Feedback, a UK and Netherlands based organisation campaigning for sustainable and ethical food, has published a report linking the Norwegian salmon farming industry to poor nutrition and livelihood outcomes in West Africa. Norway has become the world’s largest salmon farming country with a handful of companies dominating the market, including MOWI which had nearly €5 billion in turnover in 2022. 

This article investigates the current state of nutrition and sustainability of plant-based and animal-sourced products, mainly beef. It reflects upon the different metrics used in research and how they impact research results, narratives and policies. From the literature they reviewed, the authors found there to be a consensus that plant-based beef generates fewer greenhouse gas emissions than conventionally reared beef. They found it is more difficult to make nutritional comparisons due to the variability in plant-based beef products. Comparisons mainly focus on nutritional content, water use, land use and greenhouse gas emissions, but exclude social and economic sustainability. The authors highlight the impact of funding sources on the type of metrics chosen and call for more independent analysis focusing on a wider range of metrics.

This article explores the role of trade as a potential driver of inequitable aquatic food distribution through its analysis of global aquatic food consumption patterns, trade characteristics, and impacts from 1976 to 2019. The authors find an increase in per capita consumption of aquatic foods over this time period at the global scale, a reduction in the average consumption rate of foods higher in the aquatic food chain, and improved distribution of high value aquatic foods through structural trade patterns. The authors hope to contribute to future research on the globalisation of aquatic food systems, aquaculture and the impacts of trade on food security.

A new study has combined rice grains and animal nutrients using cow cells to produce a hybrid food or “rice-based meat”. The authors contribute to a growing area of future food research exploring scaffolding technology for cell-cultured meat products and suggest rice as an alternative scaffold to more common soy or nut-based scaffolds. 

This review article focuses on the practical implications for livestock farmers and their pastures of a shift towards a plant-based diet in the UK. The authors argue that the majority of pastures are unsuitable for conversion to arable land because of their soil type, making them unreliable sites for plant-based protein production.

Several media outlets have reported on the substantial environmental impacts caused by the on-going conflict in Gaza including water and soil contamination, the health issues associated with sewage management problems and the greenhouse gas emissions associated with Israel’s military action in Gaza. These environmental impacts have implications for the short-term food production potential in the region and for the long term food security of Palestinians in Gaza.

The Associated Press has recently reported on links between US prison force labour and major food brands such as Coca-Cola and Frosted Flakes, which are on the shelves of retailers such as Aldi, Target, and Whole Foods. The AP cites that Cargill, Bunge, Louis Dreyfus, Archer Daniels Midland and Consolidated Grain have all purchased millions of dollars worth of soy, corn, and wheat harvested by prisoners. This also directly competes with sales for local farmers.

8.9ha has reported that Defra has recently provided an update on the post-Brexit agricultural transition plan, including 50 new actions in the Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme and an update on how farm tenants are considered in ELM. 

This book, written by Ludivine Petetin and Mary Dobbs, dives into free trade agreements for standards across the UK’s four nations and levies a critique of the policy efforts post-Brexit as the nations transition away from the Common Agricultural Policy. It is relevant to agri-food stakeholders and policymakers in various sectors both within the UK and abroad.