This blog post by Saloni Shah and Dan Blaustein-Rejto of US-based think-tank The Breakthrough Institute argues that decreases in the price of plant-based meat alternatives by 10% will likely only have a small impact on cattle production (a 0.15% decrease in the US) and emissions from global cattle production (equivalent to a decrease of 1.4% in US beef production). They conclude that while continuing to improve plant-based meat alternatives is important in order for them to gain a larger market share, it is also important to work on methods and technologies to reduce the environmental impacts of livestock production.

Our World in Data, part of the Oxford Martin School, has launched a new data visualisation on the topic of food. The interactive graphic presents data from FAOSTAT in the form of charts, tables and maps showing changes over time for many different metrics (including production, yield, land use, trade patterns, and use of crops for food and for feed), individual food types, and countries.

This book explains the ecological and environmental impacts of today’s agricultural systems as well as their contribution to social inequality. It looks at how agrifood systems can use the principles of environmental sustainability.

This discussion paper from the UK-based Food Research Collaboration presents an alternative interpretation of supermarkets’ business models. Instead of offering low prices purely through economies of scale, the report suggests, supermarkets are running a finely balanced model with very low profit margins and large sale volumes. To keep prices low, supermarkets both persuade customers to buy additional items (which may ultimately go to waste) and charge fees to suppliers in return for marketing and selling their products. Without these supplier fees, supermarkets in the UK would be running at or near a loss.

This synthesis report from the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization looks at the land, soil and water resources used by the world’s food systems. It uses the “driver–pressure–state–impact–response” framework to analyse the links between agricultural production, society and the environment.

The fourth edition of the Coller FAIRR Protein Producer Index assesses 60 of the world’s largest protein producers, covering beef, pork, poultry and eggs, dairy and aquaculture, against several environmental, social and governance factors, including climate, biodiversity, water use, antibiotics, working conditions and alternatives to animal protein.

This report from the Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy looks at the emissions of the 20 largest meat and dairy companies based in Europe. These 20 companies combined are responsible for emissions equivalent to 131% of total emissions produced by the Netherlands, according to the report’s estimates. Only four of the companies report their total supply chain emissions, and only three plan to reduce their total supply chain emissions, although 10 have announced climate targets. 

This report from the Alliance to Save our Antibiotics argues that while UK supermarkets are making progress in their responsible antibiotic use policies, they should expand them to cover all animal products that they sell. While all the leading supermarkets have antibiotic policies in place already, they usually only cover own-brand animal products.

This special issue of the journal Animal addresses scientific and technical approaches for reducing the environmental impacts of intensive and semi-extensive livestock production systems, plus challenges and trends over the next few decades.