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 Year201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026 Image Essay Is it good to eat microalgae? Susann Schade is a research associate and doctoral candidate at the Institute for Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences at the Martin Luther University in Halle, Germany, where she previously studied agriculture and area studies. Susann focused on life cycle assessment for her master’s thesis in which she compared the environmental impacts of different fruits and vegetables. She subsequently joined the cluster project “NovAL (Novel microalgae species as a sustainable source of bioactive nutrients in human nutrition)” of four German universities to investigate the environmental impacts of microalgae cultivation. Read Image Essay Has veganism become a dirty word? Tara Garnett is a researcher at the University of Oxford where she runs the Food Climate Research Network and its sister site Foodsource. Her work centres on the interactions among food, climate, health and broader sustainability issues. She has particular interests in livestock as an area where many of these converge, and in how knowledge is communicated to and interpreted by policy makers, civil society and industry, and in their different approaches to food problems and solutions. Tara is also part of the LEAP project at Oxford, a Wellcome Trust-funded initiative focused on gaining a greater understanding of the health, environmental, social and economic effects of livestock production and consumption. In particular she works closely with Jamie Lorimer, Alex Sexton and Nathan Clay, on themes which explore the rise in alternatives to animal products, and transitions in the dairy sector. You can contact Tara on taragarnett@fcrn.org.uk. Read Image Essay Can we have our farmed salmon and eat it too? Christina O’Sullivan is the Campaign & Communications Manager at Feedback, where she manages the ‘Fishy Business’ campaign. Feedback is a campaign group working to regenerate nature by transforming the food system. Christina has an MSc in Food Policy from the Centre for Food Policy, City University. She has worked at the Cornell Food and Brand Lab and the Global Centre for Food Systems Innovation at Michigan State University. Read Image Essay How can looking to the past help deliver a sustainable food future? Kelly Reed is the programme manager for the Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Food, University of Oxford and an archaeobotanist with interests in food systems, agricultural development, cultural adaptations to environmental change and global sustainability. Philippa Ryan is a Research Fellow in Economic Botany at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, where her research focuses on traditional agriculture, crop histories and agrobiodiversity. Read 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 VIEW MORE
Image Essay Is it good to eat microalgae? Susann Schade is a research associate and doctoral candidate at the Institute for Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences at the Martin Luther University in Halle, Germany, where she previously studied agriculture and area studies. Susann focused on life cycle assessment for her master’s thesis in which she compared the environmental impacts of different fruits and vegetables. She subsequently joined the cluster project “NovAL (Novel microalgae species as a sustainable source of bioactive nutrients in human nutrition)” of four German universities to investigate the environmental impacts of microalgae cultivation. Read
Image Essay Has veganism become a dirty word? Tara Garnett is a researcher at the University of Oxford where she runs the Food Climate Research Network and its sister site Foodsource. Her work centres on the interactions among food, climate, health and broader sustainability issues. She has particular interests in livestock as an area where many of these converge, and in how knowledge is communicated to and interpreted by policy makers, civil society and industry, and in their different approaches to food problems and solutions. Tara is also part of the LEAP project at Oxford, a Wellcome Trust-funded initiative focused on gaining a greater understanding of the health, environmental, social and economic effects of livestock production and consumption. In particular she works closely with Jamie Lorimer, Alex Sexton and Nathan Clay, on themes which explore the rise in alternatives to animal products, and transitions in the dairy sector. You can contact Tara on taragarnett@fcrn.org.uk. Read
Image Essay Can we have our farmed salmon and eat it too? Christina O’Sullivan is the Campaign & Communications Manager at Feedback, where she manages the ‘Fishy Business’ campaign. Feedback is a campaign group working to regenerate nature by transforming the food system. Christina has an MSc in Food Policy from the Centre for Food Policy, City University. She has worked at the Cornell Food and Brand Lab and the Global Centre for Food Systems Innovation at Michigan State University. Read
Image Essay How can looking to the past help deliver a sustainable food future? Kelly Reed is the programme manager for the Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Food, University of Oxford and an archaeobotanist with interests in food systems, agricultural development, cultural adaptations to environmental change and global sustainability. Philippa Ryan is a Research Fellow in Economic Botany at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, where her research focuses on traditional agriculture, crop histories and agrobiodiversity. Read
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
