Natural systems are being degraded at an unprecedented rate, with rapid loss of biodiversity and an average temperature rise of almost 1.5˚C on pre-industrial levels in 2023. Most economists believe that these problems have arisen because the value of nature is not sufficiently considered in policy and economic decision-making, but within the field, different economists disagree about how to express nature's value. This has consequences especially within our food systems.https://www.doi.org/10.56661/d2feedad

The role of non-human animals in the food system is more fiercely contested now than ever before. Deep chasms exist between different actors’ visions of the future and their acceptance of the present. What some view as moral outrages, others see as valued traditions, wellsprings of pride and identity, honed crafts, sources of indispensable nutrients, and so much more; intersections with other issues (environmental harms, rural economies, development and poverty) add still further tension. It is a difficult knot to untangle. Reflecting and contributing to these radical differences in positions, stakeholders in these debates work within varied frameworks. For philosophers of animal ethics, these are fundamentally moral questions that must be answered by direct engagement with our value systems. For animal welfare scientists, we can move forward by deepening our empirically-based understanding of other animals’ lives. For farmers, fishers, and others practically engaged in producing animal foods, too little attention is paid to the moral authority gained from daily working alongside other animals and understanding intuitively what is and is not good practice.In this explainer, we explore the paradigms and arguments surrounding animal ethics and animal welfare. We investigate how and why different disciplines frame the debate differently, the range of positions, and whether any areas of agreement might signal pathways to progress. https://www.doi.org/10.56661/f2d8f4c7

This is a brief summary of the longer TABLE Explainer “What is regenerative agriculture?”.It aims to define the concept and illuminate key debates surrounding regenerative agriculture. Citations and references for the information discussed below can be found in the full explainer.Written by Jack Bosanquet

This piece is a summary of the TABLE Explainer What is Ecomodernism? and aims to define the concept and illuminate key debates. Citations and  references for the information discussed below can be found in the full explainer. 

This is a brief summary of the longer TABLE Explainer “What is the land sparing-sharing continuum?”.It aims to define the concept and illuminate key debates surrounding the land sharing-sparing continuum. Citations and references for the information discussed below can be found in the full explainer.Written by Jack Bosanquet

This piece is a summary of the TABLE Explainer What is feed-food competition? and aims to define the concept and illuminate key debates. Citations and references for the information discussed below can be found in the full explainer.

The idea that more natural food – food which hasn’t been transformed by human and industrial intervention – is best for us is a powerful one. Psychologists have found a strong preference for that which is “natural”, even when people differ in what they understand that term to mean. But naturalness is a muddle – we are often signalled by advertising to see heavily manufactured foods as “natural”; the pioneers of cereal manufacturing were the greatest advocates of “natural” food in the early 20th century; and it’s rare that crops, which have been manipulated by human breeding over millennia, are seen as “unnatural”.If naturalness is a slippery idea, though, it is still undeniably compelling. At the moment, nowhere is the preference for naturalness when it comes to the food we eat more prevalent than in concerns expressed over ultra-processed foods (UPFs). But does the idea that naturalness is inherently best set up a misleading dichotomy between nature and technology that doesn’t serve the interests of a more sustainable and equitable food future? Does a narrow focus on processing itself misplace bigger questions of power and agency on the one hand, and unhelpfully dismiss scientific techniques on the other? We explore these questions in our latest explainer, Nature Knows Best? Naturalness in the Ultra-Processed Foods Debate.https://www.doi.org/10.56661/f76228c7

Nitrogen plays a dual role in the agri-food system: it is an essential nutrient for all life forms, yet also an environmental pollutant causing a range of environmental and human health impacts. In this explainer, we explore ways of thinking about nitrogen, the roles both livestock and synthetic nitrogen fertilizer play in the food system, and the current policy targets for reducing nitrogen emissions. https://www.doi.org/10.56661/2fa45626

This is a brief summary of the longer TABLE Explainer “What is food sovereignty?”. It aims to define the concept and illuminate key debates surrounding food sovereignty. Citations and references for the information discussed below can be found in the full explainer. Written by Jack Bosanquet