Resilient Food Systems Overview

Principles

Definition

Resilient food systems is an academic concept and area of research focused on the ability of food supply chains and networks to persist, adapt, and transform when confronted with shocks and stressors. This field investigates the characteristics (e.g., robustness, redundancy, resourcefulness, rapidity) and underlying dynamics that enable systems to maintain function and ensure food security under uncertainty, aiming to identify strategies for enhancing stability, sustainability, and equity.

Ontological type

Core Dimensions

Measurement Frameworks

Governance and Institutions

Key developments

Key Figures

Relocalization and Cross-Scale Resilience era

Terry Marsden [1] is a leading figure in the relocalization and cross-scale resilience discourse of 2000–2008, with affiliations at Cardiff University [3] and the University of Wales [4]. In this era his work Understanding Alternative Food Networks: Exploring the Role of Short Food Supply Chains in Rural Development [6] and Worlds of food: place, power, and provenance in the food chain [7] highlights how short supply chains reconfigure producer–consumer linkages and support rural development, underpinning cross-scale resilience [6][7]. Gill Seyfang [2] of the University of East Anglia [5] contributed to the Relocalization and Cross-Scale Resilience era through Ecological citizenship and sustainable consumption: Examining local organic food networks [8]. This work highlighted the role of ecological citizenship in mobilizing local actors and linking local initiatives to wider policy regimes, strengthening legitimacy for governance-enabled scaling and cross-scale resilience [8].

Systems-Driven Resilience Governance era

Dana Cordell [1], affiliated with Linköping University [3] and the University of Technology Sydney [4], emerges as a leading figure in the Systems-Driven Resilience Governance era (2009–2017). Her key contribution in this era centers on governance of phosphorus resources and their implications for global food security, as articulated in 'The story of phosphorus: Global food security and food for thought' [7] (2009), underscoring how nutrient security intersects environmental sustainability and resilience objectives. Bruce Campbell [2], associated with Johns Hopkins University [5] and the University of Wisconsin–Madison [6], is a central figure in this era. His work on Climate Change and Food Systems [8] advances understanding of climate risks for food systems and highlights the need for governance instruments, cross-scalar coordination, and integration of nutrition, health, and environmental objectives to operationalize system-level resilience.

Planetary-Local Trans-Scalar Resilience era

Daniel Mason-D’Croz [1] is a leading figure in the Planetary-Local Trans-Scalar Resilience era (2018–2024), with affiliations that include Cornell University [3] and Wageningen University & Research [4]. In this era, his work on Options for keeping the food system within environmental limits [6] and on Innovation can accelerate the transition towards a sustainable food system [7] helped articulate policy options and innovation pathways that operationalize trans-scalar resilience across local and planetary scales. Mario Herrero [2] is a prominent scholar associated with Cornell University [3] and the New York State College of Agriculture & Life Sciences [5] during this era. Through co-authorship on Options for keeping the food system within environmental limits [6] and Innovation can accelerate the transition towards a sustainable food system [7], Herrero contributed to evidence-based frameworks for resilient, ecologically grounded food systems that connect local livelihoods with planetary constraints.