• FOOD SECURITYU.S. Needs New Drought Assessment Framework as Droughts Become More Severe and Unpredictable

    By Solomon Self

    Droughts in the United States are becoming more intense and unpredictable, and the nation needs to develop a new drought assessment framework to better understand and address them. A new framework should be developed which distinguishes between short-term operational needs, such as drought monitoring and emergency response, and long-term planning for water management, infrastructure, and climate adaptation.

  • FOOD SECURITYConflict Increases Food Prices in Far-Flung Locations: Study

    Fighting along key transport routes pushes up food prices in areas far from the conflict itself, according to a new study. “The research tells us that the spillover effects of conflict are perhaps worse than previously thought,” says on of the study’s authors.

  • FOOD SECURITYBugs, Beef, and Blame: New World Screwworm is Back

    By Margeaux Malone

    American cattle can’t catch a break. For the first time this year, highly pathogenic avian influenza has been detected in Texas dairy cows. And now, the biggest story this week is the confirmed re-introduction of New World Screwworm (NWS) into the United States.  

  • FOOD SECURITYThe Rising Threat to New York City’s Food System

    By Ilana Schwartz

    The Hunts Point Food Distribution Center, the largest of its kind in the country, serves as the penultimate stop for 4.5 billion pounds of food that feed the city and surrounding areas each year. Losing access to that hub could be catastrophic for a city that produces almost none of its own food.

  • FOOD SECURITYThe Psychosocial Imperative of Food Security Preparedness

    By Andrew Henderson and John Coyne

    The dust has barely settled on the 2025 Australian federal election and the returning government has already reaffirmed its commitment to delivering a national food security strategy. But unless we address the psychological and cultural barriers that shape Australians’ perceptions of food security, even the most technically sound strategies will fail to achieve their intended effect.

  • FOOD SECURITYU.K. Government Not Sufficiently Prepared for the Increasing Risk from Animal Disease

    Outbreaks of animal diseases have occurred in each of the past six years and the U.K. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Animal & Plant Health Agency (APHA) have worked hard to manage them. It’s likely that DEFRA and APHA would struggle to cope with a more severe outbreak of animal disease. Long term resilience is being undermined by the necessity of focusing on increasingly frequent outbreaks and there is no long-term strategy.

  • FOOD SECURITYEarly Warning Tool Will Help Control Huge Locust Swarms

    The migratory locust can reach plague proportions, and a swarm covering one square kilometer can consume enough food in one day to feed 35,000 people. A new tool that predicts the behavior of desert locust populations will help national agencies to manage huge swarms before they devastate food crops.

  • FOOD SECURITYCollaborative Planning for Australian Food Security Preparedness

    By Andrew Henderson

    Australia’s food security, commonly assumed safe thanks to our being a net food exporter, is increasingly vulnerable in a world marked by geopolitical and environmental instability.

  • FOOD SECURITYHelene and Milton Upended a Key Part of the Nation’s Agriculture System

    By Ayurella Horn-Muller

    America depends on Southeastern agriculture. After two hurricanes and billions of dollars in damages, the US food supply chain faces an uncertain future.

  • FOOD SECURITYBiosecurity for Food Security

    By Saba Sinai and Andrew Henderson

    Biosecurity is a fundamental enabler for a country’s’ food security, a critical but often overlooked element of national security, and it is time for it to be treated accordingly.

  • FOOD SECURITYU.S. Capable of Achieving Seafood Independence, New Study Shows

    From lobster to haddock and seaweed, seafood plays an important role in the U.S. economy, diet and culture. The nation is one of the top producers of marine and aquatic foods worldwide, but also the second largest seafood importer.

  • FOOD SECURITYCan Florida’s Orange Growers Survive Another Hurricane Season?

    By Ayurella Horn-Muller

    Oranges are synonymous with Florida, but a perfect storm of hurricanes, diseases, and water scarcity threatens to wipe out the state’s famed citrus industry.

  • FOOD SUPPLY SECURITYSafeguarding U.S. Agriculture and Food Supply

    By Dimitri Kusnezov

    DHS S&T conducts research aiming to ensure that U.S. domestic agriculture systems are resilient against disturbances that could cause food shortages, sickness or injuries, and economic crises.

  • FOOD SECURITYTaking Illinois’ Center for Digital Agriculture into the Future

    By Lauren Quinn

    The Center for Digital Agriculture (CDA) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has a new executive director, John Reid, who plans to support CDA’s growth across all dimensions of use-inspired research, translation of research into practice, and education and workforce development.

  • FOOD SECURITYNorway's Seed Vault Protecting Africa's Food Supply

    By Ludger Schadomsky

    African scientists have preserved precious seeds in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, deep in Norway’s Arctic permafrost. The vault preserves food for disaster scenarios.