Multiscale modeling of the food system

Goals: The goal of the workshop was to elaborate a research agenda for developing a mathematically-robust conceptual model of the U.S. food system. This is a key component of a large-scale project to develop a hierarchy of models for food systems around the globe at multiple spatial and temporal levels. The overarching goal is scenario testing to inform intervention strategies for improving sustainable food and nutrition security for all people. One extreme of the model hierarchy will consist of complex systems of coupled, detailed models of food system activities (Figure 1 on page 9). The focus of this workshop was at the other extreme, where there is a pressing need for models at the conceptual level, to give insight into the overall structure of the system, and the relative strengths of inherent feedbacks. Without this structural overview, coupling of the more detailed system components lacks the coherence necessary for such a complex system.