Regionalized food systems provide an opportunity for improving resilience in the global food supply in a period of increasing uncertainty due to climate change, population growth, fresh water stress, and energy cost, among other threats. In affluent countries, this is primarily about rebuilding parts of the food system that were systematically lost in the 20th century. Within less- affluent countries, many local food systems are already regional in nature so it is important to seed development to enhance, not diminish, these regional food systems through appropriate modernization and intensification. In both cases, science and technology, coupled to community- based development techniques, have critical roles to play in improving productivity and efficiency at small and mid-size scales, reducing in-field and post-harvest losses of food, improving diet choice among consumers, and enhancing chances for livelihood expansion across a large percentage of the population.

This paper was debated at the ISGP conference Food Safety, Security, and Defense: Focus on Food and the Environment, convened in partnership with Cornell University in October 2014.