Two of our FSTI affiliates - Jennifer Hodbod and Hallie Eakin - have published a new paper in the Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences. 'Adapting a social-ecological resilience framework for food systems'  addresses the purpose of applying social-ecological resilience thinking to food systems before going on to distinguish between the resilience of food systems and broader conceptualizations of resilience in social-ecological systems. The paper then focuses on functional and response diversity as two key attributes of resilient, multifunctional food systems, using the drought in California to unpack the potential differences between managing for a single function—economic profit—and multiple functions. Their analysis emphasizes how the evolution of the Californian food system has reduced functional and response diversity and created vulnerabilities, and how managing for the resilience of food systems will require a shift in priorities from profit maximization to the management for all functions that create full food security at multiple scales.

For further details please contact jennifer.hodbod@asu.edu

Hodbod, J., & Eakin, H. (2015). Adapting a social-ecological resilience framework for food systems. Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, 1-11. DOI:10.1007/s13412-015-0280-6