A systematic review of the evolution of food system resilience assessment

Abstract

Global food systems are vulnerable to disruptions caused by natural disasters, political crises, and health emergencies. Recent events like the COVID19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine crisis have exposed weaknesses in food systems, leading to hunger and malnutrition. These shocks provide insights into food system resilience and its relevance to climate change. To improve resilience, continuous monitoring of all aspects of the food system is crucial. Assessing responses and resilience at various levels, from households to global, is essential amidst climate uncertainties and frequent shocks. This knowledge enables a better understanding of food system contexts and the formulation of action plans to enhance food security and resilience. This systematic review summarizes how the assessment of food systems resilience (FSR) has evolved, identifies driving factors for the evolution, and speculates how FSR assessment can inform policies and plans to ensure food security. The concept of FSR and its assessment have continuously evolved in response to extreme global and regional shocks causing large-scale impacts. The necessity to measure progress against goals has contributed to more studies at a national level. The findings demonstrate the need for a comprehensive framework to assess FSR and its metrics that work at more granular levels. Additionally, the efforts toward FSR should continue to build on the lessons learned during extreme food shocks to create and maintain resilient food systems over the long term. This review aims to follow the work to develop a comprehensive framework to measure and track the level of resilience in food systems which can then inform better policy-making.