Special Issue: Call for Papers

We are happy to announce that the International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science has made it possible to publish a Special Issue based on the conference themes and contributions. See the call for papers here:

International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science

Call for papers

Special Issue

Gastronomy in Transition

Focuses on societal challenges, dilemmas, and sustainability issues involving gastronomy and its role in transitions in the food system and our eating behaviour.

Special issue editors

Susanne Højlund (Aarhus University), Derek V. Byrne (Aarhus University), Ole G. Mouritsen (Copenhagen University)

Gastronomy is at a crossroads. Against the backdrop of ecological, societal, and political instability, the ways we produce, cook, consume, eat, and tell stories about food are seriously challenged. Food production and consumption account for approximately 30% of CO₂ emissions, while food distribution has become increasingly unequal, with far-reaching consequences for human and animal welfare, public health, and economic systems. Additionally, gastronomy is challenged by geopolitical instability, climate change, and intensifying pressures on land use, biodiversity, water systems, and global food supply chains. In response to crisis and uncertainty, sustainability as a just ‘green transition’ has risen to the top of the food agenda, alongside an urgent call for new knowledge, food democracy, and transformative actions across the food system. This Special issue invites researchers, culinary professionals, agro-ecologists and food producers, as well as food enthusiasts to explore new avenues for gastronomy, interrogate dilemmas with curiosity and care, and confront the consequences of our relationship with food with a commitment to nourishing futures. Although not exclusive, the Special issue will cover areas like everyday gastronomy, fair gastronomy, gastronomy and health, gastronomic innovation, multispecies gastronomy, farming gastronomy, and gastronomic connectivity with an attempt to answer such questions like:

• How can we combine responsibility and pleasure in a time of crisis?
• What new thoughts and actions are needed to facilitate a collective and just transformation of our food system?
• Which new connections should we nurture in order to support a green direction for gastronomy?
• What new approaches are needed to understand and influence how people choose, experience and consume food?
• How can we make healthier and more sustainable foods desirable and enjoyable?
• What new food experiences, products and practices could support the transition towards healthier and more sustainable diets?
• How do culture, context and individual differences shape the way we perceive, choose and enjoy food?
• How can we combine health, sustainability and pleasure in the foods of the future?
• What new ways of thinking and acting are needed to transform our food system?
• How can we make sustainable and healthy food desirable, accessible and meaningful?

For a guide to authors including possible formats of papers, see here.

Deadline for submissions: February 1, 2027