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 Essay Plating up progress? A collaborative project to define usable metrics for assessing food industry progress in delivering sustainable and healthy diets. This blog post is written by Wil Nicholson. Read Image Essay A role for livestock in a sustainable food system This post is written by Hannah van Zanten, assistant professor at Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands. Her post is based on the paper ‘Defining a land boundary for sustainable animal consumption,’ which was published in Global Change Biology in May 2018. Read Image Explainer What is sustainable intensification? New approaches to agriculture are required if we are to reduce the environmental impacts of farming while also feeding more people with a sufficient quantity and diversity of nutritious and safe foods. This building block explains the concept of sustainable intensification. Last update: 18 June, 2018 https://www.doi.org/10.56661/075f639f Read Image Explainer What is malnutrition? People need to be able to obtain and utilise a healthy amount and balance of nutrients. Without this, they can suffer severe impacts to their health and well-being. This building block explains malnutrition and its causes, prevalence and consequences. Last update: 18 June, 2018 https://www.doi.org/10.56661/6a0223ed Read Image Explainer Food systems and contributions to other environmental problems Food systems interact with, and affect, the environment in a great many ways beyond their greenhouse gas emissions. In order to feed humans, the global food system occupies over a third of the earth’s land surface; extracts large amounts of fish and animals from natural habitats; makes huge claims on natural resources; and dispurses various pollutants into the environment. An appreciation of this wide range of environmental impacts is needed to understand why food systems are central to solving many of our biggest environmental problems, and ultimately to maintaining human well-being. Also useful, is to understand that the causes and solutions to these problems are often interconnected through food systems, resulting in trade-off situations where a course of action can at the same time, make one issue better and another worse. Read Image Essay Are modern plant-based diets and foods actually sustainable? In this piece, Helen Breewood introduces the environmental impact nuances behind trending vegan and flexitarian consumption patterns. Helen wrote this post in her personal capacity. Note that the FCRN has no financial affiliation with any of the brands mentioned in this blog.Helen Breewood is a research assistant at the FCRN. She is also a freelance writer and blogs about solving global sustainability issues at The Progress Motive. You can find her on Twitter. Read Image Explainer What is food security? Being able to reliably obtain, consume and metabolise sufficient quantities of safe and nutritious and foods, is essential to human well-being. This building block explains the meaning of the food security concept. Last update: 12 March, 2018 https://www.doi.org/10.56661/e49a6c96 Read Image Essay Changing diets threaten public health & the environment In this piece, Judy Bankman introduces key elements of disease, diet, and sustainability relevant to the expansion of Western-style consumption patterns.Judy Bankman joined Brighter Green as a research intern in 2013 when she was completing her Master of Public Health at NYU’s College of Global Public Health. Working with Brighter Green allowed her to direct her academic interest into a research and policy-focused project, which linked current public health issues with food systems analysis. Her research culminated in several blog posts that were published by Food Tank and Civil Eats from 2013 to 2014, and ultimately the discussion paper published in October 2017 by Brighter Green, “Chronic Disease, Changing Diets, & Sustainability: The Globalization of Western-style Eating and Its Implications”. Read Image Explainer What is land use and land use change? Human use and alteration of land has profound effects on the environment, both locally where it takes place, and at the planetary scale via climate change and other mechanisms. This building block explains what is meant by land use and land use change, both direct and indirect. Last update: 06 February, 2018 https://www.doi.org/10.56661/4af265b4 Read VIEW MORE
Image Essay Plating up progress? A collaborative project to define usable metrics for assessing food industry progress in delivering sustainable and healthy diets. This blog post is written by Wil Nicholson. Read
Image Essay A role for livestock in a sustainable food system This post is written by Hannah van Zanten, assistant professor at Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands. Her post is based on the paper ‘Defining a land boundary for sustainable animal consumption,’ which was published in Global Change Biology in May 2018. Read
Image Explainer What is sustainable intensification? New approaches to agriculture are required if we are to reduce the environmental impacts of farming while also feeding more people with a sufficient quantity and diversity of nutritious and safe foods. This building block explains the concept of sustainable intensification. Last update: 18 June, 2018 https://www.doi.org/10.56661/075f639f Read
Image Explainer What is malnutrition? People need to be able to obtain and utilise a healthy amount and balance of nutrients. Without this, they can suffer severe impacts to their health and well-being. This building block explains malnutrition and its causes, prevalence and consequences. Last update: 18 June, 2018 https://www.doi.org/10.56661/6a0223ed Read
Image Explainer Food systems and contributions to other environmental problems Food systems interact with, and affect, the environment in a great many ways beyond their greenhouse gas emissions. In order to feed humans, the global food system occupies over a third of the earth’s land surface; extracts large amounts of fish and animals from natural habitats; makes huge claims on natural resources; and dispurses various pollutants into the environment. An appreciation of this wide range of environmental impacts is needed to understand why food systems are central to solving many of our biggest environmental problems, and ultimately to maintaining human well-being. Also useful, is to understand that the causes and solutions to these problems are often interconnected through food systems, resulting in trade-off situations where a course of action can at the same time, make one issue better and another worse. Read
Image Essay Are modern plant-based diets and foods actually sustainable? In this piece, Helen Breewood introduces the environmental impact nuances behind trending vegan and flexitarian consumption patterns. Helen wrote this post in her personal capacity. Note that the FCRN has no financial affiliation with any of the brands mentioned in this blog.Helen Breewood is a research assistant at the FCRN. She is also a freelance writer and blogs about solving global sustainability issues at The Progress Motive. You can find her on Twitter. Read
Image Explainer What is food security? Being able to reliably obtain, consume and metabolise sufficient quantities of safe and nutritious and foods, is essential to human well-being. This building block explains the meaning of the food security concept. Last update: 12 March, 2018 https://www.doi.org/10.56661/e49a6c96 Read
Image Essay Changing diets threaten public health & the environment In this piece, Judy Bankman introduces key elements of disease, diet, and sustainability relevant to the expansion of Western-style consumption patterns.Judy Bankman joined Brighter Green as a research intern in 2013 when she was completing her Master of Public Health at NYU’s College of Global Public Health. Working with Brighter Green allowed her to direct her academic interest into a research and policy-focused project, which linked current public health issues with food systems analysis. Her research culminated in several blog posts that were published by Food Tank and Civil Eats from 2013 to 2014, and ultimately the discussion paper published in October 2017 by Brighter Green, “Chronic Disease, Changing Diets, & Sustainability: The Globalization of Western-style Eating and Its Implications”. Read
Image Explainer What is land use and land use change? Human use and alteration of land has profound effects on the environment, both locally where it takes place, and at the planetary scale via climate change and other mechanisms. This building block explains what is meant by land use and land use change, both direct and indirect. Last update: 06 February, 2018 https://www.doi.org/10.56661/4af265b4 Read
