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 FCRN China Briefing papers In these 9 briefing papers, FCRN has distilled and summarised the main message of the report: Appetite for change: social, economic and environmental transformations in China’s food system. We hope these briefings will be relevant for anyone trying to understand how and why China’s food system is transforming and the societal, economic and environmental implications of those changes, both within China and globally. Read Image Essay Who will win in the battle over sustainability in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, science or special interests? In this piece, Samual Lee-Gammage offers his personal take on the debate around the US Dietary guidelines, and the recommendation of the guidelines committee that sustainability dimensions be incorporated into the forthcoming version. He also offers information about what researchers can do to support the scientific recommendations of the committee.Samuel is the Research Director for the Food Choice Taskforce (FCT), where he is responsible for knowledge management and resource development to communicate the potential of dietary shifts for public and environmental health. Samuel holds an MSc in Environmental Change and Management from the University of Oxford and also holds a BSc in Environmental Geosciences, from the University of Bristol. Read Image Essay Feeding Cities - with Indoor Vertical Farms? In this piece, FCRN member Mike Hamm critically considers the environmental sustainability of vertical- and indoor farming. In particular, he explores and challenges claims that fully indoor production systems can provide a significant source of food for urban areas at low carbon cost. Ultimately, he argues that there are a number of other urban and peri-urban food growing options that offer greater potential, and deserve more policy attention and support.Michael W. Hamm is a C.S. Mott Professor of Sustainable Agriculture at Michigan State University and Director of the MSU Center for Regional Food Systems. Mike is also a Visiting Fellow of Mansfield College and the Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, and an FCRN network member. Read Image Publication Breeding for productivity and breeding for welfare: what is the relationship? In this discussion paper, Tara Garnett and colleagues from SLU Sweden consider the productivity-welfare relationship in more detail. They argue that this is a critical issue to understand if we are to improve our knowledge of what more sustainable systems of livestock production and consumption look like. Read Image Essay U.S. Dietary Guidelines Report – What's the Fuss Over Sustainability? In this piece, Mike Hamm reviews the U.S. Dietary Guidelines Report, focusing on nuances in sustainability.You can contact Mike using FCRN member messaging (just click Send this user a message on his profile) or email him directly at mhamm@msu.edu. You can also comment on this blog, provided you are an FCRN member and logged in. If you have forgotten your log in details, get in touch and we will assist you. Read Image Essay Grazing livestock in a world of climate change: do they have a role? In this blog post, Elin Röös continues the dialogue launched by a Sustainable Trust Fund event on the role of grazing livestock in climate change.Elin is a postdoctoral researcher at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences working for the Future Agriculture initiative at the same university, which is a strategic multidisciplinary research platform that addresses the sustainable use of natural resources with emphasis on agricultural production and food systems. Currently she is visiting the Food Group at the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford, working with future scenarios for protein production and consumption, and engaged in the FCRN network. Read Image Publication Animal efficiencies, animal welfare: either/or, or both/and? Some Reflections from an Informal Meeting Some reflections from a meeting between food systems researchers where a number of assumptions were challenged, diverse ethical and philosophical questions raised, and some areas that need further exploration and research identified. The purpose of this article is to share our reflections with the FCRN community and to seek out your thoughts and ideas about what sort of research and activity is needed next. Read Essay Re open letter from Civil Society on the Global Alliance for Climate Smart Agriculture Read Image Essay Provenance - Is it the missing link to improving standards in aquaculture? Read VIEW MORE
Image Publication FCRN China Briefing papers In these 9 briefing papers, FCRN has distilled and summarised the main message of the report: Appetite for change: social, economic and environmental transformations in China’s food system. We hope these briefings will be relevant for anyone trying to understand how and why China’s food system is transforming and the societal, economic and environmental implications of those changes, both within China and globally. Read
Image Essay Who will win in the battle over sustainability in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, science or special interests? In this piece, Samual Lee-Gammage offers his personal take on the debate around the US Dietary guidelines, and the recommendation of the guidelines committee that sustainability dimensions be incorporated into the forthcoming version. He also offers information about what researchers can do to support the scientific recommendations of the committee.Samuel is the Research Director for the Food Choice Taskforce (FCT), where he is responsible for knowledge management and resource development to communicate the potential of dietary shifts for public and environmental health. Samuel holds an MSc in Environmental Change and Management from the University of Oxford and also holds a BSc in Environmental Geosciences, from the University of Bristol. Read
Image Essay Feeding Cities - with Indoor Vertical Farms? In this piece, FCRN member Mike Hamm critically considers the environmental sustainability of vertical- and indoor farming. In particular, he explores and challenges claims that fully indoor production systems can provide a significant source of food for urban areas at low carbon cost. Ultimately, he argues that there are a number of other urban and peri-urban food growing options that offer greater potential, and deserve more policy attention and support.Michael W. Hamm is a C.S. Mott Professor of Sustainable Agriculture at Michigan State University and Director of the MSU Center for Regional Food Systems. Mike is also a Visiting Fellow of Mansfield College and the Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, and an FCRN network member. Read
Image Publication Breeding for productivity and breeding for welfare: what is the relationship? In this discussion paper, Tara Garnett and colleagues from SLU Sweden consider the productivity-welfare relationship in more detail. They argue that this is a critical issue to understand if we are to improve our knowledge of what more sustainable systems of livestock production and consumption look like. Read
Image Essay U.S. Dietary Guidelines Report – What's the Fuss Over Sustainability? In this piece, Mike Hamm reviews the U.S. Dietary Guidelines Report, focusing on nuances in sustainability.You can contact Mike using FCRN member messaging (just click Send this user a message on his profile) or email him directly at mhamm@msu.edu. You can also comment on this blog, provided you are an FCRN member and logged in. If you have forgotten your log in details, get in touch and we will assist you. Read
Image Essay Grazing livestock in a world of climate change: do they have a role? In this blog post, Elin Röös continues the dialogue launched by a Sustainable Trust Fund event on the role of grazing livestock in climate change.Elin is a postdoctoral researcher at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences working for the Future Agriculture initiative at the same university, which is a strategic multidisciplinary research platform that addresses the sustainable use of natural resources with emphasis on agricultural production and food systems. Currently she is visiting the Food Group at the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford, working with future scenarios for protein production and consumption, and engaged in the FCRN network. Read
Image Publication Animal efficiencies, animal welfare: either/or, or both/and? Some Reflections from an Informal Meeting Some reflections from a meeting between food systems researchers where a number of assumptions were challenged, diverse ethical and philosophical questions raised, and some areas that need further exploration and research identified. The purpose of this article is to share our reflections with the FCRN community and to seek out your thoughts and ideas about what sort of research and activity is needed next. Read
