This book sets out the case for considering the wellbeing of animals as part of our responses to pandemics, climate change and other global threats, for example by reducing support for factory farming, deforestation and the wildlife trade.

This report from US think-tank The Breakthrough Institute assesses technologies and management practices that could reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the US beef sector. It estimates that full adoption of existing mitigation options (as special feed additives, composting manure and particular grazing patterns) by 2030 could reduce US beef emissions by 18%. 

46% of Europeans say they have reduced their meat intake, according to a survey lead by ProVeg International. The study asked over 7,500 people in ten European countries (Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Spain, and the UK) about their attitudes towards plant-based foods and their current food consumption patterns.

This report from the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation gives an overview of how agriculture and land use feature in 85 new or updated NDCs (nationally determined contributions to the Paris Agreement’s climate targets). As of 31 July 2021, 95% of NDCs include adaptation in agricultural sectors; 95% include mitigation measures in agriculture, land use or forestry; and 38% reference women or other marginalised groups in the agricultural sector. Mitigation measures focus primarily on forestry (79%), with 51% covering crops and 36% covering the livestock sector.

Plating Up Progress, a project run by the UK charity The Food Foundation, has published its 2021 report, which analyses how various UK food sectors are performing on health, environmental and social inclusion issues. 

This article studies the effects of a tax on sales of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and finds that it matters whether or not the tax is mentioned on the label. While a sugar tax alone had little effect on SSB sales on a university campus in San Francisco, adding the phrase “Includes SF Sugary Drink Tax” resulted in lower sales than when the tax was not mentioned. 

This study, published by the Wellcome Trust-funded Livestock, Environment and People (LEAP) programme at Oxford, finds that average meat consumption per person in the UK has fallen from 103.7 g per day in 2008 to 86.3 g per day in 2019 (a 17% decrease). This encompasses a decrease in red meat consumption (13.7 g/day), a decrease in processed meat consumption (7.0 g/day) and an increase in white meat consumption (3.2 g/day).

This article examines different visions about how global food systems should be governed, focusing on two main areas of contestation: authority and legitimacy. The authors use the United Nations Food Systems Summit (and its historical context) as a starting point for discussion; the 2021 UNFSS was heavily criticised by the food sovereignty movement for its perceived links to large corporations, philanthropic organisations and powerful states.

The Agriculture, Nutrition and Health (ANH) Academy curates a database of teaching resources on interdisciplinary agriculture, nutrition and health topics, including journals, online courses, lecture slides, games, infographics and other recommended reading.