This paper estimates the total greenhouse gas emissions (CO2, CH4 and N2O) of the global food system and breaks them down into those from plant-based and animal-based foods. It finds that, in 2010, 57% of food system GHG emissions was from the production of animal-based foods, including from livestock feed, 29% was from plant-based foods, and 14% was from other sources (biomass used for purposes other than feed or food). 

This paper gives the first global review of how food security has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. It finds that, in general, food availability was not disrupted significantly since food systems were able to adapt to the disruptions caused by the pandemic. However, both physical and financial access to food were negatively affected.

This feature in The Guardian newspaper profiles the work of Oritain, a firm that assesses whether the geographical origins of products such as tea, fish, beef, apples, cotton and wool match the claims made on their labels. This is possible because regions often have unique ratios of elements, which can then be detected in the product. The feature discusses how the technology has been used to detect fraud, as well as its limitations with regards to the environmental or social impacts of production.

US-based alternative protein startup Eat Just is planning to build a large-scale cultured meat plant in Qatar, with the support of the Qatar Free Zones Authority and investment from a state-backed venture capital firm. Eat Just plans to export to neighbouring regions as well as western Europe. If Qatar’s Ministry of Public Health grants approval for Eat Just’s cell-based chicken (produced by its subsidiary Good Meat), the country will become the second to permit the sale of cultured meat, following Singapore (see our summary Cultured meat approved for sale for the first time).

Ian Wright of the UK’s Food & Drink Federation, which represents food manufacturers, has warned that the just-in-time system on which the UK’s supermarkets, convenience stores and restaurants have relied is “no longer working” and may not work again. In his view, the UK could face “permanent shortages” in the sense of not all products being available all the time.

International foundations, NGOs and government aid programmes are risking starvation in Africa by promoting “utopian visions of organic peasant agriculture”, according to this viewpoint piece by James Njoroge published by the Genetic Literacy Project. 

This book describes the extent and causes of “holiday hunger” in the UK, faced by up to three million children when free school meals are not available. It reviews responses to holiday hunger, including holiday clubs where children can eat for free during school holidays. 

This report from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations argues that Indigenous Peoples must be included in debates on the future of the global food system, such as the 2021 United Nations Food Systems Summit, and that Indigenous Peoples’ food systems are in many ways aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. 

This report from the Commission on Sustainable Agriculture Intensification examines patterns of funding for agricultural innovation in the Global South. It finds that most (60-70%) of the approximately US$60 billion in funding per year comes from governments, particularly the Chinese government, with private corporations providing the next biggest portion (20-25%). Less than 7% of the overall funding is clearly targeted towards sustainable agricultural intensification.