Pub Date : 2025-09-26DOI: 10.1038/s43016-025-01234-8
Erik Mathijs
{"title":"Caution is needed when translating the carbon market logic to nature credits","authors":"Erik Mathijs","doi":"10.1038/s43016-025-01234-8","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43016-025-01234-8","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":94151,"journal":{"name":"Nature food","volume":"6 10","pages":"909-909"},"PeriodicalIF":21.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145153479","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-25DOI: 10.1038/s43016-025-01241-9
Daniel Mason-D’Croz, Cody Kugler, Roseline Remans, Philip Thornton, Joost M. Vervoort, Heather Zornetzer, Hans van Meijl, Mario Herrero
Food system transformation will require the expansion of new ideas and solutions while phasing out old and obsolete ones, potentially leading to unintended and undesirable consequences. This Perspective argues that anticipatory governance approaches can shape technological visions while informing and prioritizing actions to support sustainable transformation. We present a framework to engage systematically with uncertainty and complexity, and to identify potential positive and negative outcomes. We argue for the adoption of mission-oriented innovation systems to better align innovation efforts with environmental, social and health objectives while mitigating negative consequences—and create a culture of more inclusive and responsible innovation. Unintended and undesirable consequences can hinder policymaking. This Perspective explores how anticipatory governance can reduce ignorance, manage errors and avoid imperious immediacy when shaping future technological innovation to support more sustainable food systems transformations.
{"title":"Rigorous anticipatory governance is needed for responsible food system transformation","authors":"Daniel Mason-D’Croz, Cody Kugler, Roseline Remans, Philip Thornton, Joost M. Vervoort, Heather Zornetzer, Hans van Meijl, Mario Herrero","doi":"10.1038/s43016-025-01241-9","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43016-025-01241-9","url":null,"abstract":"Food system transformation will require the expansion of new ideas and solutions while phasing out old and obsolete ones, potentially leading to unintended and undesirable consequences. This Perspective argues that anticipatory governance approaches can shape technological visions while informing and prioritizing actions to support sustainable transformation. We present a framework to engage systematically with uncertainty and complexity, and to identify potential positive and negative outcomes. We argue for the adoption of mission-oriented innovation systems to better align innovation efforts with environmental, social and health objectives while mitigating negative consequences—and create a culture of more inclusive and responsible innovation. Unintended and undesirable consequences can hinder policymaking. This Perspective explores how anticipatory governance can reduce ignorance, manage errors and avoid imperious immediacy when shaping future technological innovation to support more sustainable food systems transformations.","PeriodicalId":94151,"journal":{"name":"Nature food","volume":"6 10","pages":"920-926"},"PeriodicalIF":21.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145140209","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-22DOI: 10.1038/s43016-025-01233-9
Yuan Wen, Yiqi Luo, Huadong Zang, Johannes Lehmann
Agriculture faces pressures from both growing demands for food production under a changing climate and the need to mitigate climate change. Deep soil management is key to achieving a solution.
农业面临着气候变化下粮食生产需求不断增长和减缓气候变化的双重压力。深层土壤管理是解决问题的关键。
{"title":"Deep soil as an input-constrained output-controlled reactor for climate-smart agriculture","authors":"Yuan Wen, Yiqi Luo, Huadong Zang, Johannes Lehmann","doi":"10.1038/s43016-025-01233-9","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43016-025-01233-9","url":null,"abstract":"Agriculture faces pressures from both growing demands for food production under a changing climate and the need to mitigate climate change. Deep soil management is key to achieving a solution.","PeriodicalId":94151,"journal":{"name":"Nature food","volume":"6 10","pages":"913-915"},"PeriodicalIF":21.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145117116","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-19DOI: 10.1038/s43016-025-01227-7
Anna T. Thomas, Jessica E. Hope, Maya B. Mathur
Here we investigate the impacts of media advocating plant-based diets. Search volume for popular films explains the majority of variance in searches for plant-based food, but is not associated with consumption. For three documentaries, we estimated that a standard deviation increase in searches for each film increases searches for plant-based food by up to 43% in the following week. Our findings can inform approaches for raising awareness of sustainable diets. An analysis of popular media finds that, based on internet searches, documentary films can increase short-term interest in plant-based diets.
{"title":"Documentary films can increase public interest in plant-based diets in the USA","authors":"Anna T. Thomas, Jessica E. Hope, Maya B. Mathur","doi":"10.1038/s43016-025-01227-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43016-025-01227-7","url":null,"abstract":"Here we investigate the impacts of media advocating plant-based diets. Search volume for popular films explains the majority of variance in searches for plant-based food, but is not associated with consumption. For three documentaries, we estimated that a standard deviation increase in searches for each film increases searches for plant-based food by up to 43% in the following week. Our findings can inform approaches for raising awareness of sustainable diets. An analysis of popular media finds that, based on internet searches, documentary films can increase short-term interest in plant-based diets.","PeriodicalId":94151,"journal":{"name":"Nature food","volume":"6 9","pages":"837-842"},"PeriodicalIF":21.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145089798","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-19DOI: 10.1038/s43016-025-01228-6
Adam Feltz, Silke Feltz, Uyen Hoang, Jenna Holt
Effective transmission of scientific information to the public can take many forms. An analysis of films promoting plant-based diets suggests that information provided in these formats can increase internet searches of keywords related to this topic.
{"title":"Documentaries spur interest in plant-based diets","authors":"Adam Feltz, Silke Feltz, Uyen Hoang, Jenna Holt","doi":"10.1038/s43016-025-01228-6","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43016-025-01228-6","url":null,"abstract":"Effective transmission of scientific information to the public can take many forms. An analysis of films promoting plant-based diets suggests that information provided in these formats can increase internet searches of keywords related to this topic.","PeriodicalId":94151,"journal":{"name":"Nature food","volume":"6 9","pages":"829-830"},"PeriodicalIF":21.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145089796","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Agricultural systems in low-income food-deficit countries face considerable risks from climate extremes and geopolitical tensions. Here, using remote sensing and meteorological observations, we show that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea exhibits lower agricultural drought resistance than the Republic of Korea under meteorological droughts of similar severity. Energy shortages, exacerbated by trade sanctions, have limited the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s irrigation capacity, further impairing its drought resistance and food security. This study uses remote sensing and meteorological observations to assess the impact of the 2015 drought on rice in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and in the Republic of Korea. The results show how energy shortages, intensified by trade sanctions, reduced irrigation capacity and led to crop yield loss.
{"title":"Energy shortages undermine agricultural drought resistance in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea","authors":"Qiang Zhang, Jinwei Dong, Zhenci Xu, Won-Ho Nam, Jilin Yang, Yongqiang Zhang, Yue Qin, Shenghang Gao, Shengzhi Huang, Hanqin Tian, Qiang Yu, Quansheng Ge","doi":"10.1038/s43016-025-01226-8","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43016-025-01226-8","url":null,"abstract":"Agricultural systems in low-income food-deficit countries face considerable risks from climate extremes and geopolitical tensions. Here, using remote sensing and meteorological observations, we show that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea exhibits lower agricultural drought resistance than the Republic of Korea under meteorological droughts of similar severity. Energy shortages, exacerbated by trade sanctions, have limited the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s irrigation capacity, further impairing its drought resistance and food security. This study uses remote sensing and meteorological observations to assess the impact of the 2015 drought on rice in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and in the Republic of Korea. The results show how energy shortages, intensified by trade sanctions, reduced irrigation capacity and led to crop yield loss.","PeriodicalId":94151,"journal":{"name":"Nature food","volume":"6 10","pages":"936-941"},"PeriodicalIF":21.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145059567","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-15DOI: 10.1038/s43016-025-01229-5
Travis R. Moore, Danielle M. Krobath, Yuilyn A. Chang Chusan, Udita Sanga, Patrick Webb, Mark Pachucki, Adolfo Cuevas, Hugh B. Roland, Brett Grant, Christina D. Economos, Vanessa Nicholson, Shiriki Kumanyika
Discriminatory practices are well documented and deeply rooted in food systems. Systems science methods such as social network analysis, system dynamics modelling and agent-based modelling can help to determine how discriminatory processes arise, interact and accumulate to contribute to diet-related health disparities. Such methodological approaches can reveal leverage points for advancing equity-driven solutions.
{"title":"Systems science methods reveal and address links between discrimination and health disparities in US food systems","authors":"Travis R. Moore, Danielle M. Krobath, Yuilyn A. Chang Chusan, Udita Sanga, Patrick Webb, Mark Pachucki, Adolfo Cuevas, Hugh B. Roland, Brett Grant, Christina D. Economos, Vanessa Nicholson, Shiriki Kumanyika","doi":"10.1038/s43016-025-01229-5","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43016-025-01229-5","url":null,"abstract":"Discriminatory practices are well documented and deeply rooted in food systems. Systems science methods such as social network analysis, system dynamics modelling and agent-based modelling can help to determine how discriminatory processes arise, interact and accumulate to contribute to diet-related health disparities. Such methodological approaches can reveal leverage points for advancing equity-driven solutions.","PeriodicalId":94151,"journal":{"name":"Nature food","volume":"6 9","pages":"821-826"},"PeriodicalIF":21.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145059565","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-10DOI: 10.1038/s43016-025-01225-9
Jing Yi, Shiyun Jiang, Dianna Tran, Miguel I. Gόmez, Patrick Canning, Jeffrey R. Bloem, Christopher B. Barrett
The traditional structural transformation narrative emphasizes intersectoral labour reallocation out of agriculture, ignoring whether workers exit agrifood value chains or merely migrate within them. Here we decompose multiregional input–output table data into industry- and country-specific annual labour value-added estimates by final consumer market segment, matching them with industry-specific employment data to estimate average worker compensation. Using data covering most of the global economy over 1993–2021, we report ten stylized facts about labour reallocation amid structural transformation. As incomes grow, labour exits primary production while downstream agrifood value chain segments maintain a steady economy-wide employment share—offering jobs that pay better than farm work. Women disproportionately move from primary production to downstream, consumer-facing retail and food service, whereas men migrate to better-paying midstream jobs, increasing gender pay inequality within the value chain. Employment shifts are strongly associated with changes in national per capita income, but not with agricultural total factor productivity growth. The traditional structural transformation narrative emphasizes intersectoral labour reallocation out of agriculture. This study presents ten stylized facts about how employment and compensation evolve within agrifood value chains amid structural transformation, offering insights into post-farmgate dynamics and gender pay inequality.
{"title":"Agrifood value chain employment and compensation shift with structural transformation","authors":"Jing Yi, Shiyun Jiang, Dianna Tran, Miguel I. Gόmez, Patrick Canning, Jeffrey R. Bloem, Christopher B. Barrett","doi":"10.1038/s43016-025-01225-9","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43016-025-01225-9","url":null,"abstract":"The traditional structural transformation narrative emphasizes intersectoral labour reallocation out of agriculture, ignoring whether workers exit agrifood value chains or merely migrate within them. Here we decompose multiregional input–output table data into industry- and country-specific annual labour value-added estimates by final consumer market segment, matching them with industry-specific employment data to estimate average worker compensation. Using data covering most of the global economy over 1993–2021, we report ten stylized facts about labour reallocation amid structural transformation. As incomes grow, labour exits primary production while downstream agrifood value chain segments maintain a steady economy-wide employment share—offering jobs that pay better than farm work. Women disproportionately move from primary production to downstream, consumer-facing retail and food service, whereas men migrate to better-paying midstream jobs, increasing gender pay inequality within the value chain. Employment shifts are strongly associated with changes in national per capita income, but not with agricultural total factor productivity growth. The traditional structural transformation narrative emphasizes intersectoral labour reallocation out of agriculture. This study presents ten stylized facts about how employment and compensation evolve within agrifood value chains amid structural transformation, offering insights into post-farmgate dynamics and gender pay inequality.","PeriodicalId":94151,"journal":{"name":"Nature food","volume":"6 9","pages":"868-880"},"PeriodicalIF":21.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145025584","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-10DOI: 10.1038/s43016-025-01235-7
Upcycling of food waste and food processing by-products into animal feed presents a circular strategy to recycle nutrients for livestock production that would otherwise be lost. Scenario analyses based on an integrated environmental–economic modelling approach demonstrate that this upcycling has asymmetric effects on food security and environmental sustainability.
{"title":"Upcycling of food waste and food processing by-products into animal feed is not a panacea","authors":"","doi":"10.1038/s43016-025-01235-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43016-025-01235-7","url":null,"abstract":"Upcycling of food waste and food processing by-products into animal feed presents a circular strategy to recycle nutrients for livestock production that would otherwise be lost. Scenario analyses based on an integrated environmental–economic modelling approach demonstrate that this upcycling has asymmetric effects on food security and environmental sustainability.","PeriodicalId":94151,"journal":{"name":"Nature food","volume":"6 9","pages":"835-836"},"PeriodicalIF":21.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145025582","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}