Do you have 10 minutes to help Dr Arianna Psichas with a survey exploring people's views on the purchase and consumption of high-protein foods?

Researchers from Conservation International have found a small island near Timor-Leste with staggering species richness. Atauro Island, home to about 8,000 people sits in the middle of the so-called Coral Triangle, known for its biodiverse marine environments.

As agricultural production of high-yielding cereals has increased over the past half-century, production of more nutrient-rich cereals has declined. Access to food of high nutritional quality is profoundly important, especially for the 2 to 3 billion people who are undernourished, overweight, or obese or deficient in micronutrients.

A new study published in the journal Nature Communications provides additional evidence that a specific group of controversial pesticides, neonicotinoids, affects wild bees negatively. The work was funded by the UK government and related data of wild bee distributions over time to the introduction of the pesticides in British fields. It is the first to link the pesticides to the decline of many bee species in real-world conditions.

The Global BMI Mortality Collaboration presents results in the Lancet from the largest pooled dataset on the relationship between weight and mortality rates. The analysis shows that both overweight and obesity in otherwise healthy participants were associated with increased mortality from all causes.

In this book Michael S. Carolan argues that the goal of any food system should not simply be to provide the cheapest calories possible. Rather, a secure food system is one that affords people and nations – in both the present and future – the capabilities to prosper and lead long, happy, and healthy lives. For a variety of reasons, food security has come to be synonymous with cheap calorie security. 

For those interested in the current EU CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) reforms, you may find this blog useful. It provides news, views and analysis relating to what is going on, bringing together the work of researchers, activists and analysts from across Europe and elsewhere.

In this excellent Guardian article Myles Allen of Oxford University describes and comments on reactions to a paper that he and his colleagues published in the journal Nature Geoscience. Their paper gives a new best estimate for the amount of warming that is expected due to a doubling of GHG concentrations in the atmosphere. It estimates a warming of about 1.3˚C, somewhat lower than previous estimates of 1.8°C.

One of FCRN’s network members, Holly Cecil, has produced a documentary entitled Eating for a Healthy Planet – A conversation with Canadians.  Launched on Earth Day 2013, the documentary addresses the links between diets and the environment. It was produced under the auspices of the Human Dimensions of Climate Change program at the University of Victoria (BC).