The Protein Challenge 2040 summary report condenses Forum for the Future’s analysis of the future of protein, and the challenges and opportunities we are facing in shifting the system onto a more sustainable path. It sets out the six key areas for innovation that Forum will embark on to catalyse large-scale change quickly across the system.

In this commentary, Thomas Hertel of Purdue University argues that typically-used metrics of food security that are based solely on food production and food prices are incomplete, misleading or in some cases, just wrong.

In this BBC Radio 4 programme, restaurateur Henry Dimbleby explores the historic and cultural relationship between the British and their meat, in particular the quintessentially British roast beef dinner. Dimbleby discusses his growing feeling of guilt at his meat consumption and his efforts to cut down, asking the key question: why is it so difficult?

This report by the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future highlights the need to reduce livestock farming and food waste if climate change is to be addressed, and the relative absence of these important mitigation strategies from recent climate talks (e.g. COP21 in Paris).

In this blog-post, various archetypes or tropes of consumers are portrayed and scrutinized. General claims about consumer behaviour that pervade the discourse of food politics are discussed and three archetypes are identified. The author, Dr Ben Richardson from the Department of Politics and International Studies at University of Warwick, describes and questions both the figures of the food consumer being presented to us and the ideological projects with which they are associated.

Nitrite is used by the food industry as a preservation agent for meat products. Nitrite has multiple functions, it prevents lipid oxidation, maintains microbial quality and preserves flavour and colour. One of the main concerns of consumers is the possible carcinogenic effect nitrite could have in some meat products after the curing process (as reported by the WHO recently: see FCRN coverage here).

Meat and dairy consumption have increased globally over the past fifty years. As livestock account for 80% of agriculture’s total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, this article argues that to achieve climate targets, humans need to change their dietary habits.

Reducing global meat consumption will be critical to keeping global warming below the ‘danger level’ of two degrees Celsius, the main goal of the 2015 climate negotiations in Paris, according to this new report by Chatham House.

On 30th October 2015 the FCRN highlighted a study by the World Health Organisation which concludes that processed meats cause cancer and classed red meat as “probable” cause.