Plating Up Progress, a project run by the UK charity The Food Foundation, has published its 2021 report, which analyses how various UK food sectors are performing on health, environmental and social inclusion issues. 

This article studies the effects of a tax on sales of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and finds that it matters whether or not the tax is mentioned on the label. While a sugar tax alone had little effect on SSB sales on a university campus in San Francisco, adding the phrase “Includes SF Sugary Drink Tax” resulted in lower sales than when the tax was not mentioned. 

This study, published by the Wellcome Trust-funded Livestock, Environment and People (LEAP) programme at Oxford, finds that average meat consumption per person in the UK has fallen from 103.7 g per day in 2008 to 86.3 g per day in 2019 (a 17% decrease). This encompasses a decrease in red meat consumption (13.7 g/day), a decrease in processed meat consumption (7.0 g/day) and an increase in white meat consumption (3.2 g/day).

This article examines different visions about how global food systems should be governed, focusing on two main areas of contestation: authority and legitimacy. The authors use the United Nations Food Systems Summit (and its historical context) as a starting point for discussion; the 2021 UNFSS was heavily criticised by the food sovereignty movement for its perceived links to large corporations, philanthropic organisations and powerful states.

The Agriculture, Nutrition and Health (ANH) Academy curates a database of teaching resources on interdisciplinary agriculture, nutrition and health topics, including journals, online courses, lecture slides, games, infographics and other recommended reading.

This book explores the economic aspects of conserving marine resources such as fisheries. It includes case studies as well as examples of applying cost-benefit analyses.

This book uncovers the conflicts and politics of food provisioning in Colombia: who produces what and where, and with what socio-economic effects. The book explains the re-emergence of national agrarian movements, their contestation of the dominant development narratives and their engagement in discussions about food sovereignty with the state.

This report from UK charity WRAP, co-authored by TABLE member Hamish Forbes, provides a comprehensive mapping of the carbon footprint of UK food and drink consumption, building up a detailed sector-by-sector analysis of where emissions arise and how that has changed from 2015 to 2019. Showing the importance of the food sector in achieving net zero targets, it finds that a 50% reduction in the UK’s food-related emissions by 2030 (compared to 2015) is possible, but only if urgent action is taken.

This report from UK NGO Eating Better offers guidance for local authorities on how to source and serve healthier, more sustainable meals, for example in schools. It focuses on meat and dairy and proposes a 25% reduction in the amount of meat (of all types) and dairy served by local authorities, as well as sourcing 25% of meat and dairy served from “better” production systems. “Better” in this case means farming that uses lower levels of antibiotics, emphasises local feed sources and promotes animal welfare. The higher costs of “better” meat and dairy can be offset by increased use of vegetables and plant protein.