The WWF sets out global trends in biodiversity over the past 50 years, concluding that land use change is currently the greatest threat to nature, but that climate change could overtake land use change in impact if we cannot keep warming to 1.5°C. The relative abundance of monitored vertebrate wildlife populations has declined by an average of 69% between 1970 and 2018, with particularly large declines (of 94%) in Latin America and the Caribbean. (For a definition of relative abundance, see page 9 of the Living Planet Index technical report). The report also emphasises the importance of indigenous knowledge and a rights-based approach to solving the nature, climate and pollution crises.

Inclusion of smallholders in modern (i.e. formal and globalised) food supply chains may not bring the benefits that it was expected to, according to this working paper from the International Institute for Environment and Development. Based on a literature review and stakeholder interviews, it concludes that smallholders’ access to higher-value markets probably results in only small income gains with most benefits going to the farmers who were wealthier to start with; that farmer cooperatives can be exclusionary; that despite high awareness of gender issues, there has been little progress on outcomes; and that it is difficult to quantify progress on the outcomes of environmental sustainability standards.

This report by the Canadian NGO the ETC Group profiles the world’s largest corporations in each of 11 agrifood sectors, including seeds, fertilisers, livestock genetics and food delivery. It shows that most of these sectors are dominated by just four to six large companies and argues that this “top heavy” structure threatens food sovereignty and gives large corporations outsize influence over markets, research and policy.

This report from UK-based think tank Chatham House assesses global policies on climate, biodiversity and food. It argues that current plans to protect the climate and nature up to 2030 are not ambitious enough, and that only a transformation of the global food system can meet goals on biodiversity and climate mitigation. It argues that immediate priority should be given to both reducing farm-level impacts of livestock rearing and reducing overall production of animal-sourced foods, thus freeing up land to restore nature and sequester carbon, particularly in higher income countries.

This paper models the extent to which intensification of soybean and maize production in Brazil could help to reduce agricultural expansion and protect ecosystems including the Amazon rainforest.

This paper estimates the global and regional prevalence of certain micronutrient deficiencies in two population groups that are particularly vulnerable to such deficiencies. By analysing 24 datasets, it estimates that, globally, around 56% of preschool-aged children are deficient in at least one of iron, zinc and vitamin A, and that 69% of non-pregnant women of reproductive age are deficient in at least one of iron, zinc and folate.

This paper reviews the literature on different protein sources and their implications for food security, health, ethics, environmental sustainability and socio-economic wellbeing. It classes the many contentious debates about the future of sustainable protein into three main categories or meta-narratives - “modernising protein”, “reconstituting protein” and “regenerating protein” - and analyses how stakeholders in each of these camps are seeking to reshape food systems.

This event was hosted by TABLE on 17 October 2022 and took the format of a panel discussion with: Dr Tara Garnett (director of TABLE and fellow of the Oxford Martin School); Adele Jones (Executive Director, Sustainable Food Trust); Jude Capper (independent Livestock Sustainability Consultant & ABP Chair of Sustainable Beef and Sheep Production, Harper Adams University); Iain Tolhurst (Owner, Tolhurst Organic Farm); Varun Deshpande (Managing Director for Asia, the Good Food Institute).

In this blog post published by the Food Research Collaboration, Prof Erik Millstone argues that upcoming legislation (the Retained EU Law (Reform and Revocation) Bill) could threaten food safety standards in the UK. The Bill, although not aimed specifically at the food sector, will enable the revocation of European Union laws in the UK. Millstone notes that Prime Minister Liz Truss has expressed support for deregulation of the food sector, for example by removing the sugary beverages tax. Food Standards Scotland has also warned that food standards relating to food labelling, chemical contaminants and hygiene levels could be lost unless new laws are introduced rapidly.