This randomised controlled trial of 47 patients experiencing depression found that taking a multi-strain probiotic supplement for a month experienced reduced depressive symptoms compared to patients taking a placebo. All participants continued to receive their usual treatment as well. The authors say the study shows the importance of the connections between the microbiome, gut and brain.

The concept of “less but better” meat (sometimes preferentially called less and better) has become influential in discussions about health, sustainable diets, particularly in higher-income countries. Definitions of both “less” and “better”, however, are still diverse. This paper reviews the definitions and interpretations of “less but better” meat used in 35 peer-reviewed journal articles.

This paper analyses how over 100 European think tanks talk about the links between animal-sourced foods and climate change, seeking to understand how they have influenced policymakers’ attitudes to the issue. It argues that the failure of many think tank documents to link the two issues contributes to a wider lack of attention to the environmental impacts of diets.

This paper models the impacts of a “degrowth” approach to reducing the environmental impacts of the global food system. It finds that reducing and redistributing income, alone, leads to only limited climate mitigation from food systems, because the shift towards unsustainable diets occurs at low income levels. Instead, a “sustainable transformation” scenario (incorporating income redistribution, and “efficiency-based” carbon tax, a shift towards the EAT-Lancet planetary health diet, and reduced food waste) is able to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions for the food system by 2100.

In this policy brief, the Food Research Collaboration summarises points relevant to food and diet in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Working Group 3 report, published in April 2022. The summary notes that both individual and policy-level choices about food are highly relevant to climate change and could make significant contributions to climate mitigation; that action is required on both consumption and production; that demand-side interventions can have beneficial effects for health; that individual action alone is not sufficient; and that “choice architecture” can influence demand patterns.

This paper reviews the evidence on interventions that can increase or decrease consumption of animal-source foods. It finds that providing information on the environmental impacts of meat can reduce consumption, as can - to a more limited extent - providing information on health and animal welfare impacts, emphasising social norms such as trends towards plant-based eating, and reducing meat portion sizes.

This report from the WWF considers how agriculture and land use across the UK can be changed to help meet climate commitments while also protecting nature. The key components of its strategy are moving towards agroecological farming practices, tackling nitrogen pollution, restoring natural ecosystems in appropriate locations, and shifting diets. It calls for governments across the UK to support farming communities through financial support, regulation and strong trade standards.

This paper argues that animal-source foods are unjustly stigmatised as being harmful for health and the environment, and that nutritionism - focusing on the individual components of food rather than its broader benefits - is overly reductive. The paper criticises the use of narrow metrics such as emissions per kg of food, and instead calls for “wholesome and nourishing diets” rooted in values such as “conviviality and shared traditions”.