Journal
Discover Food
Discover Food is an open access journal publishing research from across all areas of food science and technology, the global impact of the food sector, and nutrition.
Sustainable food systems aim to ensure food security and meet basic nutritional needs for people while upholding social, environmental, and economic sustainability (Knez et al., 2023). However, these systems face unprecedented challenges due to factors such as the global population increase, climate change, and resource scarcity, placing a growing strain on agro-food value chains worldwide (Sood et al., 2023). Simultaneously, irresponsible agricultural practices negatively impact biodiversity and extensively consume valuable land resources. Consequently, the United Nations (UN) is actively involved in the Global Action on Nutrition to eradicate malnutrition in all its forms and develop resilient, sustainable food systems that support healthy diets. It is imperative to establish food production systems that preserve and promote diversity within and between different plant species, encouraging varietal and plant diversity (Adegbeye et al., 2020).
Expanding the global food basket involves reintegrating traditionally marginalized plants. Underutilised crops, including edible flowers, tubers, and fruits, often represent significant local food sources that have not been widely utilised. To achieve this, comprehensive knowledge about crop types, diversity, and agronomy has been gathered to develop practices that optimise crop performance, quality, and resource use efficiency within specific cropping systems. Genetic diversity and genomics have been employed to cultivate viable phenotypes and genotypes of currently underutilized crop species across a range of cropping systems. Furthermore, adopting a food system approach enables the identification of key factors influencing the nutritional and other desirable qualities of underutilised crop species along the value chain, leading to the development of innovative food and non-food products for both public and commercial benefit (Gregory et al., 2019). Additionally, assessing their potential contributions to the bioeconomy, as well as food and nutritional security in current and future climates, is a key area of interest.
The thematic area sessions
S1. Documentation and digitalisation of edible plant diversity
S2. Nutrition, phytochemistry and bioactivities of food plants
S3. Introduction, domestication and cultivation and ecology of edible plants
S4. Physiology and molecular responses to environment
S5. Wild edible flowers
References:
Adegbeye, M., Reddy, P. R. K., Obaisi, A., Elghandour, M., Oyebamiji, K., Salem, A., Morakinyo-Fasipe, O., Cipriano-Salazar, M., & Camacho-Díaz, L. (2020). Sustainable agriculture options for production, greenhouse gasses and pollution alleviation, and nutrient recycling in emerging and transitional nations-An overview. Journal of Cleaner Production, 242, 118319.
Gregory, P. J., Mayes, S., Hui, C. H., Jahanshiri, E., Julkifle, A., Kuppusamy, G., Kuan, H. W., Lin, T. X., Massawe, F., & Suhairi, T. (2019). Crops For the Future (CFF): an overview of research efforts in the adoption of underutilised species. Planta, 250, 979-988.
Knez, M., Ranić, M., & Gurinović, M. (2023). Underutilized plants increase biodiversity, improve food and nutrition security, reduce malnutrition, and enhance human health and well-being. Let’s put them back on the plate! Nutrition Reviews. Ref.
Sood, S., Malhotra, N., Tripathi, K., Laibach, N., & Rosero, A. (2023). Editorial: Food of the future: underutilized foods [Editorial]. Frontiers in Nutrition, 10. Ref.
Keywords: Agronomy, Ecology, Sustainable food systems, Food diversity, Food supply chain, Foodscape, Traditional food, Underutilized crop species
More details about the conference please see the link: https://agri.cmu.ac.th/fedxmekong2024
Submit your manuscript to this collection through the participating journal.
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Sarana Sommano
Sarana Sommano, PhD., Chiang Mai University, Thailand. Dr. Sarana explores value-added potential in the industrial crops and products via bioactive ingredients. Her research on local edible plants such as herbs and spices across cultures as renewable alternative products. Her expertise includes phytochemical analysis, ethnobotany, biological assay and food product innovation. -
Chunlin Long
Prof. Long, Chunlin, PhD., Minzu University of China, China Professor Chunlin's research interests lie at the intersection of plant life, culture, and medicine. He's particularly fascinated by fields like ethnobotany and ethnopharmacology, which explore how different cultures utilize plants. He also examines how environmental factors and management practices influence the chemical makeup of medicinal plants. -
Pongsakorn Suppakittpaisarn
Pongsakorn, Suppakittpaisarn, Ph.D., RLA, Thailand The big question Dr. Suppakittpaisarn working on is about landscape optimization. That is, how do designers and decision makers create landscapes that simultaneously create food and jobs, protect the environment, and improve human health? Current smaller research questions include what green stormwater infrastructure would look like in Thailand and how people gain health benefits, the types and doses of landscape that benefits aging population, and implementing environmental psychology's empirical evidence through design research.
