The FAO’s latest food and agriculture series report is on the theme of better nutrition. Focusing on malnutrition in all its forms – underweight, micronutrient deficiencies and overweight/obesity – the report argues that approaches to improving nutrition need to move beyond a traditional focus on agricultural alone as a source of food and incomes.  Instead, it is necessary to consider the larger contribution that the entire food system (from inputs and production, through processing, storage, transport and retailing, to consumption) can play in influencing malnutrition outcomes.

The book summary says the following: Farmers' Rights are essential for maintaining crop genetic diversity, which is the basis of all food and agricultural production in the world. The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture recognizes Farmers' Rights and provides for relevant measures. However, implementation is slow, and in many countries there is resistance. This book shows the necessity of realizing Farmers' Rights for poverty alleviation and food security, the practical possibilities of doing so, and the potential gains for development and society at large.

This working paper from the World Resources Institute (WRI) prepared for the forthcoming World Resources Report discusses how the increased demand for food in the future should be met and the various overlapping crises that are impacting the planet's capacity to produce food.  It warns of an imminent global food crises unless changes are made in global industrial agriculture. 

This report by Forum for the Future’s Stephanie Draper focuses on how the challenges within the food system can best be tackled and how to make it more sustainable. The report proposes looking at systems innovation to find solutions and it identifies challenges in the current food system ranging from feeding a growing population while coping with the impacts of climate change, to providing secure and affordable energy to all while reducing C02 emissions.

This report is part of a series of annual progress reports by the Adaptation Sub-Committee to assess how the UK is preparing for the major risks and opportunities from climate change. Together these reports will provide the baseline evidence for the Committee’s statutory report to Parliament on preparedness due in 2015.

This evidence review, commissioned by DEFRA and undertaken by the consultancy Best Foot Forward, critically assesses and summarises data around two key objectives: What are the ‘hotspots’ (i.e. points of greatest environmental impact) along the food consumer journey? What mechanisms are available and most effective for influencing consumer behaviour at those hotspots?

This paper finds that many of stocks in the northeast Atlantic are being fished sustainably today and that, given time, those populations should continue to recover. This is particularly positive news as there has long been widespread criticism that the European Union's Common Fisheries Policy is failing.

This paper models the water footprint requirements of different diets. It concludes that vegetarian diets are less water intensive (both in terms of overall water use and ‘blue’ or irrigated water use) than current average EU diets.

This policy brief from World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) addresses the major challenges of and opportunities for financing climate change mitigation and adaptation pathways for smallholder farmers in developing nations. It underlines the need for an innovative and integrated approach to climate finance that can connect rural farmers to public and private finance at the global level. It also provides recommendations for future actions that can meet adaptation, development and mitigation aims.