Food Security: the first decade of publication
Richard Strange: University College London
<div>The journal, <em>Food Security: the science, sociology and economics of food production and access to food,</em> was inspired by the late Norman Borlaug. He challenged ISPP in 1998 to <em>do</em> something about food security. Realizing that food security articles were spread widely in the literature, we proposed, with the support of a range of distinguished professionals, a new peer-reviewed journal with the broad coverage indicated by its title, including but extending far beyond plant pathology. With Springer as publisher, a quarterly journal of about 300 pages per annum was envisaged, but it rapidly expanded to 6 issues per annum with over 1200 pages for each of the 3 years 2015-2017, and a 2017 impact factor of 2.271. The multidisciplinary journal has four Senior Editors overseeing the broad areas of the physical, biological, nutritional, sociological, economic and political environments, reporting to the Editor in Chief (Richard Strange) and supported by some 40 Associate Editors. We intend that the journal should make its particular contribution to the challenge of why 800 million people are without enough calories and why 2 billion are suffering from hidden hunger (micronutrient and vitamin deficiency) in a still rising population, many of whom are marginalized by global society and live in abject poverty. How should this challenge, in which plant diseases play a significant role, be addressed? Some novel and unconventional approaches may be needed.</div>
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