This paper in Science discusses the potential of yield increase incentives as a way of convincing farmers to save land to protect biodiversity rather than increasing farmland.   The increase of agricultural land is one of the leading causes of biodiversity loss and greenhouse gas emissions in tropical countries. This paper argues that increasing yields on existing agricultural land can provide farmers with the incentive to spare land for wildlife and nature.

This paper finds that the EU’s climate targets for 2050 for methane and nitrous oxide can be met by a combination of technological improvements in agriculture (found to have a potential to cut emissions by nearly 50% in optimistic scenarios) and through a reduction in beef consumption. The study authors argue that these targets can be met even with a continued high consumption of pork and poultry.

This study, published in The Lancet, concludes that climate change will have a dampening effect on progress being made to reduce the number of people who are hungry and malnourished. It concludes that climate change will reduce the number of avoided deaths by 529,000 – or, put another way – will be responsible for 529,000 additional and avoidable deaths by 2050.

This new paper published in Nature Climate Change, assesses the mitigation potentials achievable through improved livestock management practices and moderating meat consumption. It estimates that livestock-oriented measures could account for up to half of the mitigation potential of the global agricultural, forestry and land-use sectors but emphasises that the gap between technical potential and social and economic feasibility is likely to be large.

In their two-part contribution to the Livestock debate on the website of Arc2020 (the agricultural and rural convention), the IPES representatives Olivier de Schutter, Hans Herren and Emile Frison discuss the environmental footprint of livestock, the need for livestock farming to be reintegrated into landscapes and the flaws in the current factory farming model; and they propose ways to address the challenges posed by industrial livestock systems.

In a time of rising rates of obesity and ongoing malnutrition, this new report argues that the world’s largest food and beverage (F&B) companies are largely failing to be part of the solution.

The report Towards a Food Policy by the Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR), an independent think-tank for the Dutch government, assesses the consequences for the Netherlands of the international developments around the food supply system and food consumption patterns. 

FAO has released a step-by-step approach to situation appraisal and programme design for nutrition-sensitive agriculture. With its emphasis on operational questions and considerations, it is intended to provide programme planners with practical tools.

The Protein Challenge 2040 summary report condenses Forum for the Future’s analysis of the future of protein, and the challenges and opportunities we are facing in shifting the system onto a more sustainable path. It sets out the six key areas for innovation that Forum will embark on to catalyse large-scale change quickly across the system.