Resilience and complex interdependencies within and between global food supply networks and transportation infrastructure

In this article, evidence is drawn from different systems, geographies, and stakeholders to show how a more integrated approach can enhance the resilience of transportation infrastructure networks and, consequently, the global food supply chains that rely on them. The authors focus on the end-to-end resilience of a system, not only the ability of one organization to maintain business continuity.

The essential principles proposed in the paper, for enhancing food transportation system resilience, are to:

1. Accept complexity and interdependencies;
2. Create a connection between safety and resilience;
3. Overcome fragmentation between actors in the supply chain;
4. Adopt an "all-hazards" approach to shocks and stresses;
5. Avoid creating new vulnerabilities;
6. Transfer knowledge between sectors.