AI‑powered Food Systems: Innovations in the Nexus of Food Chain & Sustainability

Call for Papers – AI‑powered Food Systems: Innovations in the Nexus of Food Chain & Sustainability

Journal: Global Smart Food Systems (GSFS)
Publisher: Emerald Publishing
Submission window: 1 December 2025 – 30 April 2026

This special issue brings together interdisciplinary research on how artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping food systems, with a focus on sustainability, nutrition equity, and public health across the entire food chain—from agriculture and supply chains to food safety, policy, and workforce development. It explicitly links AI with food‑system resilience, climate response, and social justice, aiming to provide evidence‑based, actionable frameworks for practitioners, policymakers, and communities.

Why this issue matters

• Global food systems face triple pressures from climate change, food insecurity, and nutrition inequities, while AI is fast being adopted in crop planning, logistics, retail, food safety, and personalized nutrition.

• Current research on AI in food systems remains fragmented across technology, agriculture, public health, and policy literatures; this SI seeks to integrate these perspectives and build a more coherent, responsible‑AI agenda for food‑system transformation.

• The issue explicitly aims to elevate voices from low‑ and middle‑income countries (LMICs) and marginalized populations, ensuring that AI‑driven solutions do not replicate existing inequalities but instead strengthen health, equity, and sustainability.

Key topic areas

Papers may address, but are not limited to:

• AI‑powered decision‑making in agriculture and food supply chains

  • Use of AI and machine learning for crop planning, yield prediction, input‑use optimisation, and logistics coordination.

  • How AI supports resilience and reduces waste along the food chain.

• Predictive analytics for food security and nutrition equity

  • Early‑warning systems for hunger, malnutrition, and price shocks.

  • AI‑based tools for targeting food assistance and nutrition‑sensitive programs.

• AI applications in food safety, traceability, and surveillance

  • Smart traceability systems (blockchain, IoT, AI) for tracking food safety and contamination.

  • AI‑driven outbreak detection and risk‑assessment models.

• Ethical, governance, and equity concerns

  • Bias in AI‑driven nutrition or food‑allocation tools, data‑privacy, and digital exclusion.

  • Governance and regulatory frameworks for responsible AI adoption in food systems.

• Workforce development and training

  • Skills and training pathways for farmers, supply‑chain workers, and public‑health professionals to engage with AI‑enabled systems.

  • Community‑based digital‑literacy and capacity‑building initiatives.

• AI and sustainability

  • AI‑enabled circular‑economy practices (waste reduction, by‑product valorisation, demand‑side forecasting).

  • Climate‑resilient food‑system designs supported by AI and data analytics.

• Digital literacy, communication, and community engagement

  • How to communicate AI‑driven decisions to consumers, farmers, and local communities.

  • Participatory design of AI tools that respect local knowledge and cultural practices.

• Case studies from diverse contexts

  • Empirical, applied case studies from different geographic and socio‑economic settings, including LMICs and under‑researched regions.

Submissions may be original research, policy analyses, case studies, or conceptual‑theoretical papers, as long as they clearly connect AI, food‑system functioning, and sustainability or public‑health outcomes.

Guest editors

• Dr. Ashley S. Love, Southern New Hampshire University, USA

• Urmala Roopnarinesingh, Southern New Hampshire University, USA

• Leanne Skehan, Southern New Hampshire University, USA

Authors are encouraged to contact the guest editors with pre‑submission inquiries about topic fit, framing, or case‑study scope.

Submission details

• Submission portal: ScholarOne Manuscripts for Global Smart Food Systems:
  https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/gsfs

• During submission, select the special issue title “AI‑powered Food Systems: Innovations in the Nexus of Food Chain & Sustainability”.

• Important dates:

  • Opening date: 1 December 2025

  • Closing date: 30 April 2026

• All manuscripts must comply with the journal’s Author Guidelines:
  https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/journal/gsfs

• Submitted articles must not be under review elsewhere or previously published.

Papers selected for the SI will be evaluated through a combination of invited contributions and open peer review, with an emphasis on diversity of perspectives, methodological rigor, and practical relevance for sustainable, equitable food‑system transformation.

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