This open access article from Chalmers University, Sweden, argues that unless we reduce our consumption of meat and dairy, world temperatures will continue to rise and we will be unable to meet the goal of keeping global temperatures from rising more than 2˚C.

This very interesting paper essentially argues that policies designed to incentivise production efficiencies achieve greater GHG reductions than those focusing on consumption. Moreover they do so at lower calorie ‘cost’ than consumption side measures. The abstract is given below, but we’ve produced some further explanation of the paper’s approach and findings, together with some comments in Our summary and commentary (which you can also download as a PDF below) draws upon some very helpful insights from Professor Pete Smith at the University of Aberdeen and includes some useful commentary from Dr Marco Springmann at the University of Oxford – thanks to both.

A senatorial report in France is now pushing for the implementation of a fast food or ‘behavioural’ tax. The tax would target products linked to heart disease, focusing in particular on soft drinks. The report 'Taxation and public health: evaluation of behavioural taxation' argues that a behavioural tax would help combat the surge in diet related diseases and associated costs.

In the wake of the IPCC’s Working Group II report, Oxfam has published a briefing that focuses on the implications of climate change for food security and hunger. 

The long awaited Working Group II report on impacts, adaptation and vulnerability for the IPCC Fifth Assessment Round  was released on March 31st 2014. This report details the impacts of climate change to date, the future risks from a changing climate, and the opportunities for effective action to reduce risks.

GreenFacts has produced a summary of the “Physical science basis” of climate change, which is the first part of the new report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

This event, hosted by Zoetis, the largest animal health provider in the world and entitled ‘Mega trends in livestock production: The state of animal agriculture 2025–2050′ focused on livestock production in a global perspective.

We include this initiative because it addresses the challenges of of ‘closing the food loop’. This innovative solar-thermal toilet was developed by a team led by CU-Boulder Professor Karl Linden to improve sanitation and hygiene in developing countries.

This working paper from the International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG), discusses Brazil's agroecological policies, and discuss them in relation to what the authors call the ‘Brazilian agricultural dilemma’ or the contradictions and conflicts of disproportionately supporting large-scale agribusiness for export over small-scale family farm production for domestic consumption.