There has been much media spotlight on the World Bank’s entry into the meat debate with its new report calling on governments in wealthier countries to shift subsidies from high-emitting red meat and dairy to lower-emitting poultry, vegetables and fruits. POLITICO said the report was bound to make conservatives apoplectic, while Climate Home News analysed why the meat has become a “political hot potato”. TABLE’s explainer, Meat, metrics and mindset, and the podcast Meat: The Four Futures explores the meat debate and why it’s about more than science, it’s about emotions.

This book by Access Agriculture, a non-profit organisation supporting agroecology and organic farming supported by the European Commission and the FAO, details youth engagement in agriculture as a critical area in Africa and India. The book provides an introduction of the importance of young entrepreneurs in agriculture and follows with a substantial number of case studies and stories from young entrepreneurs from many African nations and Indian states. 

As part of the Cycle to Farms project, political scientist Aisha Hassan and agribusiness professional Lukas Paltanavičius are cycling 7,000 km from farm to farm in the EU, the Middle East, and Africa. Their aim is to document regenerative agriculture practices and share their findings with policymakers. They are in the process of making a documentary.

This blog post from the Sustainable Food Trust explores the history of the term “regenerative” agriculture, including the Rodale Institute’s use of the term in the 1970s, the longer indigenous histories of many of the practices that fall under the umbrella, and the resurgence of the term regenerative since around 2015.

This paper argues that “agriculture for nutrition” interventions in low and middle income countries are overly narrow in scope and neglect the wider political, economic, social and cultural factors that affect food and (mal)nutrition.

This paper reviews the literature on the sustainability of four technologies that are being developed for use in sustainable food systems: vertical farming, plant-based alternatives, food delivery services and blockchain in food systems. These four technologies were chosen because they have recently attracted significant investments in the Nordic region.

This article in digital magazine Undark explores the development of Kernza, a perennial grain intended to produce food while reducing soil erosion and nitrogen loss. Despite research and development efforts, Kernza yields per hectare still remain well below annual wheat yields - a problem if perennial grains are not to lead to the expansion of farmland.

This report, produced jointly by the Good Food Institute and the Breakthrough Institute, argues that the United States should attempt to take the lead in the rapidly developing alternative proteins sector, including cellular agriculture. It frames the move towards alternative proteins as being driven not just by technological developments and investment, but also by increased consumer demand for protein coupled with public concerns about health and sustainability. As we note in the TABLE explainer What is ecomodernism?, the ecomodernism movement (of which the Breakthrough Institute is part) tends not to seek to actively influence consumption patterns but rather seeks to meet demand sustainably.

Focusing on dairy cattle, this book explains the factors contributing to animal welfare, makes the business case for improving welfare, and sets out case studies linking welfare to increased productivity.