This report from the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food) looks at how cities are finding innovative ways to implement food policies. It focuses on five case studies of cities that have developed concerted urban food policies − to either ensure access to decent, nutritious food for all, to support farm livelihoods or to mitigate climate change. 

FCRN member ffinlo Costain has alerted us to this report produced by Farmwel. Farmwel is an NGO working to generate momentum towards sustainable and accountable mainstream agriculture, focussing on the environment, people's livelihoods, and farm animal welfare. This blueprint report was produced with the additional support of the Conservative Environment Network, and the Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation.

This study presents estimates of how changes in climate might affect the value of European farmland. Based on data for over 41 000 farms, the results suggest that their economic value could drop by up to 32%, depending on the climate scenario considered. The models represent severe, moderate and mild outcomes, respectively.  Farms in southern Europe are particularly sensitive to climate change and could suffer value losses of up to 9% per 1 °C rise.

This article examines how big food companies contend with some of the issues involved in efforts to improve the sustainability of their raw material supply chains. It argues that these large companies often operate in long, complex, and traditionally non-transparent supply chains that make it difficult for them to exert real influence over producers. ‘Big food’ is the description given to the world’s largest and most influential companies in the food and beverages markets.

This report provides an overarching framework document on Sustainable Food Systems which outlines the areas of sustainability that are relevant for IFST and where they want to engage. The report is written by IFST (Institute of Food Science and Technology) – an institute representing some of the UK’s food science and technology professionals and working to promote the advancement and application of food science and technology.

The UK NGO Sustain has published a briefing presenting principles and policies that it argues would deliver better food and farming when the UK leaves the European Common Agriculture Policy. 

This policy brief by the NGOs IIED and Hivos describes how diversification of agriculture and food systems in Zambia can contribute to improving Zambian food and nutrition security, while also building more resilient food systems. It outlines policy recommendations on how the food and agriculture sector can better serve the country’s population through the development of sustainable diets for all.

In this article a group of American researchers provide commentary on how sustainable applications of integrated agricultural systems (IAS) can be designed to enhance all ecosystem services, without compromising the land’s resilience. The authors describe IAS as an interactive and synergistic resource transfer between multiple agricultural enterprises over space and/or time. 

In the mailing on 6 December 2011 we quoted the Telegraph, who reports that “the French government has stated that that all students will have to eat meat if they want lunch at school.”