Submissions

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Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.
  • The submission has not been previously published, nor is it currently on submission to another journal.
  • Text files submitted are in OpenOffice, Microsoft Word, or WordPerfect format.
  • Text is single-spaced in a 12-point font. Italics are used for emphasis, rather than underlining.
  • Abstracts are limited to 250 words maximum.
  • Page numbers and line numbers are included in the manuscript. Numbering is continuous and does not restart on each page.
  • Graphics are submitted as separate digital files in TIFF or JPG format (150 dpi, maximum 900 pixels wide). Manuscript includes clear indications of locations and captions for all graphics.
  • All permissions to reproduce copyrighted material have been obtained, paid for, and included in the uploaded files.
  • Bibliographies include URLs for references, as available.
  • APA style is used throughout the manuscript and for in-line citations and bibliographic references.
  • Instructions in Ensuring a Blind Review have been followed (for submissions to peer-reviewed sections of the journal).
  • A title page for your submission has been uploaded as a separate document. It should include your submission title, abstract, keywords, contributors, corresponding author, acknowledgements, and any conflicts of interest.
  • The names of 4 to 5 suggested peer reviewers, along with email addresses, have been provided in Comments for the Editor. Reviewers should be an expert in their field and able to provide an objective review. This means that they should have no prior knowledge of the submission and no recent collaboration with the authors.
  • The fee schedule has been reviewed and the author acknowledges that they are prepared to pay the appropriate fee if their manuscript is accepted.
  • Institutional ethics approval has been obtained where appropriate.

Author Guidelines

Canadian Food Studies welcomes submissions across a wide variety of themes and formats. (See About the Journal.) Work can be in English or French and will be published in the language of submission.

To make a submission, follow the on-screen instructions carefully, entering information for each required field. Complete the submission checklist, and remove all author names and other identifiers from your uploaded files. (See “Ensuring a Blind Review.”)

Prior to submitting, please consult our schedule of publishing fees, which enable CFS to provide readers with free and open access to journal content, without selling user or usage data. Fees apply only to submissions that have been accepted for publication.

CFS/RCÉA submissions should be free of language (e.g., words, terms, phrases) or imagery that perpetuates oppression, stigma, and discrimination and be written in a style accessible to our diverse readership.

Submissions are copyedited to the extent deemed necessary by the editors, without changing the author’s original meaning or intent. In the event that more substantive syntactical changes are required, authors will be consulted.

SUBMISSION TYPES

All submissions are subject to editorial and peer review, with the exception of Commentaries, Book/Event Reviews, Audio-Visual, and Art/Design Works, and Interviews, which are subject to editorial review only.  If your submission does not fall into one of the categories below, please contact the journal manager.

Word counts do not include reference lists/ bibliographies, appendices, or other resources.

Themed Issues or Sections: CFS welcome proposals for themed issues or sections that align with the journal's focus and scope. To submit a proposal, please email our Administrative Coordinator with the following information:

  1. Title of themed issue/section
  2. Name(s) of guest editor(s), affiliations, and email contacts
  3. Rationale for the themed issue/section (approx. 1 page)
  4. Proposed papers (with author names and abstracts) OR the call for papers to be circulated
  5. Proposed timeline
  6. Funding secured or expected (if applicable)

Authorship, Acknowledgements, Declaration on Funding

All parties who have made a substantive contribution to the article should be listed as authors. Principal authorship, authorship order, and other publication credits should be based on the relative scientific or professional contributions of the individuals involved, regardless of their status.

Contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship may be listed in the Acknowledgements section. Examples of those who might be acknowledged include a person who provided purely technical help. Please supply any personal acknowledgements separate from the main text to facilitate anonymous peer review.

We also require that authors acknowledge the funding that supported the research for their submissions.

Commentary

A viewpoint or opinion that is experiential or issue-based, on a food-related topic. (1500 words max.)

Perspective

An essay that presents a critical argument or reflection, including policy or ethical debates, current controversies, interdisciplinary conundrums or synergies, and observational analyses (3,000 words max.)

Research Article

An article based on qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-method primary research data. Includes an introduction/background, methodology, results, discussion, and conclusion. (8000 words max.)

Review Article

An article that provides an overall assessment of the state of knowledge on a specific topic, based on a review of recent, relevant research in that area. (8000 words max.)

Field Report or Narrative

A text that reflects the perspective/experience of practitioners, activists, scholars, or others, in the form of case studies, reports, stories, or diaries. (“Field” should be taken broadly, and includes urban, rural, and Northern environments; classrooms and other learning spaces; organizations, networks, virtual environments; public programs, business ventures, gardens, kitchens, etc.) (5000 words max.)

Audio-Visual Work

Digital content that presents knowledge, speculation, experience, or other material. Submissions should include a companion text (1000 words max.) that contextualizes the objectives, creation process, contributors, and intended audience of the work. Up to 120 minutes or 40 images maximum.

Art/Design Work

Digital content that represents knowledge, speculation, experience, or other material. Submissions should include a companion text (1000 words max.) that contextualizes the objectives, creation process, contributors, and intended audience of the work. Up to 20 images or 10 minutes of digital documentation.

Book/Art/Event Review

A text that contextualizes and describes an existing work, including: a discussion of the targeted audience; author/artist/curator details and background; an overview of the main purpose, objectives, themes, issues, arguments; a critical perspective on the strengths and weaknesses of the book/art/event. (1000 words max.)

Publishers, filmmakers, curators, artists, and event organizers who would like to have their outputs reviewed in CFS should contact the Reviews Editor.

Interviews

An edited, synthesized, and annotated interview with a key thinker, actor, and/or practitioner in the field of food. Interviews should include adequate context about the interviewee's contribution to scholarship and/or practice, and may include citations, texts, or other material created by the interviewee themself. (6000 mots max.)

Copyright Notice

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms: Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal. Work published in CFS/RCÉA prior to and including Vol. 8, No. 3 (2021) is licensed under the Creative Commons CC BY license. Work published in Vol. 8, No. 4 (2021) and after is licensed under the Creative Commons CC BY-SA license. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work. (See more on Open Access.)

Privacy Statement

The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.

CFS works to ensure anonymity between authors and peer-reviewers, and authors are asked to exclude any material that may link their paper to the author’s identity (i.e. self-reference and self-citation). CFS editors reserve the right to make modifications to submissions to ensure author anonymity, while ensuring the content of the submission remains unaltered. If anonymity cannot be achieved within significant changes to content, revisions of the submission may be requested.