This issue presents options towards more sustainable food systems, like the nutrition-sensitive agriculture approach tested in several countries, and resilient multilocal livelihoods replacing subsistence agriculture in Pakistan. But food systems are also faced with challenges in mountains: see the papers on the impact of a road in Nepal on nutrition quality and the erosion of social institutions due to high socioeconomic and cultural dynamics in Ladakh. Further papers explore the contribution of caterpillar fungus to livelihoods in India, the economic performance of walnut forests in Kyrgyzstan, elevational differences in dwarf pine cover in Slovakia, bacteriological characteristics of drinking water in Nepal, changing glacier conditions on mountaineering in New Zealand, the impact of ski tourism on wildlife in Poland, and the dynamics of land use change in the Argentinian puna. Read about the journal’s section policies, guidelines and submission procedure at: http://www.mrd-journal.org/.