The US-based Good Food Institute, which promotes plant-based foods and lab-cultured meat, has produced two State of the Industry Reports on plant-based and cell-based foods. The report outline industry developments during 2018, list the main industry actors, discuss regulatory updates in the United States, and analyse investment trends.

This report from the Eating Better Alliance surveys 620 sandwiches available from retailers in the UK. It finds that 85% of sandwiches on the market still have meat, fish or cheese as their main ingredient, and only two sandwiches had any “better meat” certification (RSPCA Assured logos).

This briefing paper from the UK’s Food Research Collaboration, the latest in its Food Brexit Briefings series, reiterates the need for local authorities to create food plans for during and after the UK’s upcoming exit from the European Union.​

FCRN member Mark Measures has produced this report on the use of different soil analysis and management techniques for organic and agro-ecological farming. The report is the outcome of a Churchill Fellowship.

FCRN member Charlotte Kildal has co-authored this paper documenting the Norwegian Armed Forces’ attempt to introduce the Meatless Monday campaign, where only vegetarian meals are served on one day each week. The paper found that the initiative had mixed results.

College students who take a course on food and the environment reduce their reported ruminant meat consumption by 28% relative to their consumption prior to the course, according to this paper by FCRN member Jennifer Jay of UCLA Civil and Environmental Engineering.

According to this randomised controlled trial, people eat an average of 500 kcal more per day when offered ultra-processed food compared to unprocessed food (as defined by the NOVA system). Furthermore, the trial subjects gained weight on the ultra-processed diet and lost weight on the unprocessed diet.

Wageningen University and Research has formed a consortium together with several private companies to research the use of co-products and residues from the food sector and industry as animal feed. A particular research focus will be on increasing Europe’s self-sufficiency in feed materials.

This feature in the New Food Economy explores how autonomous weed-picking robots could replace herbicides and tackle weeds that have become resistant to some herbicides. The robots use both GPS tracking and cameras to navigate fields and remove weeds.