research papers, comprehensive reviews, brief research reports, systematic reviews, perspectives, policy analyses, opinion pieces, and case studies that align with the outlined themes. Topic editors: Sebastian Elgueta, Susana Contreras Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/80184/safe-resilient-and-sustainable-food-systems-linking-food-contaminants-spatial-vulnerability-and-healthy-diets-in-a-changing-climate