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The transition towards plant-based diets requires supportive market and policy instruments. This study investigates how and the extent to which public funds support animal agriculture by tracking subsidy flows related to the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy across global food supply chains.
Temperature increases of 1 °C and 3 °C arising from climate change will likely increase risks for tropical sheep production with negative impacts on ewe fertility, milk production and lamb survival rates.
The UK Government aims to reduce premature deaths from non-communicable diseases by one-third by 2030 (SDG 3). Using life table methodology and data from the UK Biobank, this study indicates that sustained dietary changes—from median or unhealthy to a longevity-associated dietary pattern or to the Eatwell Guide recommendations—could lead to substantial life expectancy gains.
Global wheat trade data for 2022 show substantial disparities in how different countries altered their trade network and diversified import sources in response to Ukrainian wheat shortages.
Genome assemblies, genetic variations, and metabolome and metal ion profiles were generated for diverse pigmented Asian rice varieties. An early maturing, shorter-stature black rice variety was created using CRISPR–Cas9-mediated genome editing, providing insights for improving Asian pigmented rice.
Consumption patterns indicate that millets, rice, cassava and tubers are more important than imported wheat for the poorest Nigerians. Policy must reflect this by supporting coarse grain and rice production rather than any trade policy path for dislodging wheat imports.
The impact of different strategies aimed at reducing meat consumption is context dependent. A randomized control trial using data from 100,000 meals reveals the cost effectiveness of exposing students to a 50 min talk on the consequences of meat consumption for health and climate.
Ad libitum energy intake was studied in relation to meal non-beverage energy density, protein content, eating rate and proportion of calories derived from hyper-palatable foods. Data were collected from 35 inpatient participants of two feeding studies lasting 28 continuous days including minimally and ultraprocessed food consumption.
Higher number of markets, nutrient content, and overall supply coupled with lower retail prices and volumes make usipa more accessible than chambo to Malawians across all regions, particularly for rural consumers.
A spatiotemporal quantification of Fusarium head blight (FHB) mycotoxins in European food and feed wheat highlights the omnipresence of deoxynivalenol and increasing detection of other FHB mycotoxins. These potential health and economic costs emphasize the need to monitor FHB mycotoxin outbreaks and to understand what is driving this change, so that we can develop appropriate mitigation strategies.
The Russia–Ukraine war has disrupted global food supply chains and driven food prices up in many parts of the world. This study applies a spatially explicit modelling approach to estimate the resilience and environmental co-benefits of a transition towards the EAT-Lancet’s planetary health diets across Europe.
Global agricultural markets can partially compensate for halted crop exports from Ukraine and Russia by increasing wheat and maize production in other areas, but carbon emissions and global food insecurity will also increase.
Price fluctuations associated with the COVID-19 pandemic have been key determinants of food security in the recent past. A comparison of monthly retail prices in 181 countries from January 2019 to June 2021 reveals which regions and food items have been most affected.
Steep-slope agricultural areas are more vulnerable to future climate impacts than average global agricultural lands. Based on a new high-resolution steep-slope agricultural landscape map, this study estimates the distribution of global steep-slope agricultural landscapes in the present-day (1980–2016) and future (2071–2100) scenarios across the five major climate classes.
Analysis of nutrient density and micronutrient content across plant-based milk alternatives shows inconsistencies pertinent to the definition of these products as a single food group.
A wetting method for cassava flour can further reduce cyanide exposure and its disease burden among children. The cost-effectiveness of the method in reducing cognitive disability is assessed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
An economic model estimates increases in the number of people unable to afford even half the cost of healthy diets in low- and middle-income countries due to the COVID-19 crisis.
Different methods are currently used to quantify nitrogen use efficiency. The comparison of three such methods based on real-world experiments shows the impact of indicator choice on results, while highlighting the importance of long-term observations.
COVID-19 and locust swarms have threatened international agricultural supply chains. Here, the possible impacts on wheat, rice and maize trade are modelled, showing that trade restrictions could create food price spikes and localized food shortages.
Large-scale land transactions can promote agricultural intensification but may be accompanied by negative socioeconomic and environmental consequences. Estimated carbon emissions from converting transacted lands to large-scale farms can reach up to 2.26 Gt, with the majority emitting from Africa, Southeast Asia, Latin America and Oceania; mitigation strategies are discussed.