This paper estimates the environmental impacts (across four impact categories) of over 57,000 food products (found in the UK and Ireland) composed of multiple ingredients, filling a knowledge gap since previous analyses (such as Poore and Nemecek) compare only single foods. It also examines the relationship between the environmental impacts and nutritional characteristics of the products, concluding that more nutritious products are often (but not always) more sustainable as well. The study is co-authored by several members of Oxford’s Livestock, Environment and People (LEAP) programme.

In this podcast by the Sustainable Food Trust, Prof Tim Spector (of Kings College, London and the nutrition analysis company ZOE) talks about the influence of the microbiome on both human and livestock health.

The Culture & Animals Foundation (CAF) has launched the first two episodes of “Martin’s Act at 200,” an audio documentary that explores the origins and legacy over two centuries of the Cruel Treatment of Cattle Act, which was signed into UK law 200 hundred years ago and is widely considered the first piece of animal welfare legislation from a modern political body. Three series of six episodes each will eventually be released, examining animal advocacy around the world.

This book discusses the influences that drive food insecurity in the UK, including social inequality, transport, employment, rural isolation, local politics, the COVID-19 pandemic and increases in the cost of living.

This book presents 30 years of research from the Allerton Project, a research and demonstration farm in the UK which assesses the effects of different farming methods on wildlife and the environment. It is aimed at farmers, practitioners and policymakers.

Consumers are familiar with alternative proteins and many would eat more of them if barriers around health, taste and price were to be resolved, according to this report by consultancy BCG and investment firm Blue Horizon. The report also tracks investment in the alternative proteins sector (which has risen from $1 billion in 2019 to $5 billion in 2021) as well as regulatory support. The report calculates that substituting 8% of animal-sourced foods with alternative proteins could reduce 1.5% of global emissions in 2030; furthermore, plant-based proteins could generate at least three times more carbon savings per $1 trillion invested than decarbonisation in other sectors such as cement, iron, buildings and so on.

In this position paper, the European Public Health Alliance argues that the European Farm to Fork Strategy should be strengthened to prioritise the health of people, planet and animals - instead of abandoning the strategy in the face of COVID-19 and the Ukraine war, as some have suggested. It calls for impact assessment methodologies to include health risks (such as dietary links to non-communicable diseases); for a “less and better” approach to the consumption of animal foods; and for a comprehensive approach to creating healthy food environments to be adopted, including a food labelling scheme and regulation of the marketing of unhealthy or unsustainable foods.

This report by the Center for International Environmental Law explores a little-known source of plastic pollution: the deliberate addition to soils of pesticides and fertilisers encapsulated in microplastics. This form of agrochemical is often marketed as “controlled release”, with producers arguing that they support sustainable agriculture. The report argues that the intentional use of microplastics in agriculture should be banned on account of the potential for plastics - and the agrochemicals they carry - to accumulate in ecosystems and food supply chains.

This discussion paper from the UK’s Food Research Collaboration examines meetings between food and drink businesses and UK policymakers. It finds that publicly declared meetings of government officials with food and drink lobbyists are often described in extremely broad terms, such as “to discuss business” or “to discuss trade and agriculture”, and that other interactions with lobbyists - such as phone calls or emails - are not disclosed. Ireland and Canada both used more detailed processes to disclose lobbying activities. The report makes recommendations for improving the transparency of lobbying in the UK.