In human history, the long-term expansion of populations has been limited by the availability of food and constraints of disease (Diamond, 1997).The domestication of plants and animals has facilitated the development of human societies, and the resulting larger human populations have increased the risk of major disease outbreaks (pandemics).The recent COVID-19 pandemic resulted from the emergence of a disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).This has caused major disruption to economic activity with severe restrictions on international travel.The impact on agriculture and global food security will be complex (Torero, 2020), and many of the consequences are yet to be identified and understood (Jámbor et al., 2020).Despite growing stocks of foods such as cereals (FAO, 2020), it has been estimated that the number of people facing a food crisis will grow from 135 million to 265 million by the end of 2020 (Anthem, 2020;Figure 1).The pandemic has added to the food security challenges posed by climate change and major conflicts, both of which have been major factors contributing to recent food insecurity.Plant scientists need to determine how investment in innovation needs to change in response to the pandemic.Concerns about shortages of labor and food safety will intensify efforts to use automation at all stages in the food production system to ensure supply.