These are two articles on a new study by researchers at the London School of Economics which showed that people who ordinarily eat meat or fish were 56 percent less likely to order dishes in a separate ‘vegetarian section’ on a menu than those same dishes when mixed with meat and fish dishes.

This book, edited by Raimund Bleischwitz, Holger Hoff, Catalina Spataru, Ester van der Voet and Stacy D. VanDeveer, explores the concept of the ‘resource nexus’.

The latest EU agricultural outlook report has been released. It presents the medium-term outlook for the major EU agricultural commodity markets and agricultural income to 2030, based on a set of macroeconomic assumptions deemed most plausible at the time of the analysis.

The report ‘Redefining protein: adjusting diets to protect public health and conserve resources’ looks at different protein sources and their environmental, health and social impact. The authors note that ‘transitioning to diets with more plant-based ingredients is an essential action to promote health, food security, and long-term environmental sustainability. However, the impact on health and sustainability outcomes can vary depending on the types of foods with which meats are replaced.’  This report summarises and analyses the available academic literature on the impacts of whole food protein options alternative to meat, with an emphasis on legumes, nuts and seeds, eggs, seafood, and dairy.

This article examines global overuse of freshwater resources and how more sustainable irrigation practices could impact other environmental and developmental targets in the SDGs. It finds that the main likely effects are 1) increased food prices due to lower productivity and/or production costs as water prices increase, and 2) cropland expansion and associated extra GHG emissions of 0.87 gigatonnes of carbon.

This paper by researchers in Peru and Spain recognises the as yet uninvestigated potential for developing countries, such as Peru, to mitigate their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by changing dietary patterns, given that food represents a high proportion of household expenditure. The study employed Life Cycle Assessment to analyse the impacts of 47 Peruvian diet profiles.

In November 2017, in response to the FCRN’s report Grazed and Confused, the Eating Better Alliance brought together a range of researchers and civil society to discuss pasture farming and in particular its contribution to climate change. The meeting began with a presentation by Tara Garnett. It was organised because Eating Better was keen to have a discussion about the implications of this research for civil society messaging toward ‘less and better’ meat and dairy, and farming in pasture-based livestock systems.

This book by Helmut Traitler, Michel Dubois, Keith Heikes, Vincent Petiard, David Zilberman provides an overview of current food systems and potential future directions for agriculture and food.

This book, edited by Bruce Frayne, Jonathan Crush and Cameron McCordic, argues that programmes aimed at reducing food poverty in Africa overemphasise small-scale farmers and ignore urban food security.