We explore an animal rights investigation into a higher welfare labelling scheme developed by the RSPCA, the leading UK charity working to end animal cruelty. Their scheme, RSPCA-Assured, covers enterprises that rear 24 million animals in the UK. We’ve examined the evidence compiled in the 50 page report from activists Animal Rising to explore the accusation it makes that the RSPCA scheme is  “covering up cruelty on an industrial scale.”  And we dig into it demands to end the labelling scheme. 

This event was hosted by TABLE on 10 September 2024 and took the format of a panel discussion moderated by Jenny Splitter (Editor-in-chief, Sentient Media) with:Hibba Mazhary (PhD Candidate, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford);Nikki Yoxall (Head of Research, Pasture for Life);Cleo Verkuijl (Scientist, Stockholm Environment Institute);Josh Milburn (Lecturer in Political Philosophy, Loughborough University);Harriet Bartlett (Research Associate, Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, University of Oxford). The event was inspired by TABLE's recent explainer "Animal welfare and ethics in food and agriculture".

This study argues there is a productivity stability trade-off in agricultural systems and the historic drive for productivity and lack of diversity threatens future crop production stability. It concludes that strategies to promote diverse landscapes and crops are critical to food production. 

This study suggests over 5 billion people don’t consume enough iodine, vitamin E and calcium, and over 4 billion don’t consume enough iron, riboflavin, folate and vitamin C. Researchers claim this analysis provides the first global estimates of inadequate micronutrient intakes using dietary intake data, highlighting highly prevalent gaps across nutrients and variability by sex. 

This paper argues that shifting consumption from refined grain foods to fortified whole grain and whole blend foods can improve food security and make diets healthier. They suggest this would also make food systems more efficient and resilient, and help mitigate the food crisis.

This research finds that urban food policies in the Global North do not meaningfully consider immigrants and their experience of food. It argues many urban food policies promote dominant and nationalist understandings of healthy and sustainable food without recognising immigrants’ food-related knowledge and skills. 

A report from the Good Food Institute, a thinktank for Alternative proteins, indicates ​​​​that a shift toward alternative proteins in the US protein supply would enable​ ​a significant amount of land to be repurposed​ ​for agroecological and regenerative farming​​ as well as ​​f​or ​habitat restoration and conservation​​. 

This report by the Perennial Green Manures project shows its experiments with a system of providing nitrogen to crops by use of trees and shrubs grown in 'bioservice areas'. It argues it increases farm resilience by providing shelter and habitats, but also produces nitrogen-rich foliage which is applied to cropland. This could have benefits over fertiliser nitrogen and traditional organic methods in reducing greenhouse gases. 

The WWF present a detailed analysis of the similarities, differences, opportunities and trade-offs across different food system types – outlining the transformation levers. It’s also an interactive tool is designed to help identify the places in which different solutions will deliver the highest impact. You can browse by country or specific solution.