This is an interesting presentation, given by Eric Davidson of Woods Hole Research Center, at the recent Planet under Pressure conference in March 2012.  The presentation is a summary of a paper he has forthcoming in Environmental Research Letters. 

This report by the Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change (CCAFS) reviews the scientific evidence to identify a pathway to achieving food security in the context of climate change. It says that food systems must shift to better meet human needs and, in the long term, balance with planetary resources. 

This article in the Vancouver Sun looks at the work being done in Canada to promote local sourcing of foods in schools and hospitals  - interesting to note parallel activities in different countries.  

The International Livestock Research Institute and the World Bank hosted a meeting on livestock in Nairobi on the 12-13 March.  Some of the presentations may be of interest, in particular:

This paper firstly considers the argument that intensification in the Brazililan livestock sector can help reduce land use change pressures (the ‘land sparing’ argument). It then uses an economic model-based analysis to make the point that intensification in the Brazilian livestock sector to increase productivity on a given area of land will only halt deforestation if it is accompanied by policies to alter the fact that extensifive cattle rearing is still marginally profitable.

This discussion paper questions the idea that ‘greener’ economic growth can achieve the reductions in GHG emissions that are necessary – a point that was also powerfully made by Tim Jackson in his 2009  book Prosperity without Growth: Economics for a finite planet.

This article in the Copenhagen Post covers reactions to the Danish government’s proposal to tax sugar  in a manner similar to last year’s introduction of a saturated fat tax.

This study calculates and maps humanity’s green, blue and grey water footprint at a high spatial resolution. 

Aljazeera video series earthrise takes an upbeat look at ecological, scientific, technological and design projects all around the world, from a farm in Australia growing low impact crops using sea water and solar power, to an ingenious project that has dramatically cut rhino poaching on a South African game reserve.