This study estimates that the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) caused 2.2 million new cases of type two diabetes and 1.2 million of cardiovascular diseases across 184 countries in 2020 compared to 1990. It found that Latin America and the Caribbean had the highest SSB burden and Sub-Saharan Africa had the largest proportional increases. 

This paper explores the power and market dynamics of digital platforms in the agricultural sector. It warns that the collaboration between agribusinesses and tech companies that provide digital infrastructure and AI software, has the potential to reinforce the market position of established companies and increase farmers’ dependency on agribusiness. 

This article warns that climate-risk assessment overlooks the roles of meat, dairy and seafood for dietary diversity and micronutrient supply, and predicts that nearly fifty countries are projected to face high climate risk for two or more micronutrients during this period, with ten countries facing high risk across all five.

This report by FAO, GAIN, Columbia and Cornell University tracks the changes since 2000 in key food system indicators. It reveals advancements such as significant increases in access to safe water and the availability of vegetables, and also setbacks in food price volatility, worsening government accountability, and decreased civil society participation.

This report by the USDA outlines the economics of cell-cultured and precision fermentation foods and documents the growth in the sector. Areas of emphasis are market drivers, structural aspects of the industry, the U.S. regulatory environment, government research funding, and market challenges as of 2023.

This article Fertilizers Europe claims that the EU is financing Russia’s war in Ukraine by importing fertilizer and recommends domestic, low carbon domestic capacity in the EU. 

Food Economics provides a unified introduction to the economics of agricultural production, business decisions, consumer behavior, and the government policies that shape the food system.

In​ Land Power, political scientist Michael Albertus argues that modern history has been defined by land reallocation at scale. He claims that who owns the land determines whether a society will be equal or unequal, whether it will develop or decline, and whether it will safeguard or sacrifice its environment.

In early January, the TABLE team were out in force for two of the biggest farming events in the UK: the Oxford Farming Conference and the Oxford Real Farming Conference. Taking place at the same time, these two events represent very different perspectives, reflecting not only the divergence in food and farming debates, but the consensus, too. In this edition of FODDER, I talk to TABLE researchers, Ruth Mattock and Richard Kipling who attended the two conferences.