This open access article examines the impacts of avocado production, specifically water stresses and socio-economic impacts on local communities in production areas. The paper links the increase in popularity of avocados to the conversion of forest to avocado production in Mexico. The avocado trade also supports thousands of jobs that are paid above the average for the main production regions, while subsistence farming has been displaced to more marginal lands.

This paper reviews the effectiveness of government obesity policies in England for the period 1992 to 2020. It finds that these policies have tended to rely on the behaviour changes of individuals and avoid more interventionist approaches, that governments do not regularly assess the effectiveness of past obesity strategies, and that obesity has not become less prevalent despite 14 different obesity strategies being published over the period of study.

This paper, co-authored by Table member Ken Giller, investigates the soil organic carbon stocks of oil palm plantations in Sumatra, Indonesia under a variety of management practices. Plantations using “best management practices” were found to have the highest soil carbon stocks, at 68 t ha−1. Plantations with smallholder management practices had the lowest soil carbon stocks, at 46 t ha−1, while those with current standard management practices had stocks of 57 t ha−1.

This paper outlines the political, economic and cultural factors that present a challenge to efforts to reduce the consumption of red and processed meat (RPM), particularly in high-income settings. The study focuses mainly on high-income countries such as the US, UK, Australia and Sweden.

This podcast from the US-based Migration Policy Institute interviews Dr Megan Carney, anthropologist and director of the University of Arizona’s Centre for Regional Food Studies, about the links between climate-related food insecurity and people’s decision whether to migrate.

This feature from Oxford’s Our World In Data project investigates the figures behind the often-heard statistic that the world has only 60 harvests left because of soil erosion. It concludes that although this figure is not correct, soil erosion is a problem. Globally, 16% of soils are estimated to have a remaining lifespan of less than 100 years; half are expected to last over 1000 years; and one-third are expected to last over 5000 years. The feature recommends cover cropping, minimal or no tillage, and contour cultivation to extend soil lifespans.

This book, co-authored by Table member Colin Sage, uses case studies to investigate how local food movements, enterprises and networks can contribute to the transition towards a sustainable food system. Chapter 1 is available for free download, and Chapters 3, 7 and 8 will also become available for download shortly.

UK supermarket Tesco and the British Nutrition Foundation have produced this report, which outlines recommendations for a healthy, sustainable diet. It uses the UK government’s Eatwell Guide as the basis for discussion and lists ways in which Tesco will encourage its customers to eat differently, including a “Healthy Choice” logo, reformulating products, committing to a 300% increase in meat alternative sales by 2025, and tackling food waste.

This report by the Cornell Atkinson Centre for Sustainability and Nature Sustainability examines the technological scope for moving to food systems that are healthy, equitable, resilient and sustainable. It finds that successfully scaling up promising technologies depends on specific “biophysical, political, socio-economic, and cultural contexts”, and therefore proposes creating “socio-technical innovation bundles” that are customised to the relevant context.