Interactions between land systems and food systems

Interactions between land systems and food systems are central in land system science. Here, we highlight three interrelated emerging directions for renewing this research agenda: 1) What is the role of input providers, and in particular external advisors, financial institutions, and investment modes in shaping farm management decisions? 2) Beyond the overall land footprint of distinct production modes and diets, what are the impacts of emerging, rapidly shifting, diet trends? and 3) How to grapple with the trade-offs between labor as a substitutable input versus labor as a source of livelihood, and in particular, what is the labor productivity and drudgery of alternative forms of agriculture such as organic farming and agroecology, and how does this balance with the rate of off-farm labor force absorption.