DIGGING DEEPER: Transdisciplinary and Systems Approaches to Food Security

Abstract

First paragraph:

I've been writing for several years now about the importance and usefulness of applying systems concepts to work in food systems. Several of my JAFSCD columns have offered highlights from different reports issued by the National Research Council (NRC, 2010) and from the Institute of Medicine and National Research Council (Institute of Medicine & NRC, 2015) which have strongly called out the need for transformative food and agriculture research (K. Clancy, 2013; 2016). In this column, I want to focus on a report funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) and released in May 2017 by the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU), entitled The Challenge of Change: Harnessing University Discovery, Engagement, and Learning to Achieve Food and Nutrition Security. Although directed to public research universities, most of the analyses and recommendations apply just as well to private universities and other institu­tions of higher education that are tackling food security and insecurity at all levels....