Introduction

One of the most pressing challenges facing society, globally, is how to meet the growing demand for food, in the face of climate change, while sustaining ecosystem services. For a 21st-century sustainable food system to emerge, new harmonized data and network-level spatio-temporal analytical approaches across food value chains are needed.

This project will, first, develop novel spatial data mining approaches to reduce computational challenges associated with characterizing and predicting sustainability benefits and burdens across highly heterogeneous landscapes and management practices of U.S. corn-soy and Central American sugar production systems. Second, we will characterize the interconnectedness of domestic and global supply networks by linking sub-national production sustainability indicators to intermediate and end-use consumption of these high-impact commodities in food systems.

Leveraging the engagement of key practitioner partners, results will inform public policy and commodity certifications, commodity sourcing architecture of complex food systems, and incentives influencing dietary choices.

Showcase