Grand Challenges

Sustainable Food Systems have been identified as a Grand Challenge by the University of California, Davis (UC Davis), reflecting the societal need for improved food systems and the University’s unique ability to address that need through its research and education in agriculture, nutrition, and food sciences. To assess the University’s recent real-world impact on sustainable food systems, we analyzed policy citations of the University’s scholarly work using the Overton Policy Document database (accessed August 28-November 23, 2024). We identified longstanding policy impact in the fields of Land-use and emissions, Nutrition, Food Security, Crop Production, and Climate-smart Agriculture, and emerging areas of policy impact in the fields of Precision Agriculture, Ag Tech, Food Tech, Alternative Protein, and Bioactives. Policy impact of UC Davis exceeds that of comparable universities in the state of California in the field of food systems, broadly considered, for policy at the level of the State of California, as well as internationally, based on citations by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. Across these scales, the most influential policy documents citing UC Davis research focused largely on the contribution and responses of food production systems to climate change and global health and nutrition. Understanding the policy impact of UC Davis in its pursuit of Sustainable Food Systems is important for benchmarking the University’s progress and providing guidance to maximize the real-world impact of the campus.