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.

This report from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations sets out the latest statistics on food security around the world, analyses how government policies are affecting food and agriculture, and sets out options for repurposing government support to improve the affordability of healthy diets. It finds that hunger has continued to worsen, with around 150 million more people affected by hunger in 2021 compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic began.

This randomised controlled trial of 47 patients experiencing depression found that taking a multi-strain probiotic supplement for a month experienced reduced depressive symptoms compared to patients taking a placebo. All participants continued to receive their usual treatment as well. The authors say the study shows the importance of the connections between the microbiome, gut and brain.

This study examines domestic and imported supplies of five micronutrients (vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, calcium and zinc) to the United Kingdom over the period 1961 to 2017, with the aim of assessing how future post-Brexit trade arrangements and also shifts towards plant-based diets might affect the security of the supply of these micronutrients.

This paper identifies research priorities relating to threats to global food security caused by extreme events such as heat waves, floods, war or financial crises. Focusing on the next two decades, the authors asked experts for emerging threats to food security as well as research questions, which were then ranked according to their potential impact and effort required to answer them.

This article in digital magazine Undark explores the development of Kernza, a perennial grain intended to produce food while reducing soil erosion and nitrogen loss. Despite research and development efforts, Kernza yields per hectare still remain well below annual wheat yields - a problem if perennial grains are not to lead to the expansion of farmland.