Hardly a day passes without the challenge of global food security featuring prominently in the media. The recent impact of the topic is such that the term "food security" has now become part of everyday discussion. In this challenging context, Springer is launching the scientific journal Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food with the first issue appearing in March 2009 (http://www.springer.com/life+sci/agriculture/journal/12571).
This new journal, published quarterly in print and online, is an official publication of the International Society for Plant Pathology (ISPP). The Society's website (www.isppweb.org/about_fs_flyer.asp) features a personal commendation of the new journal by Nobel Peace Laureate Dr Norman Borlaug.
The first online issue will be made freely available on Springer's online platform www.springerlink.com and it will be included in the lists of Springer journals available through Springer's participation in the Research 4 Life initiatives AGORA, HINARI and OARE, which provide low-cost or no-cost access to scientific information for developing country institutions.
The new journal "Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food" has two aims: (1) to define the constraints that prevent around one billion of the world's population from accessing an appropriate diet i.e. one that is sufficiently nutritious to allow full development of physical and mental potential and (2) to address the means by which these constraints may be overcome. Food Security will cover the following topics: global food needs, the mismatch between population and the ability to provide adequate nutrition, global food potential, natural constraints to satisfying global food needs, nutrition, food quality and food safety as well as socio-political factors that impinge on the ability to satisfy global food needs. The journal will contain a mixture of original refereed papers, review articles, case studies, commentaries and letters to the editor. The editor-in-chief is Dr. Richard Strange of Birkbeck College, University of London, UK.
"In partnership with Springer, the ISPP created this journal with its topical title, indicating the challenging breadth of the topic. Clearly, while plant diseases present a constant threat to food supply, food security goes far beyond plants and indeed far beyond agriculture," said Lodovica Gullino, President of ISPP.
Zuzana Bernhart, Publishing Editor, Plant Sciences at Springer, said: "The journal covers the principles and practice of food security per se, taking an overview of the subject or analyzing it with a broad perspective over its many component disciplines. The journal does not seek to duplicate the coverage of the many publications that focus specifically on those component disciplines".
Food Security will include Online First™ Cross Reference Linking and alert services. All Food Security authors, via the Springer Open Choice™ program, will have the option of publishing their articles using the open access publishing model.
The International Society for Plant Pathology (www.isppweb.org) promotes the world-wide development of plant pathology and the dissemination of knowledge about plant diseases and plant health management.
Springer (www.springer.com) is the second-largest publisher of journals in the science, technology, and medicine (STM) sector and the largest publisher of STM books. Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media, one of the world's leading suppliers of scientific and specialist literature. The group publishes over 1,700 journals and more than 5,500 new books a year, as well as the largest STM eBook Collection worldwide. Springer has operations in over 20 countries in Europe, the USA, and Asia, and some 5,000 employees.
Food Security: ISSN: 1876-4517 (print version) ISSN: 1876-4525 (electronic version)
Journal
Food Security