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 Explainer What is regenerative agriculture? What is regenerative agriculture? Although this concept is frequently used in discussions about food systems transformation, and is starting to attract the attention of corporates and the mainstream, it lacks a formal definition, and what counts as "regenerative" can vary based on the individual asked, or the context.In this explainer, we explore ways of thinking about regenerative agriculture in relation to its various definitions, the stakeholders using the term, its knowledge practices and knowledge base, and how it fits in with wider goals for food system change.https://www.doi.org/10.56661/2d7b8d1cA shorter written version of this summary is available here. Read Image Explainer Meat, metrics and mindsets: Exploring debates on the role of livestock and alternatives in diets and farming Should we eat meat, eggs, dairy and other animal-sourced foods? If so, how should we produce them and how much should we eat? If not, what should we eat instead? These are just some of the more contentious debates about the future of food systems.This Explainer summarises some of the key debates about livestock and its alternatives and describes both the arguments and the evidence underpinning different points of view. We look both at foodstuffs (meat, fish, plants and new foods based on cells grown in bioreactors) and farming methods (both intensive and extensive) with regards to discussions about their environmental, health and social impacts. In so doing, we explore the assumptions and values that often lead stakeholders to differing conclusions about what a sustainable food system looks like.https://doi.org/10.56661/2caf9b92 Read Image Essay Essay: Is agroforestry a solution to food insecurity in Sudan? In this piece, Hatim Rijal and Marwa Akola reflect on the challenges facing Sudan’s food system. They explain the pressures facing different types of agriculture and forestry in Sudan, and explore the potential of agroforestry, specifically alley cropping systems, to provide food while also meeting environmental and social goals. About the authors: Hatim Rijal (MSc. in Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development) is the fundraising officer of the Deriba Center for Environmental Studies (DCES), a Forest Inspector at Forests National Corporation, South Darfur State, and a Co-founder of Sudan Youth Organization on Climate Change (SYOCC). Marwa Akola (MSc. in Nutrition and dietetics) is a clinical dietitian nutritionist, a lecturer in the School of Health Sciences at Ahfad University for Women (AUW), the head of the Research and Studies Unit in DCES, and was recently assigned as a program coordinator for the Public Health Training and Research Unit (PHTRU) in AUW. Read Image Essay Essay: Feeding the nation, the village, or the world Over the past decades, Colombia’s dominant agricultural vision has been that of becoming a food powerhouse: a nation that could “feed the world”. However, while Colombia’s exports of some tropical produce have increased, this expansion overseas has not led to improvements in the living conditions of the millions of people in rural areas who still experience poverty and food insecurity and malnutrition. Agrarian movements have long sought to put forward alternative visions of the food system under the narratives of i) feeding the nation and ii) feeding the village. These alternative visions are based on a more localised approach to agriculture and food consumption that values aspects such as people’s proximity to food production, protection of local environmental resources, urban-rural links and the importance of promoting rural and urban well-being through healthy diets. This essay explores the tensions between these alternative visions of food provisioning. It is written by Dr Felipe Roa-Clavijo, Assistant Professor at the School of Government of Universidad de Los Andes. Read Image Letterbox Series 4: Vegan or flexitarian - which diet is healthier? In the quest for sustainable healthy diets, it is common to hear recommendations to reduce the amount of animal-sourced foods consumed in high-income countries. But what level of reduction is optimal for human health? For the best nutritional and health outcomes, should we be eating low-meat “flexitarian” diets, or entirely plant-based diets? In this Letterbox exchange, nutrition researcher Flaminia Ortenzi and physician Dr Tushar Mehta share their perspectives on the relative health and nutritional impacts of purely vegan diets compared to those that contain low levels of animal-sourced foods. Flaminia focuses on the nutrient density of different foods, while Tushar discusses data on the health outcomes of different diets. Read Image Essay Urban agriculture in and around Barcelona: why and how? The Metropolitan Area of Barcelona is a microcosm of the current international movement towards increasing urban food self-sufficiency, with the aim of promoting both supply chain resilience and social justice. In this blog post, Haley Parzonko reflects on the challenges and opportunities facing the urban agriculture movement in and around Barcelona. Read Image Essay Essay: Aid, structural reforms or empowerment: Assessing diverse interventions to abate food crises in Southern Africa Food insecurity in Africa is one of the continent’s major challenges, exacerbated by the ongoing climate crisis. In this essay, Dr Rejoice Chipuriro reflects on different types of food aid programmes across several countries in Southern Africa. She contrasts short-term food relief with approaches intended to promote longer-term food system resilience, discussing the importance of incorporating local values and knowledge systems. Read Image Essay Government, stay away from our meatball: How populism stops us from eating less meat About the author: Yolie Michielsen is a PhD candidate at Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands. She has a background in cultural anthropology (BSc), consumption sociology (MSc), and philosophy of culture (MA). Her PhD focuses on resistance in the societal transition towards reduced meat consumption. The first part of the thesis, written with co-promotor Dr. Hilje van der Horst (sociologist and human geographer), studies backlash against meat curtailment policies in online discourse. Read Image Letterbox Series 3: How will UK rewilding affect global biodiversity? Rewilding, with its promise to bring back some wildness to landscapes, is attracting both excitement and controversy in the UK. But could rewilding in the UK simply cause more damage to biodiversity elsewhere? Read VIEW MORE
Image Explainer What is regenerative agriculture? What is regenerative agriculture? Although this concept is frequently used in discussions about food systems transformation, and is starting to attract the attention of corporates and the mainstream, it lacks a formal definition, and what counts as "regenerative" can vary based on the individual asked, or the context.In this explainer, we explore ways of thinking about regenerative agriculture in relation to its various definitions, the stakeholders using the term, its knowledge practices and knowledge base, and how it fits in with wider goals for food system change.https://www.doi.org/10.56661/2d7b8d1cA shorter written version of this summary is available here. Read
Image Explainer Meat, metrics and mindsets: Exploring debates on the role of livestock and alternatives in diets and farming Should we eat meat, eggs, dairy and other animal-sourced foods? If so, how should we produce them and how much should we eat? If not, what should we eat instead? These are just some of the more contentious debates about the future of food systems.This Explainer summarises some of the key debates about livestock and its alternatives and describes both the arguments and the evidence underpinning different points of view. We look both at foodstuffs (meat, fish, plants and new foods based on cells grown in bioreactors) and farming methods (both intensive and extensive) with regards to discussions about their environmental, health and social impacts. In so doing, we explore the assumptions and values that often lead stakeholders to differing conclusions about what a sustainable food system looks like.https://doi.org/10.56661/2caf9b92 Read
Image Essay Essay: Is agroforestry a solution to food insecurity in Sudan? In this piece, Hatim Rijal and Marwa Akola reflect on the challenges facing Sudan’s food system. They explain the pressures facing different types of agriculture and forestry in Sudan, and explore the potential of agroforestry, specifically alley cropping systems, to provide food while also meeting environmental and social goals. About the authors: Hatim Rijal (MSc. in Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development) is the fundraising officer of the Deriba Center for Environmental Studies (DCES), a Forest Inspector at Forests National Corporation, South Darfur State, and a Co-founder of Sudan Youth Organization on Climate Change (SYOCC). Marwa Akola (MSc. in Nutrition and dietetics) is a clinical dietitian nutritionist, a lecturer in the School of Health Sciences at Ahfad University for Women (AUW), the head of the Research and Studies Unit in DCES, and was recently assigned as a program coordinator for the Public Health Training and Research Unit (PHTRU) in AUW. Read
Image Essay Essay: Feeding the nation, the village, or the world Over the past decades, Colombia’s dominant agricultural vision has been that of becoming a food powerhouse: a nation that could “feed the world”. However, while Colombia’s exports of some tropical produce have increased, this expansion overseas has not led to improvements in the living conditions of the millions of people in rural areas who still experience poverty and food insecurity and malnutrition. Agrarian movements have long sought to put forward alternative visions of the food system under the narratives of i) feeding the nation and ii) feeding the village. These alternative visions are based on a more localised approach to agriculture and food consumption that values aspects such as people’s proximity to food production, protection of local environmental resources, urban-rural links and the importance of promoting rural and urban well-being through healthy diets. This essay explores the tensions between these alternative visions of food provisioning. It is written by Dr Felipe Roa-Clavijo, Assistant Professor at the School of Government of Universidad de Los Andes. Read
Image Letterbox Series 4: Vegan or flexitarian - which diet is healthier? In the quest for sustainable healthy diets, it is common to hear recommendations to reduce the amount of animal-sourced foods consumed in high-income countries. But what level of reduction is optimal for human health? For the best nutritional and health outcomes, should we be eating low-meat “flexitarian” diets, or entirely plant-based diets? In this Letterbox exchange, nutrition researcher Flaminia Ortenzi and physician Dr Tushar Mehta share their perspectives on the relative health and nutritional impacts of purely vegan diets compared to those that contain low levels of animal-sourced foods. Flaminia focuses on the nutrient density of different foods, while Tushar discusses data on the health outcomes of different diets. Read
Image Essay Urban agriculture in and around Barcelona: why and how? The Metropolitan Area of Barcelona is a microcosm of the current international movement towards increasing urban food self-sufficiency, with the aim of promoting both supply chain resilience and social justice. In this blog post, Haley Parzonko reflects on the challenges and opportunities facing the urban agriculture movement in and around Barcelona. Read
Image Essay Essay: Aid, structural reforms or empowerment: Assessing diverse interventions to abate food crises in Southern Africa Food insecurity in Africa is one of the continent’s major challenges, exacerbated by the ongoing climate crisis. In this essay, Dr Rejoice Chipuriro reflects on different types of food aid programmes across several countries in Southern Africa. She contrasts short-term food relief with approaches intended to promote longer-term food system resilience, discussing the importance of incorporating local values and knowledge systems. Read
Image Essay Government, stay away from our meatball: How populism stops us from eating less meat About the author: Yolie Michielsen is a PhD candidate at Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands. She has a background in cultural anthropology (BSc), consumption sociology (MSc), and philosophy of culture (MA). Her PhD focuses on resistance in the societal transition towards reduced meat consumption. The first part of the thesis, written with co-promotor Dr. Hilje van der Horst (sociologist and human geographer), studies backlash against meat curtailment policies in online discourse. Read
Image Letterbox Series 3: How will UK rewilding affect global biodiversity? Rewilding, with its promise to bring back some wildness to landscapes, is attracting both excitement and controversy in the UK. But could rewilding in the UK simply cause more damage to biodiversity elsewhere? Read
