A pilot of environmental labelling on selected food products is launching in the UK in September 2021. The aim of the pilot is to test consumer responses ahead of a roll-out across the UK and European Union in 2022. The scheme is run by UK non-profit Foundation Earth and supported by supermarkets and food brands including Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s, Co-op Food, Nestlé and Tyson Foods. 

This paper proposes a “Sustainability Compass” that uses a hierarchical approach to define sustainability scores for four aspects of food systems: health, environment, economy and equity. The framework is designed to evaluate food policies, including by drawing attention to trade-offs and synergies across different goals. The paper suggests that the Compass can be used during agenda setting, policy formulation, decision-making and policy evaluation.

This paper co-authored by Table member Toni Meier quantifies the levels, environmental impacts and reduction potential of food waste produced in the business, healthcare and hospitality food service subsectors in Germany. It finds that significant waste reductions could be achieved within one year, with the greatest potential reduction of 17% being found in the healthcare subsector.

This perspective article, co-authored by several Table members including Christian Reynolds, discusses the possibilities and challenges of using natural language processing and artificial intelligence to assess the nutritional and sustainability characteristics of recipes. The authors conclude that an interdisciplinary approach is necessary, combining artificial intelligence with expert domain knowledge.

This systematic review examines the impacts on environment, food security and human health of seven types of plastic used in the food system. The authors created an interactive evidence map, which can be viewed here. Most publications focused on the agricultural stage, with fewer looking at retail, household or food waste disposal. There is relatively little evidence on the impacts of food system plastics in low- and middle- income countries.

This book reviews the environmental impacts of livestock production, covering life cycle assessment, livestock’s contributions to greenhouse gas emissions including methane, the impacts of pig and sheep production, and strategies for improving the environmental performance of intensive poultry production.

UK NGO Eating Better has launched a new framework to guide retailers and restaurants towards sourcing “better” meat, in line with its aim of halving UK meat and dairy consumption by 2050 and transitioning to “better” meat and dairy as standard.

This study sets out the health impacts and environmental footprints of diets that meet the UK government’s Eatwell Guide recommendations, based on observational data from the UK’s National Diet and Nutrition Survey. 

In this paper, FCRN member Raychel Santo reviews evidence on the potential benefits and risks of the production and consumption of plant-based and cell-based meat alternatives. The paper covers implications for health, environmental performance, animal welfare, economy and policy.