Contemporary challenges demand deeper thinking from students and the public, including those challenges associated with food, energy, and water (FEW) security. For example, society’s increasing demand for energy contributes to human-induced climate change (IPCC 2015). Phenomena specifically related to FEW security are particularly relevant for investigating how epistemic cognition factors into learning, and the purpose of this symposium is to feature recent educational research studies examining learners’ epistemic cognition—including beliefs, attitudes, emotions, judgments, and behaviors—related to FEW phenomena. The research featured in this symposium will suggest preliminary implications for epistemic cognition learning and teaching to strengthen students’ and the public’s epistemic cognition and capacity to deal with current and future FEW challenges.