Ecological Resilience of Food Systems in Response to the COVID-19 Crisis

James Worstell

2020Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development105 citationsDOI Open Access PDF

Abstract

Resilience of food systems is being tested by the COVID-19 disruption. As with any severe disruption, collapse of some systems, innovation in others, and total reorganization of some will occur. Direct delivery of food, online farmers markets, community supported agriculture operations (CSAs), backyard food production, expansion of seed producers and plant nurseries, and decrease in restaurant share of the food dollar with increased home cooking are some trends that may be lasting. These trends can be seen as complex adaptive systems following the adaptive cycles of all open systems. The crisis provides an opportunity to examine a model of food system resilience (CLIMATED) and apply it more broadly. See the press release for this article. 

Topics & Concepts

Resilience (materials science)Food systemsLiberian dollarAgricultureBusinessFood securityPsychological resilienceCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)Food processingNatural resource economicsFood pricesEconomicsEcologyFood scienceBiologyPsychologyFinancePsychotherapistPhysicsPathologyDiseaseInfectious disease (medical specialty)ThermodynamicsMedicineAgriculture, Land Use, Rural DevelopmentFood Security and Health in Diverse PopulationsOrganic Food and Agriculture