Rice fields in the Islampur Upazila district of Jamalpur in Bangladesh, February 10. Image – Getty iStockphoto: Tomal Das
By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
‘Open-Access Science That Can Promote Innovation’
As Luis González‘s and José Manuel Anta the 10th anniversary Readmagine conference in Madrid opens today (May 7) at the Fundación Germán Sánchez Ruipérez (FGSR)’s base in the Spanish capital’s Casa del Lector complex (Reader’s House), something of its theme of Human-Centric Digital Innovation for the Book Industry is being heard in the news from the United Kingdom’s society-owned scientific publisher IOP Publishing from the Institute of Physics.
The publisher is expanding its open-access environmental research portfolio to address the urgent need for sustainable food solutions internationally.
This, as Readmagine’s anniversary programming is devoting a major portion of its Friday programming (June 9) on sustainability with speakers including Elsevier‘s Rachel Martin, Pol.len’s Jordi Panyella, and Antinomias Book’s Manuel Gil, among others.
(Among Martin’s points to the book publishing industry is the need for publishers to think of their authors as potential “climate storytellers,” who can communicate to the world readership the emergency status of the climate crisis overall and such components of the upheaval as food insecurity specifically.)
And while much of the Readmagine program’s emphasis is on trade publishing, this view into the scholarly-journal world of scientific research publication reflects that parallel to growing concern in commercial publishing about its responses to the world’s climate emergency.
Environmental Research: Food Systems is an interdisciplinary journal from IOP Publishing, devised as a forum for researchers working for sustainable global food security, and it supports the United Nations‘ crucial Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Nathan Mueller at Colorado State University is editor-in-chief.
According to recent statistics from the international patent and scholarly analysis researcher The Lens, research outputs related to food systems have increased by more than 200 percent and citations have more than doubled in the last 10 years.
IOP anticipates waiving all open-access publication charges for articles submitted before 2025.
In a note to those considering submitting, we read, “In the spirit of transparency and reproducibility, authors publishing in the journal are encouraged to share data and code where appropriate for the benefit of the research community.
“Authors also have the option to submit their papers for double anonymous and transparent peer review.”
Nathan Mueller
In a prepared statement from Mueller—whose appointment to Environmental Research: Food Systems is quite recent—is quoted, saying, “The health and well-being of both people and the planet requires environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable food systems.
“As the world faces a changing climate, a growing and increasingly affluent population, and widespread food insecurity, the need for innovative transdisciplinary food systems research is greater than ever.
Inclusive of issues in production to consumption both at local and international levels, Environmental Research: Food Systems “is a home,” Mueller says, “for rigorous, open-access science that can promote innovation, inform policy and practice, and foster transformative change for a sustainable and food secure future.”
Tim Smith
And Tim Smith, who is head of portfolio development with IOP Publishing, says, “Science plays a crucial role in addressing the cracks in the global food system.
“Environmental Research: Food Systems has been launched to meet the need for an open-access research platform that addresses the future risks, security and adaption of our food systems worldwide at a time when the need for sustainable food solutions has never been more pressing.”
Topics to be handed in Food Systems include:
- Agricultural production systems
- Food supply chains and food waste
- Agriculture and food technology
- Food safety and biosecurity
- Climate change impacts, mitigation, and adaptation
- Land use, biodiversity, and ecosystem services
- Soil and water management
- Livelihoods and food security
- Food policy and economics
- Nutrition and dietary change
More on the parameters of the Food Systems journal is here.
A soybean harvest underway in Brazil’s third-largest state, Mato Grosso. Image – Getty iStockphoto: Dafroo
More from Publishing Perspectives on scholarly and research publishing is here, more on open access is here, and more on industry statistics is here. More on the work of the IOP Publishing suite of society journals is here.
Porter Anderson formerly held a diplomatic posting from the United Nations to the World Food Programme’s Rome HQ as the agency’s creative advisor and multi-media manager. UN-WFP recently made an appeal to the G-7 nations for their Hiroshima meetings, asking those nations to maintain their support as donors in 2023. Some 345 million people are currently facing high levels of food insecurity, according to WFP analysis, an increase of almost 200 million since early 2020. Of these, 43 million are just one step away from famine. More information is here.
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