This book argues that transitioning from today’s industrial food system towards a more sustainable system requires cultural shifts. The author draws inspiration from themes in the Homeric epics to propose a new environmental governance model based on “eco‐states responsible for agroecological management”.

This book examines the relationship between capitalism and the commons. Table readers may be particularly interested in the book’s discussion of agricultural land ownership and squatting, agroecological networks in Colombia, and women’s access to land in Africa.

This book reviews the environmental impacts of livestock production, covering life cycle assessment, livestock’s contributions to greenhouse gas emissions including methane, the impacts of pig and sheep production, and strategies for improving the environmental performance of intensive poultry production.

This report from WorldFish (an international organisation that researches aquatic systems, with a focus on sustainable development in low- and middle-income countries) sets out a research strategy for sustainable and equitable global aquatic food systems for the next decade. Aquatic foods include finfish, shellfish, aquatic plants and algae such as seaweed, aquatic products used as animal feed, and synthetic alternatives to aquatic products (e.g. from cellular agriculture).

UK NGO Eating Better has launched a new framework to guide retailers and restaurants towards sourcing “better” meat, in line with its aim of halving UK meat and dairy consumption by 2050 and transitioning to “better” meat and dairy as standard.

This report from UK think tank Chatham House uses a literature review to identify three key levers that, it argues, are all essential for transforming food systems: encouraging plant-based diets, setting aside land for nature, and shifting to more sustainable farming.

This paper describes a method for irrigating agricultural soils in areas that are prone to drought or do not have access to water supplies. The system is based on a “super moisture absorbent gel” (SMAG), which absorbs moisture from the atmosphere and then releases it to the crops when heated by the sun. 

This paper, co-authored by Table member Simon Lloyd, simulates the likely implications for hunger and health of subsistence farmers either using a “peasant” (agroecological) or an “entrepreneurial” (input-heavy) style of farming, under a range of scenarios for climate and policy. The paper aims to move away from approaches to food security research that focus on the quantity and quality of food available, and towards one that considers the social and political factors that influence access to food and the viability of different farming options. The study models a generic landscape that is not intended to represent a particular location.

This paper discusses the ways in which nature-based solutions (NbS) to climate change and biodiversity loss are framed and understood, and traces the growth of interest in NbS among researchers, governments, NGOs and the private sector. It sets out four guiding principles for policymakers, practitioners and researchers to implement NbS in ways that provide benefits to the environment and society.