Several media outlets have reported on the substantial environmental impacts caused by the on-going conflict in Gaza including water and soil contamination, the health issues associated with sewage management problems and the greenhouse gas emissions associated with Israel’s military action in Gaza. These environmental impacts have implications for the short-term food production potential in the region and for the long term food security of Palestinians in Gaza.

The Associated Press has recently reported on links between US prison force labour and major food brands such as Coca-Cola and Frosted Flakes, which are on the shelves of retailers such as Aldi, Target, and Whole Foods. The AP cites that Cargill, Bunge, Louis Dreyfus, Archer Daniels Midland and Consolidated Grain have all purchased millions of dollars worth of soy, corn, and wheat harvested by prisoners. This also directly competes with sales for local farmers.

8.9ha has reported that Defra has recently provided an update on the post-Brexit agricultural transition plan, including 50 new actions in the Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme and an update on how farm tenants are considered in ELM. 

This book, written by Ludivine Petetin and Mary Dobbs, dives into free trade agreements for standards across the UK’s four nations and levies a critique of the policy efforts post-Brexit as the nations transition away from the Common Agricultural Policy. It is relevant to agri-food stakeholders and policymakers in various sectors both within the UK and abroad. 

This book, edited by Allison M. Loconto and Douglas H. Constance, explores controversies within agri-food system debates amidst rising concerns associated with the Anthropocene. It details current understandings of the Athropocene and outlines core issues within agriculture, food, and debates around the need for agri-food system transitions. 

In this book, Stanley Ulijaszek attempts to pull apart the entangled fields and viewpoints concerned with obesity to weave together a cohesive understanding of the issue plaguing many countries around the world. The author takes an interdisciplinary approach to elucidate facts in the midst of decades of failed policy and interventions. 

This report, written by Jenny Chapman from the Churchill Fellowship, a UK fellowship programme which supports innovation across multiple fields and sectors, details concerns surrounding plant-based meat being “ultra-processed”. The author highlights how the “ultra-processed food” category, designed to identify if a food has been made in a factory or not, is being incorrectly used in nutrition science circles and has been used to suggest that all plant-based meat products are unhealthy.

This report reflects on trends in hunger and malnutrition in South Asia, highlighting the growing issue of obesity coexisting with rising levels of hunger and malnutrition. It proposes new policy actions targeting the entire food value chain in order to address the challenges which have destabilised South Asian food systems over the past five years. 

The Food System Economics Commission, an independent economic commission comprising experts on climate change, health, nutrition, agriculture and natural resources, has released a global policy report which maps the impacts of two possible futures for the global food system.