This is an interesting study which tests preferences for sugar, fat, salt and umami (savoury-ness) among children in a range of European countries. It finds that children’s liking for these tastes varies by country, suggesting that culture has a very strong part to play in influencing food preferences. While hardly a major revelation in itself, what I take from this study is that the very common assumptions we see about the ‘inevitability’ of growth in demand for high fat and high sugar foods, or for meat products, are open to challenge.

Audit and tax advisory company KPMG has reported on the findings of its first Green Tax Index.  This was created by KPMG to increase awareness of the complex, fragmented and rapidly evolving green tax landscape worldwide. It aims to encourage companies to explore the opportunities of green tax incentives, and to reduce exposure to green tax penalties. The tool analyses green tax incentives and penalties in 21 major economies, focusing on key policy areas such as energy efficiency, water efficiency, carbon emissions, green innovation and green buildings.

Eating out, in restaurants and canteens is growing in importance in many countries. This raises the need to understand and to put in place measures to address the environmental impacts of this development.

This report looks at the role of consumption based emissions (i.e. taking into account emissions embedded in imported goods) in contributing to the UK’s overall carbon footprint. It covers past trends and sets out future scenarios for UK consumption emissions. It also looks at the lifecycle emissions of low-carbon technologies in order to understand how their deployment would impact the UK’s carbon footprint.

The shift towards a more sustainable diet necessitates less reliance on foods of animal origin. This study presents data from a representative survey of Dutch consumers on their practices related to meat, meat substitution and meat reduction.

A new special issue on food security has been published in the Journal of Rural Studies. It provides a rural social science contribution to the food security debate. The papers focus on food security in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, the USA and Italy.

A report by the UK consumer group Which? calls for a new approach to how food issues are handled to give consumer interests much greater priority, based on: Strong Government leadership and a clear food strategy; Effective consumer engagement on food issues;

According to a recent report by Landscapes for People, Food and Nature Initiative, led by EcoAgriculture Partners, the food and beverage sectors are at the highest risk from “sustainability megaforces” – such as water scarcity and population growth among others—but are least prepared to manage that risk. This report argues that when sourcing areas are threatened by a constellation of risks that cannot be mitigated solely on-farm or via supply chain programs, landscape approaches offer solutions.