Dear Colleagues,

The challenges in terms of changing climate and environmental conditions and the emerging need for equity in the distribution of value are likely to shape the future trends in sustainable food production for the coming decades. Organic agriculture has tipically considered the theme of sustainability at the core of its development. Recent trends in geographic areas where organic agriculture is already established, such as the recent “Farm to Fork” policy in the EU, or strategies for stimulating organic agriculture where this is still at an early adoption stage as in developing and in-transition countries, show that policy makers and agro-food sector operators consider organic agriculture a feasible approach to comply with the need for sustainable food production.

This Special Ossue aims at providing scientific evidence regarding the sustainability of organic agriculture and aquaculture and respective supply chains (OAASC). The specific purpose of this Special Issue is to analyze the contribution of OAASC to the enforcement of different aspects concerning sustainability and to provide stakeholders and policy makers with scientific results that might contribute specifically to the future development of sustainable food production. The conceptual framework refers to the capability of OAASC to contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). From this perspective, the Special Issue will focus on the performance of OAASC in terms of ecosystem services provided, on the resilience of organic systems in the context of climate change, and on their capability to represent a credible alternative for future economic and social development. Particular attention will be paid to innovation processes tailored to OAASC: organic production based on cultivars, and breeding traits and technologies mostly developed for the conventional food sector, which might negatively affect the future sustainability of organic food production.

Specific areas of interest therefore include but are not limited to the following:

• Theoretical framework for the analysis of sustainability in OAASC;
• Approaches to measure and assess sustainability in OAASC;
• Economic and financial sustainability of OAASC;
• Ecosystem services and OAASC: classification, measurement, and comparison with alternative farming systems;
• Sustainability of organic livestock production in terms of use of soil and natural resources, profitability, and carbon emissions;
• Sustainability along the supply chain for organic products, including social and economic equity, and environmental issues related to processing and/or distribution;
• Consumers’ attitude toward sustainable food products and effectiveness of organic labeling;
• Certification;
• Innovation in organic systems to enforce sustainability: organic seed development, breeding traits selection, precision farming, innovative technical means, etc.;
• Social sustainability and inclusivity in OAASC;
• Sustainability in the context of the international trade of organic products.

Comparisons of sustainability performance across different agricultural regimes (e.g., organic vs. conventional or integrated farming) and innovative methodological approaches are encouraged.

Dr. Danilo Gambelli
Guest Editor

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• organic farming and livestock
• organic aquaculture
• ecosystem services
• sustainable food production
• supply chain for organic food
• carbon emission
• climate change
• economic and financial sustainability
• social equity and farming
• innovation in organic food systems