Global food systems are increasingly recognized as a major driver of environmental degradation and a key determinant of population health (Rockström et al., 2025). Concurrently, global dietary patterns are closely linked to the rising burden of non-communicable diseases, reflecting a persistent mismatch between nutritional adequacy and environmental sustainability (Rockström et al., 2025). Livestock production remains particularly resource intensive, delivering relatively low efficiency in protein output relative to its environmental footprint (Berti et al., 2025). These pressures are compounded by widespread food loss and waste and an overreliance on a narrow set of staple crops (Berti et al., 2025). Thus, sustainable diets have emerged as a central integrative framework connecting human health, environmental integrity, and socio-cultural dimensions of food systems (Rockström et al., 2025).
Beyond their environmental consequences, unsustainable food systems also contribute to multiple forms of malnutrition, particularly among vulnerable populations such as children in low-income countries (Agostoni et al., 2023; Berti and La Vecchia, 2022), thereby increasing the risk of acute diseases and worsening chronic health conditions (Esposito et al., 2026; La Vecchia et al., 2023, 2025). In this context, sustainable diets and optimal Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) practices represent important strategies for reducing malnutrition and improving health outcomes, especially among children in low-income settings (Marroda et al., 2023).
The contributions in this Research Topic illustrate the breadth of this transition.
A policy-oriented contribution comes from Hwalla et al., who present the first Sustainable Food-Based Dietary Guidelines for the MENA region. Using a validated diet-optimization model and national dietary data, the authors develop culturally appropriate recommendations that simultaneously improve nutritional quality, affordability, and environmental performance. Their optimized dietary pattern increases intake of whole grains, legumes, dairy products, and fish, while reducing refined grains, red meat, poultry, and added sugars. By integrating nutritional, economic, and environmental dimensions, this work provides an actionable framework for aligning food security and public health objectives with sustainability goals in Lebanon.
Complementing this systems-level approach, Balakrishnan et al. explore the valorization of vegetable processing waste within a circular economy framework. Agricultural by-products such as peels, seeds, and pomace are reframed as valuable sources of bioactive compounds with applications in food, feed, nutraceuticals, biotechnology, and energy production. The authors also highlight emerging use of food waste as substrates for beneficial microorganisms, protein production, and mushroom cultivation. Despite implementation challenges, this perspective underscores the potential of waste-to-value strategies to reduce environmental burdens while fostering innovation in sustainable food systems.
Several studies focus on behavioral and educational dimensions of sustainability transitions. Sahadeo et al., in a cross-sectional study of South African university students, examine awareness, knowledge, and attitudes toward sustainable food systems. Their findings reveal limited understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which may contribute to dietary choices that are neither healthy nor environmentally sustainable. The authors emphasize the role of higher education institutions in strengthening sustainability literacy and improving access to affordable, nutritious food environments that support informed decision-making.
Building on the importance of education, Miti et al. evaluate a randomized controlled trial targeting household food waste through a food literacy intervention in South African families. Although between-group differences were not significant, overall reductions in food waste and associated nutritional and environmental losses were observed over the intervention period. These findings suggest that even low-cost, behaviorally oriented educational strategies can reduce household food waste, particularly in contexts where food insecurity coexists with high levels of waste.
Similarly, Ofir et al. assess an online intervention for dietitians designed to promote legume consumption through improved knowledge, attitudes, and counseling practices. The intervention led to increased professional recommendations for legumes, improved personal intake, and enhanced knowledge compared with controls. These results highlight the role of health professionals as key intermediaries in dietary transitions and demonstrate how brief, scalable training programs can support more sustainable and health-promoting dietary behaviors.
Behavioral dimensions are further explored by Baker et al., who investigate perceptions of sustainable eating among low-income adults in Los Angeles County using the COM-B framework. Participants generally expressed positive attitudes toward reducing red and processed meat consumption, citing perceived health, financial, and environmental benefits. However, barriers such as cost, limited access to plant-based alternatives, and concerns about nutritional adequacy constrained behavior change. The study highlights the need for multi-level interventions that address capability, opportunity, and motivation simultaneously to ensure equitable access to sustainable dietary options.
The acceptability of alternative protein sources is another critical area of transition. Vanutelli et al. examine Italian older adults' responses to plant-based foods, cultured meat, and insect-based products. Acceptance was shaped by distinct psychological mechanisms: taste, safety perceptions, and familiarity facilitated intention to consume, while disgust and perceived risk inhibited adoption, particularly for animal-based alternatives. Interestingly, plant-based foods received positive explicit evaluations but weaker implicit attitudes and low consumption intentions, indicating persistent behavioral barriers. The authors suggest that exposure and familiarity-building interventions may improve acceptance of plant-based diets, while communication strategies addressing safety and disgust are particularly relevant for emerging protein sources such as cultured meat and insects.
Lu et al. extend this discussion to aquaculture, examining yellow mealworm as a potential sustainable substitute for fishmeal. While mealworms offer high protein content and a low environmental footprint, their industrial application remains limited by challenges including chitin-related digestibility issues, amino acid imbalances, and potential contaminant risks. The authors propose solutions such as genetic selection, optimized feeding substrates, and improved processing techniques. They conclude that while mealworms are promising, further interdisciplinary research and regulatory development are required for safe and scalable adoption.
Cultural and indigenous food systems also feature prominently in the literature. Marak et al. explore sustainable diets in Meghalaya, North-East India, a region characterized by high biodiversity. While these systems align with sustainability principles through agrobiodiversity and cultural embeddedness, they do not automatically translate into improved nutrition outcomes. Persistent undernutrition, stunting, and anemia reflect structural challenges such as nutrition transition, gender inequities, and limited dietary diversity. The authors emphasize that leveraging biodiversity for nutrition requires integrated strategies addressing health systems, gender dynamics, and policy support.
Mazzocchi et al. similarly focus on complementary feeding in low-resource settings, highlighting how poverty, food insecurity, and weak health systems contribute to child undernutrition. They review the potential of indigenous crops, edible insects, and small-scale fisheries to enhance the nutritional quality of complementary foods. Evidence suggests that locally grounded, culturally appropriate interventions can improve child growth outcomes, particularly when combined with caregiver education and multisectoral support. These findings reinforce the importance of context-specific strategies in improving early-life nutrition while strengthening local food systems.
The role of dietary patterns in child and adolescent health is further examined in a systematic review by Abodi et al. Across heterogeneous studies, associations between sustainable diets and weight-related outcomes were inconsistent. However, more favorable relationships emerged for cardiometabolic indicators such as waist circumference, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular health markers. The authors suggest that sustainable diets may confer health benefits beyond weight status and call for more robust longitudinal studies and validated sustainability metrics tailored to younger populations.
Qian et al. examine how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced food literacy among Japanese adults. The study finds that increased home cooking, more deliberate food purchasing, reduced waste, and shifts in eating behaviors persisted beyond immediate crisis responses. Cooking skills and motivation emerged as key drivers, while heightened pandemic awareness reinforced responsible consumption. However, increased food-related stress also accompanied these changes, highlighting the dual burden of behavioral adaptation. The authors propose food literacy as a key lever for fostering resilient and sustainable food systems.
Taken together, these contributions highlight the multidimensional nature of sustainable nutrition and food system transformation. Sustainability extends beyond technological innovation or simple dietary substitution; it is a systemic endeavor shaped by environmental, behavioral, cultural, economic, and health-related factors. Advancing this agenda requires interdisciplinary collaboration across nutrition, environmental, behavioral, and social sciences. Collectively, the emerging voices featured in this Research Topic demonstrate how innovative research can help translate sustainability from concept into practice. Ultimately, transforming global food systems will depend on sustained collaboration among researchers, policymakers, educators, industry stakeholders, and communities to align human health with planetary boundaries.
Along this path, we encourage early-career researchers to think beyond conventional approaches and to envision food systems that are more equitable, sustainable, and resilient. Such transformation should be embedded within broader societal change that is both feasible and inclusive. Future generations have the right to inherit a sustainable world, yet the window of opportunity for meaningful action is rapidly narrowing.
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Author contributions
AL: Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. SB: Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. CB: Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing.
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Summary
Keywords
circular economy framework, dietary patterns, early-career researchers (ECR), food system, low-income, plant-based foods, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), sustainable diet
Citation
La Vecchia A, Bettocchi S and Berti C (2026) Editorial: Pioneering sustainable nutrition: emerging voices transforming global food systems. Front. Sustain. Food Syst. 10:1910759. doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2026.1910759
Received
16 June 2026
Accepted
29 June 2026
Published
10 July 2026
Volume
10 - 2026
Edited and reviewed by
Kathleen L. Hefferon, Cornell University, United States
Updates
Copyright
© 2026 La Vecchia, Bettocchi and Berti.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Adriano La Vecchia, adrianolvecchia@gmail.com
Disclaimer
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.