OUR WRITING KeywordsAgri-food systemAgricultural biodiversityAgricultural innovationAgricultural intensificationAgricultural lossesAgricultural monocultureAgricultural productionAgricultural productivityAgricultural yieldAgroecologyAgroforestry/silvopastureAlcoholic drinksAlternative food movementAlternative proteinAlternatives to intensive farmingAnimal feedAnimal welfareAnthropoceneAnthropocentrismAquacultureArable crops and arable landBeefBig foodBiodiversityBiodiversity conservationBioenergyBiological nitrogen fixationBiotechnologyCarbon footprintCarbon sequestrationCarbon sinksCarbon sinks and sequestrationChicken/poultryClimate changeClimate change impactsClimate policyCommunicable diseasesConservation biologyConsumer food choice appsConsumer perceptions and preferencesConsumptionConsumption and production trendsConventional agricultureCorporate food regimeCrop diversityCrop systemsCrop-livestock integrationCulture & communityDairyDeforestationDeforestation riskDevelopment policiesDietary guidelinesDietary surveyEcomodernismEconomics, business, and tradeEcosystemEcosystem restorationEcosystem servicesEcosystems & biodiversityEcosystems and ecosystem servicesEnvironmental & Social ImpactsEnvironmental impact assessmentsEnvironmental policyFarmingFarming systemsFeed conversion efficiencyFish stocks/overfishingFish/aquatic typesFisheriesFlexitarianismFood and agriculture policyFood and healthFood chainFood consumptionFood cultureFood justiceFood policyFood securityFood sovereigntyFood supplements/nutritional enhancementFood System TransformationFood systemsFood systems thinkingFood systems: an introductionFood systems: research methodsFood waste/surplus foodFruitFuture of foodGenderGHG emission trendsGHG emissions and mitigationGHG impacts and mitigationGHGsGlobal healthGlobal warming potentialGovernance, policy, and powerGrazed and confusedGrazing and grasslandGreen economy/alternative economic modelsGWP*Health and nutrition policyHealth concernsHorticulture and fruit treesHousehold food consumptionHuman health & wellbeingHungerIndustrial food manufacturingIndustry actions/CSRInequalityInsectsIntensive agricultureInvasive speciesInvestmentLand governanceLand sparing - sharingLand systems & changeLand useLand use and land use changeLegumes/pulsesLife cycleLife cycle analysisLivestockLivestock on LeftoversLocal foodMalnutritionMalnutrition/undernourishmentMarine and aquatic ecosystemsMarketsMeatMeat and taboos/religious beliefsMeat, Dairy & LivestockMethaneMilkMitigation policiesMonogastricMultiple burdens of malnutritionNitrogenNitrogen fixationNon-communicable diseasesNutritionNutritionismOrganicOrganic farmingOvernutritionPalm oilPlant/crop sciencePolitical economyPolitics & ParadigmsPorkPost-harvest lossesPoverty alleviationPower & ProteinProduction efficiency/intensityProteinProtein malnutrition and PEM (Protein-energy malnutrition)Public attitudesRegenerative agricultureRegenerative grazingResearch methodsResilience and vulnerabilityRewildingRuminantRuminantsScaleScience and backgroundSmallholder (farms)Soil healthSoilsSoySoy MoratoriumSpotlight onStandards/certificationStorage and refrigerationSubstitutes for meat & dairySupply chainsSustainable development goalsSustainable food securitySustainable healthy dietsSustainable intensificationTechnology & innovationThe Great Protein FiascoTradeUltra-processed foodUltra-processed food (UPF)UndernutritionUrban agricultureUrban food systemsVegetablesVegetarianism/veganismWater footprintWater managementWater use/consumptionWritten materialsZoonotic diseases TypeEssayExplainerLetterboxPublication RegionAfricaAsiaAustralasiaEuropeGlobalLatin America and the CaribbeanMiddle-eastNorth America Year20122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 Image Publication Investor Briefing: Plating up Progress Part 2 This second investor briefing from the Plating Up Progress-project proposes a new set of metrics that investors will need if they are to assess how well food businesses are managing the risks and opportunities they are facing regarding urgent health and sustainability issues. Read Image Publication Investor briefing: Plating up Progress Part 1 This first investor briefing by Plating Up Progress (a Food Foundation and Food Climate Research Network project) looks at the sustainability risks and opportunities that exist for food retailers, caterers and restaurants. Read Image Explainer What is ultra-processed food? And why do people disagree about its utility as a concept? The increasing consumption of industrially processed convenience foods, soft drinks, and fast foods has been associated with a rise in non-communicable diseases, overweight and obesity. This building block explores the concept of ultra-processed food: how it has been defined, and differing views as to whether it is a useful way of thinking about food and its relation to health and wider sustainability concerns. Last update: 2 July, 2019 https://www.doi.org/10.56661/ca3e86f2 Read Image Explainer Agricultural methane and its role as a greenhouse gas There has recently been a lot of focus on methane, as it is an important contributor to climate change. The food system is one of the largest emitters of methane, and the gas is particularly associated with ruminant livestock (cattle, sheep and goats) and with rice production. Despite its significance as a greenhouse gas, there is also considerable confusion over how we should quantify the climate impacts of methane emissions. This is because there are important differences in how methane and carbon dioxide – the major human-generated greenhouse gas – affect the climate. This explainer provides an overview of the key points about methane, and addresses some common areas of confusion. Last update: 11 June, 2019 https://www.doi.org/10.56661/0f7f7b1e Read Image Essay The Brazilian Dietary Guidelines: Impacts and prospects for food systems and nutrition in a changed political environment This post is written by Elise Birkett, who is studying environmental studies and journalism at New York University, and Anna Davidsen Davies, who is a Brazilian NYU Environmental Studies and Public Health graduate now working in the recycling sector with TerraCycle in the U.S. The post has been edited by Mia MacDonald and Judy Bankman of Brighter Green, a New York-based public policy action tank that works on issues that span the environment, animals, and sustainability. Read Image Explainer What is environmental efficiency? And is it sustainable? The concept of efficiency and its relation to food sustainability is defined and valued in different ways. Among those who argue that improved efficiency will lead to greater sustainability, there are different interpretations of what improved efficiency actually means. Others still, view the quest for efficiency itself to be problematic and its relationship with sustainability potentially oxymoronic. This building block is based on the FCRN report Lean, green, mean, obscene…? What is efficiency? And is it sustainable? It introduces the concept of efficiency and explores its relation to food system sustainability. Last update: 31 May, 2019 https://www.doi.org/10.56661/013a7886 Read Image Essay The challenge of making UK ruminant production sustainable Matthew (Matt) Jordon is a DPhil candidate at the University of Oxford, with research interests in sustainable ruminant production in the UK, payments for ecosystem services, and global food security. In particular, Matt is keen to conduct research that maximises engagement with the UK farming community to establish viable land management strategies that deliver a spectrum of ecosystem services from farmland alongside profitable food production. Matt grew up on a sheep and beef cattle farm in the north east of England, and studied undergraduate Biological Sciences, also at Oxford. Read Image Essay Framing the future of food: The contested promises of alternative proteins Dr Alexandra Sexton is a geographer and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oxford and has been studying the socio-political aspects of cellular agriculture and plant-based alternatives since 2013. She is currently a researcher on the 'Livestock, Environment and Planning' (LEAP) project funded by Wellcome's Our Planet, Our Health initiative. This blog is an overview of the open-access article Framing the future of food: The contested promises of alternative proteins written by Alexandra Sexton, Tara Garnett & Jamie Lorimer and published in Environment and Planning E: Nature & Space. Its findings were also included in a recent World Economic Forum report entitled ‘Meat: The Future Series – Alternative Proteins’. Read Image Explainer What is food loss and food waste? Around one third of the weight of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted, and around a third of crop calories are lost to the food system during livestock production. Meanwhile, the global food system causes significant environmental impacts and around 800 million people are undernourished. This building block examines the following aspects of food loss and waste: mainstream definitions and alternative understandings, global statistics, and ‘hierarchies’ for prevention and treatment. Last update: 25 March, 2019 https://www.doi.org/10.56661/f98ed9f6 Read VIEW MORE
Image Publication Investor Briefing: Plating up Progress Part 2 This second investor briefing from the Plating Up Progress-project proposes a new set of metrics that investors will need if they are to assess how well food businesses are managing the risks and opportunities they are facing regarding urgent health and sustainability issues. Read
Image Publication Investor briefing: Plating up Progress Part 1 This first investor briefing by Plating Up Progress (a Food Foundation and Food Climate Research Network project) looks at the sustainability risks and opportunities that exist for food retailers, caterers and restaurants. Read
Image Explainer What is ultra-processed food? And why do people disagree about its utility as a concept? The increasing consumption of industrially processed convenience foods, soft drinks, and fast foods has been associated with a rise in non-communicable diseases, overweight and obesity. This building block explores the concept of ultra-processed food: how it has been defined, and differing views as to whether it is a useful way of thinking about food and its relation to health and wider sustainability concerns. Last update: 2 July, 2019 https://www.doi.org/10.56661/ca3e86f2 Read
Image Explainer Agricultural methane and its role as a greenhouse gas There has recently been a lot of focus on methane, as it is an important contributor to climate change. The food system is one of the largest emitters of methane, and the gas is particularly associated with ruminant livestock (cattle, sheep and goats) and with rice production. Despite its significance as a greenhouse gas, there is also considerable confusion over how we should quantify the climate impacts of methane emissions. This is because there are important differences in how methane and carbon dioxide – the major human-generated greenhouse gas – affect the climate. This explainer provides an overview of the key points about methane, and addresses some common areas of confusion. Last update: 11 June, 2019 https://www.doi.org/10.56661/0f7f7b1e Read
Image Essay The Brazilian Dietary Guidelines: Impacts and prospects for food systems and nutrition in a changed political environment This post is written by Elise Birkett, who is studying environmental studies and journalism at New York University, and Anna Davidsen Davies, who is a Brazilian NYU Environmental Studies and Public Health graduate now working in the recycling sector with TerraCycle in the U.S. The post has been edited by Mia MacDonald and Judy Bankman of Brighter Green, a New York-based public policy action tank that works on issues that span the environment, animals, and sustainability. Read
Image Explainer What is environmental efficiency? And is it sustainable? The concept of efficiency and its relation to food sustainability is defined and valued in different ways. Among those who argue that improved efficiency will lead to greater sustainability, there are different interpretations of what improved efficiency actually means. Others still, view the quest for efficiency itself to be problematic and its relationship with sustainability potentially oxymoronic. This building block is based on the FCRN report Lean, green, mean, obscene…? What is efficiency? And is it sustainable? It introduces the concept of efficiency and explores its relation to food system sustainability. Last update: 31 May, 2019 https://www.doi.org/10.56661/013a7886 Read
Image Essay The challenge of making UK ruminant production sustainable Matthew (Matt) Jordon is a DPhil candidate at the University of Oxford, with research interests in sustainable ruminant production in the UK, payments for ecosystem services, and global food security. In particular, Matt is keen to conduct research that maximises engagement with the UK farming community to establish viable land management strategies that deliver a spectrum of ecosystem services from farmland alongside profitable food production. Matt grew up on a sheep and beef cattle farm in the north east of England, and studied undergraduate Biological Sciences, also at Oxford. Read
Image Essay Framing the future of food: The contested promises of alternative proteins Dr Alexandra Sexton is a geographer and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oxford and has been studying the socio-political aspects of cellular agriculture and plant-based alternatives since 2013. She is currently a researcher on the 'Livestock, Environment and Planning' (LEAP) project funded by Wellcome's Our Planet, Our Health initiative. This blog is an overview of the open-access article Framing the future of food: The contested promises of alternative proteins written by Alexandra Sexton, Tara Garnett & Jamie Lorimer and published in Environment and Planning E: Nature & Space. Its findings were also included in a recent World Economic Forum report entitled ‘Meat: The Future Series – Alternative Proteins’. Read
Image Explainer What is food loss and food waste? Around one third of the weight of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted, and around a third of crop calories are lost to the food system during livestock production. Meanwhile, the global food system causes significant environmental impacts and around 800 million people are undernourished. This building block examines the following aspects of food loss and waste: mainstream definitions and alternative understandings, global statistics, and ‘hierarchies’ for prevention and treatment. Last update: 25 March, 2019 https://www.doi.org/10.56661/f98ed9f6 Read
