A Perspectives piece in Science discusses some recent studies focusing on the increasing abundance of available nitrogen on Earth.

This study of large land acquisitions in developing countries published by the International Land Coalition (ILC) finds more evidence of harm than benefits.  More than 40 organisations collaborated on the Global Commercial Pressures on Land Research Project, which synthesised 27 case studies, thematic studies and regional overviews. The report also includes the latest data from the ongoing Land Matrix project to monitor large-scale land transactions, and covers a full decade of land deals from 2000-2010. Those deals amount to more than 200 million hectares of land – or eight times the size of the United Kingdom.

This is an interesting article about a farmer’s attempt to improve the sustainability of the farm by basing production on a dual purpose dairy/beef breed, based on grass-feeding, high welfare and zero waste.

An article in Foodnavigator suggests that smart barcodes will replace eco labels, as they have the potential to provide shoppers with a far greater amount of information than a pack label can.

The Soil Association and the World Society for the Protection of Animals have published a report on anaerobic digestion (biogas) arguing the environmental  benefits of  large-scale AD units are questionable and may even be damaging.

Edited by Eva Wollenberg, Maja-Liisa Tapio-Bistrom, Maryanne Grieg-Gran and Alison Nihart, this book reviews the state of agricultural climate change mitigation globally, with a focus on identifying the feasibility, opportunities and challenges for achieving mitigation among smallholder farmers. 

This 120-page report by the RUAF Foundation aims to provide suggestions for private sector actors in city regions’ food systems based on an extensive study of three cities. It presents knowledge on policy support mechanisms and identifies key lessons learned in the three case studies, which were conducted in Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Quito, Ecuador; and Bristol, UK.

This new 712 page book in 28 chapters is edited by Rajeev Bhat. It addresses a very wide range of topics on agriculture, food and sustainability.

This book considers the main links between global conservation of the environment and food production.