The Food Climate Research Network and WWF-UK have published a new report that quantifies the UK’s food carbon footprint - taking into account emissions from land use change - and explores a range of scenarios for achieving a 70% cut in food related greenhouse gas emissions. Previous estimates by the FCRN and others have found that the food chain accounts for around 20% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Revamped agri-environment schemes could play a major role in ensuring we get maximum ecological and economic returns from UK land, according to research findings drawn from across the Relu programme.   Briefing paper no 12, "Informing the Reform and Implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy", identifies key points from RELU research that could help to steer the reform of the CAP, currently underway.  

Griskevicius, V., Tybur, J. M., & Van den Bergh, B. (in press). "Going green to be seen: Status, reputation, and conspicuous conservation." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Why do people purchase proenvironmental “green” products? This paper argues that buying such products can be construed as altruistic, since green products often cost more and are of lower quality than their conventional counterparts, but green goods benefit the environment for everyone.

The Food Standards Agency has published new research looking at people’s attitudes to emerging food technologies, including genetically modified (GM) food, high pressure treatment, gas filled packaging and hypothetical foods that have health benefits. The research found that people’s knowledge of, and attitudes to, food technologies vary considerably. Certain characteristics were found to be in common with people who are more concerned about food technologies, including being older, female, having a low income or generally having a high level of concern about food safety.

CIRAD and INRA have published the report of their Foresight exercise into possible farming and food systems worldwide in 2035. CIRA and INRA were commissioned to "produce scenarios of global and regional evolution in agricultural production, consumption and trade, as well as in scientific and technical knowledge on agriculture, with a view to drawing conclusions on the possible roles for research, public policies and international regulations." There were three phases of work:

UNEP’s International Panel for Sustainable Resource Management has published a new report, "Towards sustainable production and use of resources: Assessing the environmental impacts of consumption and production: Priority Products and Materials". The report looks at the impacts of different economic activities on the environment and its key findings are as follows: Agriculture and food consumption are identified as one of the most important drivers of environmental pressures, especially habitat change, climate change, water use and toxic emissions.