Crop, food, and feed composition studies are considered an essential part of the safety assessment of new crop varieties, including those developed through biotechnology. Information obtained from such studies is used to assess similarities and differences in important nutrients and anti-nutrients. This database created by International Life Sciences Institute, was generated from crop composition data obtained from studies conducted over a number of years at multiple worldwide locations.

In the 'Carnivore's Dilemma', part of National Geographic’s special series on The Future of Food, Robert Kunzick (National Geographic’s senior environmental editor) contributes to the current meat debate by discussing his visit to 'Cactus Feeders', the company that operates 9 feed yards in Kansas, USA. He explores the role of pharmaceuticals and hormones for the health and productivity of the animals and also discusses environmental issues including water supply, beef’s carbon footprint and feedlots.  For the complete article with infographics and photographs, see here.

No-till farming is a core principle of conservation agriculture where the soil is left relatively undisturbed from harvest to planting. This paper argues that no-till farming appears to hold promise for boosting crop yields only in dry regions, not in cool, moist areas of the world such as Northern Europe.

Nitrogen is a necessary element for crop and livestock growth, and protein intake is essential for a balanced human diet. This study examines efforts to improve nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in agriculture, and reduce unintended losses of nitrogen (N) to the environment. The paper particularly looks at how it is possible to offset reactive nitrogen (Nr) and achieve so called nitrogen-neutrality.

Though politicians and scientists have disagreed about whether atmospheric warming can be delayed by reducing short-lived climate forcing (SLCF) agents, an international research team has confirmed that a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions is the only long-term solution. Previously, politicians and industry had been pushing for measures to reduce SLCF emissions as a way to buy time before needing to address CO2 emissions directly.

To examine what the concept of the green economy means in practice for European countries, and to evaluate their progress in achieving such a transition, in 2012 the European Environment Agency (EEA) initiated a new series of environmental indicator reports. The first two reports in the series focused on green economy and the European environment, addressing resource efficiency and resilience and the links between European resource demand, environmental degradation and changes in human wellbeing.

The report Let's Talk About Meat: changing dietary behaviour for the 21st century is launched alongside a new YouGov survey, commissioned by the Eating Better alliance and Friends of the Earth, which looked into the awareness and attitudes on meat among the among the public in Britain. The survey found that around one in three people (35%) in Britain say they are willing to consider eating less meat, with one in five (20%) saying they have already cut back on the amount of meat they eat over the last year. Only 5% say they are eating more.

The booklet The susDISH analysis method – Sustainability in the catering industry, taking account of both nutritional and environmental aspects in recipe planning is published by the Institute of Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences of the Halle-Wittenberg University.