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Phytomicrobiome interactions and sustainable agriculture

This book gives an overview of the phytomicrobiome - that is, the microbes that live in and around plants - and how it affects agricultural productivity. It is aimed at students, policymakers and researchers of plant biology.

Introduction to agroecology

This book, aimed at first year undergraduate students, defines agroecology and the agricultural practices associated with it.

Food insecurity crisis mounting in Africa

News and resources

According to this infographic from the Africa Centre for Strategic Studies (an academic institution within the US Department of Defence), acute food insecurity in Africa has increased by 60% from 2019 to 2020. The causes in various regions are conflict, road closures due to COVID-19, flooding, locusts, and hyperinflation.

The food potential of microbial fermentation

News and resources

In this article for the Institute of Food Technologists, Liz Specht of the Good Food Institute explores the role that microbial fermentation can play in the alternative protein sector. Specht groups microbial fermentation techniques into three classes: traditional fermentation such as cheese and yoghurt; biomass fermentation such as Quorn and tempeh; and precision fermentation for producing specific molecules, e.g. the heme protein used by Impossible Foods.

The emergence of an international food system - the Mediterranean from the Bronze Age to the Roman period

Dr Kelly Reed is an archaeobotanist with interests in food systems, agricultural development and cultural adaptations to environmental change in the past. She is currently the programme manager for the Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Food and the Wellcome Trust-funded Livestock, Environment and People (LEAP) project based at Oxford University. Dr Lisa Lodwick is an archaeologist who researches shifts in agricultural production in Iron Age and Roman Europe and the Mediterranean. She is currently a post-doctoral research fellow at All Souls College, Oxford University.

Transcript - Episode 4

Food systems cause a third of global GHG emissions

Journal articles

In 2015, 34% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions were caused by the food system, according to this paper - a proportion that has fallen over time. Most of these emissions (71%) were from agriculture and land use or land use change, with the rest from other supply chain stages.

Ecological deskilling from uptake of modern seed varieties

Journal articles

This paper, based on research with smallholder maize farms in South Africa, argues that the introduction of modern seed varieties (including hybrid and genetically modified seeds) can contribute to “ecological deskilling” and undermine food sovereignty.

Ask The Author recording: Considering plant-based meat substitutes and cell-based meats

Event recording

Ask The Author recording: Considering plant-based meat substitutes and cell-based meats On 12 March 2021, TABLE hosted an “Ask The Author” session with Raychel Santo, Brent Kim and Jan Dutkiewicz, co-authors of the paper Considering Plant-Based Meat Substitutes and Cell-Based Meats: A Public Health and Food Systems Perspective.