Global food system emissions could preclude achieving the 1.5° and 2°C climate change targets

A review of alternative proteins for vegan diets: Sources, physico-chemical properties, nutritional equivalency, and consumer acceptance

Alternate proteins are gaining popularity as a more sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative to animal-based proteins. These proteins are often considered healthier and are suitable for people following a vegetarian or vegan diet. Alternative proteins can be recovered from natural sources like legumes, grains, nuts, and seeds, while single cell proteins (mycoproteins), and algal proteins are being developed using cutting-edge technology to grow fungus, yeast and algal cells in a controlled environment, creating a more sustainable source of protein. Although, the demand for alternative protein products is increasing, there still happens to be a large gap in use among the general consumers mainly stemming from its lower bioavailability, lack of nutritional equivalency and reduced digestibility compared to animal proteins. The focus of the review is to emphasize on various sources and technologies for recovering alternative proteins for vegan diets. The review discusses physicochemical properties of alternative proteins and emphasise on the role of various processing technologies that can change the digestibility and bioavailability of these proteins. It further accentuates the nutritional equivalency and environmental sustainability of alternative protein against the conventional proteins from animals. The food laws surrounding alternative proteins as well as the commercial potential and consumer acceptance of alternative protein products are also highlighted. Finally, key challenges to improve the consumer acceptability and market value of plant-based proteins would be in achieving nutrient equivalency and enhance bioavailability and digestibility while maintaining the same physicochemical properties, taste, texture, as animal proteins, has also been highlighted.

Planetary Health, Nutrition, and Chronic Kidney Disease: Connecting the Dots for a Sustainable Future

The increasing consumption of ultra-processed food (UPF) and the global chain of food production have a negative impact on human health and planetary health. These foods have been replacing the consumption of nonprocessed healthy foods. This shift has not only worsened human health by increasing the risk of the development of noncommunicable diseases, but also resulted in environmental perturbations. This review aims to bring awareness of the problems caused by the industrialized food production chain, addressing the negative effects it has on the environment and human health, with special reference to chronic kidney disease (CKD). We discuss possible solutions focusing on the benefits of adopting plant-based diets with low UPF content to promote a sustainable and healthy food production and diet for patients with CKD. For a sustainable future we need to "connect the dots" of planetary health, food production, and nutrition in the context of CKD.

Aligning Environmental Sustainability, Health Outcomes, and Affordability in Diet Quality: A Systematic Review

Improving diet quality while simultaneously maintaining planetary health is of critical interest globally. Despite the shared motivation, advancement remains slow, and the research community continues to operate in silos, focusing on certain pairings (diet-climate), or with a discipline-specific lens of a sustainable diet, rather than examining their totality. This review aimed to summarize the literature on adherence to a priori defined dietary patterns in consideration of diet quality, metabolic risk factors for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), environmental impacts, and affordability. A methodology using PRISMA guidelines was followed, and searches were performed in 7 databases as of October 2022. The Appraisal tool for Cross-Sectional Studies (AXIS) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) quality assessment tool for observational cohort studies were employed for quality appraisal. The evidence was narratively synthesized according to the characteristics of the diet quality metrics. The review includes 24 studies published between 2017-2023. Thirteen distinct diet quality scores were identified, with those measuring adherence to national dietary guidelines the most reported. Thirteen distinct environmental impact indicators were identified, with greenhouse gas emissions (n=23) reported most. All studies reported on body mass index, and 7 studies assessed the cost of adherence. Our results are consistent with previous findings that healthier diets can reduce environmental impacts; however, incongruities between population and planetary health can occur. Hence, the "sustainability" of dietary patterns is dependent on the choice of indicators selected. Further, healthy, lower impact diets can increase financial cost, but may also provide a protective role against the risk of obesity. Given the Global Syndemic, strategies to reduce obesity prevalence should emphasize the win-win opportunities for population and planetary health through dietary change. Research should identify diets that address multiple environmental concerns to curtail burdens potentially transferring, and harmonize this with sociocultural and equity dimensions. This review was registered at PROSPERO as CRD42021238055.

Global food nutrients analysis reveals alarming gaps and daunting challenges

Eliminating both overt and hidden hunger is at the core of the global food and nutrition security agenda. Yet, the collective state of nutrition security at the population level is not known. Here we quantify food-based availability of 11 essential nutrients for 156 countries using a food production-consumption-nutrition model, followed by assessment of the nutrient availability status as a ratio of recommended intake. For the baseline year 2017, global per capita availability was adequate for calorie and protein but in severe deficit for vitamin A and calcium (intake ratios, <0.60, where 1.0 is adequate) and moderate deficit for vitamin B12 (intake ratio, 0.76). At the country level, more than half of the 156 countries were in various degrees of deficit for all nine micronutrients. Disparities across regions or countries were enormous. We explore intervention strategies from an agriculture-food system perspective and discuss the daunting challenges of addressing nutrition security broadly.

Agricultural carbon emissions in Zhejiang Province, China (2001-2020): changing trends, influencing factors, and has it achieved synergy with food security and economic development?

Given the huge carbon footprint of agricultural activities, reduction in agricultural carbon emission (ACE) is important to achieve China's carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals, but it may affect agricultural food security and economic development. Therefore, it is important for scientific carbon reduction measures to understand the multi-year trends and the influencing factors of ACE, and clarify whether the process of ACE affects food security and economic development. This study analyzed the trends of total ACE and ACE caused by different agricultural carbon sources (ACS) from 2001 to 2020 in Zhejiang Province, then we revealed the main influencing factors of ACE based on the logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) model and dissected the relationship between ACE and food security and economic development. Results show that the total ACE fluctuated from 6.10 Mt in 2001 to 3.93 Mt in 2020, and the process included a decrease in 2001-2003 and 2005-2020 and an increase in 2003-2005. The decrease in ACE, from 2001 to 2014, was mainly due to the decline in rice acreage, which contributed 90.38%; from 2014 to 2020, it was by the reduction in the use of fertilizer, diesel, and pesticide, which contributed 83.9%. As drivers, agricultural economic development effect and total population size effect drove 4.25 and 1.54 Mt of ACE, respectively. As inhibitors, planting structure effect, technology development effect, and population structure effect inhibited 3.12, 2.11, and 2.74 Mt of ACE, respectively. With the reduction of ACE, the agricultural economy continued to grow, but the food security situation was pessimistic, indicating that ACE reduction has achieved synergy with economic development, but not with food security.

Investing in mini-livestock production for food security and carbon neutrality in China

Future food farming technology faces challenges that must integrate the core goal of keeping the global temperature increase within 1.5 °C without reducing food security and nutrition. Here, we show that boosting the production of insects and earthworms based on food waste and livestock manure to provide food and feed in China will greatly contribute to meeting the country's food security and carbon neutrality pledges. By substituting domestic products with mini-livestock (defined as earthworms and insects produced for food or feed) protein and utilizing the recovered land for bioenergy production plus carbon capture and storage, China's agricultural sector could become carbon-neutral and reduce feed protein imports to near zero. This structural change may lead to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2,350 Tg CO2eq per year globally when both domestic and imported products are substituted. Overall, the success of mini-livestock protein production in achieving carbon neutrality and food security for China and its major trading partners depends on how the substitution strategies will be implemented and how the recovered agricultural land will be managed, e.g., free use for afforestation and bioenergy or by restricting this land to food crop use. Using China as an example, this study also demonstrates the potential of mini-livestock for decreasing the environmental burden of food production in general.

Polarizing Plates: Both Omnivores and Vegans Represent In-Group Foods With Eating Simulations

In two pre-registered experiments, we assessed how people cognitively represent meat and plant-based foods, to examine processes underlying dietary polarization in society. Food descriptions from U.K.-based omnivores (NExp. 1 = 109; NExp. 2 = 436) and vegans (NExp. 1 = 111; NExp. 2 = 407) were coded for features about consumption and reward (e.g., "rich," "indulgent," and "treat") or features independent of the consumption situation (e.g., "healthy," "protein," and "eco-friendly"). Participants used more consumption and reward features for diet-congruent dishes (meat dishes for omnivores and plant-based dishes for vegans) than for diet-incongruent dishes (vice versa). Omnivores focused on abstract, long-term consequences of plant-based foods, whereas vegans focused on the socio-political associations with meat foods. Consumption and reward features also positively predicted attractiveness ratings, the likelihood of ordering a dish, and eating intentions. These findings indicate the cognitive processes of polarized dietary groups that may hinder the mainstream transition to more sustainable food choices.

Proposed solutions to anthropogenic climate change: A systematic literature review and a new way forward

Humanity is now facing what may be the biggest challenge to its existence: irreversible climate change brought about by human activity. Our planet is in a state of emergency, and we only have a short window of time (7-8 years) to enact meaningful change. The goal of this systematic literature review is to summarize the peer-reviewed literature on proposed solutions to climate change in the last 20 years (2002-2022), and to propose a framework for a unified approach to solving this climate change crisis. Solutions reviewed include a transition toward use of renewable energy resources, reduced energy consumption, rethinking the global transport sector, and nature-based solutions. This review highlights one of the most important but overlooked pieces in the puzzle of solving the climate change problem - the gradual shift to a plant-based diet and global phaseout of factory (industrialized animal) farming, the most damaging and prolific form of animal agriculture. The gradual global phaseout of industrialized animal farming can be achieved by increasingly replacing animal meat and other animal products with plant-based products, ending government subsidies for animal-based meat, dairy, and eggs, and initiating taxes on such products. Failure to act will ultimately result in a scenario of irreversible climate change with widespread famine and disease, global devastation, climate refugees, and warfare. We therefore suggest an "All Life" approach, invoking the interconnectedness of all life forms on our planet. The logistics for achieving this include a global standardization of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) or similar measures and the introduction of a regulatory body for verification of such measures. These approaches will help deliver environmental and sustainability benefits for our planet far beyond an immediate reduction in global warming.

Meat taxes in Europe can be designed to avoid overburdening low-income consumers

Consumption taxes on meat have recently been under consideration in several European countries as part of their effort to achieve more sustainable food systems. Yet a major concern is that these taxes might burden low-income households disproportionately. Here we compare different meat tax designs and revenue recycling schemes in terms of their distributional impacts in a large sample of European countries. We find that across all selected tax designs, uncompensated meat taxes are slightly regressive. However, the effect on inequality is mild and can be reversed through revenue recycling via uniform lump-sum transfers in most cases. Using meat tax revenues towards lowering value-added taxes on fruit and vegetable products dampens but does not fully offset the regressive effect. Variation in the distributional impact can be explained by cross-country heterogeneity in consumption patterns, design choices between unit-based and ad valorem taxation and differentiation according to greenhouse gas intensities.

The neglected role of abandoned cropland in supporting both food security and climate change mitigation

Despite the looming land scarcity for agriculture, cropland abandonment is widespread globally. Abandoned cropland can be reused to support food security and climate change mitigation. Here, we investigate the potentials and trade-offs of using global abandoned cropland for recultivation and restoring forests by natural regrowth, with spatially-explicit modelling and scenario analysis. We identify 101 Mha of abandoned cropland between 1992 and 2020, with a capability of concurrently delivering 29 to 363 Peta-calories yr-1 of food production potential and 290 to 1,066 MtCO2 yr-1 of net climate change mitigation potential, depending on land-use suitability and land allocation strategies. We also show that applying spatial prioritization is key to maximizing the achievable potentials of abandoned cropland and demonstrate other possible approaches to further increase these potentials. Our findings offer timely insights into the potentials of abandoned cropland and can inform sustainable land management to buttress food security and climate goals.

Feeding climate and biodiversity goals with novel plant-based meat and milk alternatives

Plant-based animal product alternatives are increasingly promoted to achieve more sustainable diets. Here, we use a global economic land use model to assess the food system-wide impacts of a global dietary shift towards these alternatives. We find a substantial reduction in the global environmental impacts by 2050 if globally 50% of the main animal products (pork, chicken, beef and milk) are substituted-net reduction of forest and natural land is almost fully halted and agriculture and land use GHG emissions decline by 31% in 2050 compared to 2020. If spared agricultural land within forest ecosystems is restored to forest, climate benefits could double, reaching 92% of the previously estimated land sector mitigation potential. Furthermore, the restored area could contribute to 13-25% of the estimated global land restoration needs under target 2 from the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework by 2030, and future declines in ecosystem integrity by 2050 would be more than halved. The distribution of these impacts varies across regions-the main impacts on agricultural input use are in China and on environmental outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa and South America. While beef replacement provides the largest impacts, substituting multiple products is synergistic.

Global crop-specific nitrogen fertilization dataset in 1961-2020

Nitrogen (N) is an important nutrient for crop growth. However, the overuse of N fertilizers has led to a series of devastating global environmental issues. Recent studies show that multiple datasets have been created for agricultural N fertilizer application with varied temporal or spatial resolutions, nevertheless, how to synchronize and use these datasets becomes problematic due to the inconsistent temporal coverages, spatial resolutions, and crop-specific allocations. Here we reconstructed a comprehensive dataset for crop-specific N fertilization at 5-arc-min resolution (~10 km by 10 km) during 1961-2020, including N application rate, types, and placements. The N fertilization data was segmented by 21 crop groups, 13 fertilizer types, and 2 fertilization placements. Comparison analysis showed that our dataset is aligned with previous estimates. Our spatiotemporal N fertilization dataset could be used for the land surface models to quantify the effects of agricultural N fertilization practices on food security, climate change, and environmental sustainability.

Coordination of carbon assimilation, allocation, and utilization for systemic improvement of cereal yield

The growth of yield outputs is dwindling after the first green revolution, which cannot meet the demand for the projected population increase by the mid-century, especially with the constant threat from extreme climates. Cereal yield requires carbon (C) assimilation in the source for subsequent allocation and utilization in the sink. However, whether the source or sink limits yield improvement, a crucial question for strategic orientation in future breeding and cultivation, is still under debate. To narrow the knowledge gap and capture the progress, we focus on maize, rice, and wheat by briefly reviewing recent advances in yield improvement by modulation of i) leaf photosynthesis; ii) primary C allocation, phloem loading, and unloading; iii) C utilization and grain storage; and iv) systemic sugar signals (e.g., trehalose 6-phosphate). We highlight strategies for optimizing C allocation and utilization to coordinate the source-sink relationships and promote yields. Finally, based on the understanding of these physiological mechanisms, we envisage a future scenery of "smart crop" consisting of flexible coordination of plant C economy, with the goal of yield improvement and resilience in the field population of cereals crops.

The negative impact of vegetarian and vegan labels: Results from randomized controlled experiments with US consumers

Reducing consumption of animal products is a critically important challenge in efforts to mitigate the climate crisis. Despite this, meals containing animal products are often presented as the default versus more environmentally sustainable vegetarian or vegan options. We tested whether vegetarian and vegan labels on menu items negatively impact the likelihood of US consumers choosing these items by using a between-subjects experimental design, where participants chose a preference between two items. Menu items were presented with titles and descriptions typical at restaurants, and a random group saw "vegan" or "vegetarian" labels in the titles of one of the two items. Two field studies were conducted at a US academic institution, where people selected what to eat via event registration forms. The methodology was extended to an online study, where US consumers selected what to hypothetically eat in a series of choice questions. Overall, results showed the menu items were significantly less likely to be chosen when they were labeled, with much larger effects in the field studies, where choice was not hypothetical. In addition, the online study showed male participants had a significantly higher preference for options containing meat versus other participants. Results did not indicate the impact of labels differed by gender. Furthermore, this study did not find that vegetarians and vegans were more likely to choose items with meat when the labels were removed, indicating that removing labels did not negatively impact them. The results suggest removing vegetarian and vegan labels from menus could help guide US consumers towards reduced consumption of animal products.

Industrial fisheries have reversed the carbon sequestration by tuna carcasses into emissions

To limit climate warming to 2°C above preindustrial levels, most economic sectors will need a rapid transformation toward a net zero emission of CO2 . Tuna fisheries is a key food production sector that burns fossil fuel to operate but also reduces the deadfall of large-bodied fish so the capacity of this natural carbon pump to deep sea. Yet, the carbon balance of tuna populations, so the net difference between CO2 emission due to industrial exploitation and CO2 sequestration by fish deadfall after natural mortality, is still unknown. Here, by considering the dynamics of two main contrasting tuna species (Katsuwonus pelamis and Thunnus obesus) across the Pacific since the 1980s, we show that most tuna populations became CO2 sources instead of remaining natural sinks. Without considering the supply chain, the main factors associated with this shift are exploitation rate, transshipment intensity, fuel consumption, and climate change. Our study urges for a better global ocean stewardship, by curbing subsidies and limiting transshipment in remote international waters, to quickly rebuild most pelagic fish stocks above their target management reference points and reactivate a neglected carbon pump toward the deep sea as an additional Nature Climate Solution in our portfolio. Even if this potential carbon sequestration by surface unit may appear low compared to that of coastal ecosystems or tropical forests, the ocean covers a vast area and the sinking biomass of dead vertebrates can sequester carbon for around 1000 years in the deep sea. We also highlight the multiple co-benefits and trade-offs from engaging the industrial fisheries sector with carbon neutrality.

Nutrition policy critical to optimize response to climate, public health crises

The effects of unanticipated crises on health care and first-responder systems are reflected in climate-fueled environmental emergencies, to which human resilience is diminished by our chronic disease epidemic. For example, people who depend on specialized medications, like refrigerated insulin for diabetes, will likely face additional challenges in receiving treatment and care during extreme heat, floods, disasters, and other adverse events. These circumstances may be compounded by staff and equipment shortages, lack of access to fresh food, and inadequate healthcare infrastructure in the wake of a disaster. Simply put, our health care and first-response systems struggle to meet the demands of chronic disease without such crises and may be fundamentally unable to adequately function with such crises present. However, nutrition's primacy in preventing and controlling chronic disease directly enhances individual and public resilience in the face of existential threats. Highlighting the shared diet-related etiology clearly demonstrates the need for a national policy response to reduce the disease burden and potentiate mitigation of the sequelae of climate risks and capacity limits in our food and health care systems. Accordingly, this article proposes four criteria for nutrition policy in the Anthropocene: objective government nutrition recommendations, healthy dietary patterns, adequate nutrition security, and effective nutrition education. Application of such criteria shows strong potential to improve our resiliency despite the climate and public health crises.

Toward Sustainability: An Overview of the Use of Green Hydrogen in the Agriculture and Livestock Sector

The agro-livestock sector produces about one third of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Since more energy is needed to meet the growing demand for food and the industrial revolution in agriculture, renewable energy sources could improve access to energy resources and energy security, reduce dependence on fossil fuels, and reduce GHG emissions. Hydrogen production is a promising energy technology, but its deployment in the global energy system is lagging. Here, we analyzed the theoretical and practical application of green hydrogen generated by electrolysis of water, powered by renewable energy sources, in the agro-livestock sector. Green hydrogen is at an early stage of development in most applications, and barriers to its large-scale deployment remain. Appropriate policies and financial incentives could make it a profitable technology for the future.

When not responding to food changes food value: The role of timing

Establishing behavior change toward appetitive foods can be crucial to improve people's health. Food go/no-go training (GNG), in which people respond to some food items and not to other food items depending on the presentation of a go or no-go cue, is a means to establish behavior change. GNG changes the perceived value of food items and food consumption. After GNG, no-go items are rated as less attractive than go and/or untrained items, an empirical phenomenon called the NoGo-devaluation-effect. This effect is not always found, however. One theory-based explanation for these inconsistent results may be found in the timing of the go and no-go cues, which is also inconsistent across studies. Hence, in the present work we conducted two experiments to examine the possible role of go and no-go cue presentation timing in eliciting the NoGo-devaluation-effect. In Experiment 1, we presented the food items before the presentation of go/no-go cues, whereas we reversed this order in Experiment 2. As predicted, the NoGo-devaluation-effect was obtained in Experiment 1. This effect was absent in Experiment 2. Moreover, recognition memory for stimulus-action contingencies moderated the devaluation effect in Experiment 1, but not in Experiment 2. These results show that NoGo devaluation is dependent on the timing of the NoGo cue, which has theoretical and applied implications for understanding how and when go/no-go training influences food consumption. We propose that the value of food items is updated during go/no-go training to minimize prediction errors, and that this updating process is boosted by attention.

Mental models of the protein shift: Exploring consumers' perceptions of the transition

The protein transition is one of today's major societal challenges to mitigate climate change. To support lasting consumer engagement, it has been suggested to look into consumers' understanding of the protein transition to identify barriers that go beyond the practical issues of changing one's diet. The current study explored consumers' mental models of how the transition unfolds to examine which factors consumers perceive as important drivers of the transition. With a fixed set of factors and actors identified with a questionnaire, Dutch consumers (N = 214) mapped their mental models. The content and structure of the mental models were analyzed with a focus on how consumers perceive their own role. Animal well-being and environmental concerns were most often included as important drivers. The findings showed a lack of consensus about which actor(s) drive the transition (i.e., none of the actors were included by a majority of the participants). This diffusion of responsibility may be a barrier for consumers to act. Moreover, the relative simplicity of the observed mental models suggests that consumers do not yet employ systems thinking. A systems thinking mindset may help consumers understand how the system behind the transition works and how their individual contributions matter. Two avenues to encourage consumer engagement were identified: 1) emphasizing the responsibility of different actors and what consumers can contribute, and 2) encouraging a systems thinking mindset.

How Different Dimensions Shape the Definition of Meat Alternative Products: A Scoping Review of Evidence between 2000 and 2021

Consumer awareness of meat-associated health and environmental risks is increasing and motivates a shift toward consuming meat alternatives. This is also reflected in efforts invested in studying meat alternatives from the perspective of nutritional, environmental, and consumer sciences. Despite shared research interest, these studies cannot be readily compared and interpreted because there is no clear consensus on what meat alternatives are. Scholarly debates on acceptance, nutritional value, and environmental advantages of meat alternatives would benefit from a clear definition of meat alternatives. With the goal of defining meat alternatives, relevant scientific literature in the past 10 years was systematically searched and screened guided by the scoping review Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension. The initial search resulted in >100,000 hits, which was reduced to 2465 papers. Next, titles and abstracts were scrutinized using Rayyan.ai, resulting in 193 articles considered for the present review. Article screening and data extraction was performed using ATLAS.ti software. Three major themes were identified to define meat alternative products including: 1) producing and sourcing of ingredients; 2) product characteristics (that is, sensory characteristics, nutritional value, and health profile, social and environmental sustainability profile); and 3) consumer characteristics concerning the marketing and consumption context. Meat alternatives are multifaceted, that is, certain products can be considered as meat alternatives in some context, but not in another context. For any product, it is impossible to unequivocally state that it is a meat alternative. There is a lack of consensus from the diverse literature on what constitutes meat alternatives. However, products may be qualified as meat alternatives according to three key criteria as proposed in a taxonomy: 1) production and sourcing, 2) product characteristics, and/or 3) consumption. We recommend researchers (and other stakeholders) to do so as it allows for better informed future discussions of meat alternatives.

Why don't politicians talk about meat? The political psychology of human-animal relations in elections

Building on literature from political science and psychology, I argue that political attention on animals and animal-friendly political candidates cause voter backlash. I test this using two different kinds of experiments with large, representative samples. I ask respondents to consider political candidates running for office in a U.S. presidential primary context. I find that, overall, political attention on the need to reduce meat consumption for environmental reasons caused voter backlash compared to both a control condition and attention on the need to reduce reliance on gasoline-powered vehicles (also for environmental reasons). But, the heterogeneous effects of partisan identification were strong: voter backlash was mainly driven by Republicans and Democrats were neutral. Surprisingly, candidates who put attention on farm animal rights during elections faced no voter backlash from Republicans or Democrats. Animal-friendly candidates, particularly Black women and Latinas, with attributes that demonstrate personal concern for farm animals and strong support for animal rights generally fared very well in elections, receiving large boosts in voter support. This work launches a research agenda in political psychology that "brings the animal in" to politics.

Coupling of crop and livestock production can reduce the agricultural GHG emission from smallholder farms

Ensuring global food security and environmental sustainability is dependent upon the contribution of the world's hundred million smallholder farms, but the contributions of smallholder farms to global agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have been understudied. We developed a localized agricultural life cycle assessment (LCA) database to calculate GHG emissions and made the first extensive assessment of the smallholder farms' GHG emission reduction potentials by coupling crop and livestock production (CCLP), a redesign of current practices toward sustainable agriculture in China. CCLP can reduce the GHG emission intensity by 17.67%, with its own feed and manure returning to the field as an essential path. Scenario analysis verified that greater GHG emission reduction (28.09%-41.32%) will be achieved by restructuring CCLP. Therefore, this mixed farming is a mode with broader benefits to provide sustainable agricultural practices for reducing GHG emissions fairly.

Changes in global food consumption increase GHG emissions despite efficiency gains along global supply chains

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions related to food consumption complement production-based or territorial accounts by capturing carbon leaked through trade. Here we evaluate global consumption-based food emissions between 2000 and 2019 and underlying drivers using a physical trade flow approach and structural decomposition analysis. In 2019, emissions throughout global food supply chains reached 30 ±9% of anthropogenic GHG emissions, largely triggered by beef and dairy consumption in rapidly developing countries-while per capita emissions in developed countries with a high percentage of animal-based food declined. Emissions outsourced through international food trade dominated by beef and oil crops increased by ~1 Gt CO₂ equivalent, mainly driven by increased imports by developing countries. Population growth and per capita demand increase were key drivers to the global emissions increase (+30% and +19%, respectively) while decreasing emissions intensity from land-use activities was the major factor to offset emissions growth (-39%). Climate change mitigation may depend on incentivizing consumer and producer choices to reduce emissions-intensive food products.

Novel plant-based meat alternatives: Implications and opportunities for consumer nutrition and health

Against the backdrop of the global protein transition needed to remain within planetary boundaries, there is an influx of plant-based meat alternatives that seek to approximate the texture, flavor and/or nutrient profiles of conventional animal meat. These novel plant-based meat alternatives, enabled by advances in food technology, can be fundamentally different from the whole-plant foods from which they are derived. One of the reasons is the necessity to use food additives on various occasions, since consumers' acceptance of plant-based meat products primarily depends on the organoleptic properties. Consequently, a high degree of heterogeneity in formulation and nutritional profiles exists both within and between product categories of plant-based meat alternatives with unknown effects on several aspects of human health. This is further complicated by the differences in digestibility and bioavailability between proteins from animal and plant sources, which have a profound impact on colonic fermentation, nutritional adequacy and potential health effects. On the other hand, emerging strategies provide opportunities to develop affordable, delicious and nutritious plant-based meat alternatives that align with consumer interests.

Low-carbon diets can reduce global ecological and health costs

Potential external cost savings associated with the reduction of animal-sourced foods remain poorly understood. Here we combine life cycle assessment principles and monetarization factors to estimate the monetary worth of damage to human health and ecosystems caused by the environmental impacts of food production. We find that, globally, approximately US$2 of production-related external costs were embedded in every dollar of food expenditure in 2018-corresponding to US$14.0 trillion of externalities. A dietary shift away from animal-sourced foods could greatly reduce these 'hidden' costs, saving up to US$7.3 trillion worth of production-related health burden and ecosystem degradation while curbing carbon emissions. By comparing the health effects of dietary change from the consumption versus the production of food, we also show that omitting the latter means underestimating the benefits of more plant-based diets. Our analysis reveals the substantial potential of dietary change, particularly in high and upper-middle-income countries, to deliver socio-economic benefits while mitigating climate change.

Animal board invited review: Opportunities and challenges in using GWP* to report the impact of ruminant livestock on global temperature change

Ruminant livestock is a large contributor of CH4 emissions globally. Assessing how this CH4 and other greenhouse gases (GHG) from livestock contribute to anthropogenic climate change is key to understanding their role in achieving any temperature targets. The climate impacts of livestock, as well as other sectors or products/services, are generally expressed as CO2-equivalents using 100-year Global Warming Potentials (GWP100). However, the GWP100 cannot be used to translate emission pathways of short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) emissions to their temperature outcomes. A key limitation of handling long- and short-lived gases in the same manner is revealed in the context of any potential temperature stabilisation goals: to achieve this outcome, emissions of long-lived gases must decline to net-zero, but this is not the case for SLCPs. A recent alternative metric, GWP* (so-called 'GWP-star'), has been proposed to overcome these concerns. GWP* allows for simple appraisals of warming over time for emission series of different GHGs that may not be obvious if using pulse-emission metrics (i.e. GWP100). In this article, we explore some of the strengths and limitations of GWP* for reporting the contribution of ruminant livestock systems to global temperature change. A number of case studies are used to illustrate the potential use of the GWP* metric to, for example, understand the current contribution of different ruminant livestock production systems to global warming, appraise how different production systems or mitigations compare (having a temporal element), and seeing how possible emission pathways driven by changes in production, emissions intensity and gas composition show different impacts over time. We suggest that for some contexts, particularly if trying to directly infer contributions to additional warming, GWP* or similar approaches can provide important insight that would not be gained from conventional GWP100 reporting.

Research needs for a food system transition

The global food system, and animal agriculture in particular, is a major and growing contributor to climate change, land system change, biodiversity loss, water consumption and contamination, and environmental pollution. The copious production and consumption of animal products are also contributing to increasingly negative public health outcomes, particularly in wealthy and rapidly industrializing countries, and result in the slaughter of trillions of animals each year. These impacts are motivating calls for reduced reliance on animal-based products and increased use of replacement plant-based products. However, our understanding of how the production and consumption of animal products, as well as plant-based alternatives, interact with important dimensions of human and environment systems is incomplete across space and time. This inhibits comprehensively envisioning global and regional food system transitions and planning to manage the costs and synergies thereof. We therefore propose a cross-disciplinary research agenda on future target-based scenarios for food system transformation that has at its core three main activities: (1) data collection and analysis at the intersection of animal agriculture, the environment, and societal well-being, (2) the construction of target-based scenarios for animal products informed by these new data and empirical understandings, and (3) the evaluation of impacts, unintended consequences, co-benefits, and trade-offs of these target-based scenarios to help inform decision-making.

Comparative analysis of macroalgae supplementation on the rumen microbial community: Asparagopsis taxiformis inhibits major ruminal methanogenic, fibrolytic, and volatile fatty acid-producing microbes in vitro

Seaweeds have received a great deal of attention recently for their potential as methane-suppressing feed additives in ruminants. To date, Asparagopsis taxiformis has proven a potent enteric methane inhibitor, but it is a priority to identify local seaweed varieties that hold similar properties. It is essential that any methane inhibitor does not compromise the function of the rumen microbiome. In this study, we conducted an in vitro experiment using the RUSITEC system to evaluate the impact of three red seaweeds, A. taxiformis, Palmaria mollis, and Mazzaella japonica, on rumen prokaryotic communities. 16S rRNA sequencing showed that A. taxiformis had a profound effect on the microbiome, particularly on methanogens. Weighted Unifrac distances showed significant separation of A. taxiformis samples from the control and other seaweeds (p &lt; 0.05). Neither P. mollis nor M. japonica had a substantial effect on the microbiome (p &gt; 0.05). A. taxiformis reduced the abundance of all major archaeal species (p &lt; 0.05), leading to an almost total disappearance of the methanogens. Prominent fiber-degrading and volatile fatty acid (VFA)-producing bacteria including Fibrobacter and Ruminococcus were also inhibited by A. taxiformis (p &lt; 0.05), as were other genera involved in propionate production. The relative abundance of several other bacteria including Prevotella, Bifidobacterium, Succinivibrio, Ruminobacter, and unclassified Lachnospiraceae were increased by A. taxiformis suggesting that the rumen microbiome adapted to an initial perturbation. Our study provides baseline knowledge of microbial dynamics in response to seaweed feeding over an extended period and suggests that feeding A. taxiformis to cattle to reduce methane may directly, or indirectly, inhibit important fiber-degrading and VFA-producing bacteria.

Sustainable nitrogen management strategies based on nitrogen flow in urban human system

Urban nitrogen discharge has become an important factor leading to urban water environment deterioration, water crisis, and frequent air pollution. Human consumption is the driving force of nitrogen flow and the core of urban nitrogen research. Based on the process of nitrogen flow in the urban human system, combined with the relevant United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and taking Dar es Salaam as an example, we established a generic analytical framework for sustainable nitrogen management and put forward the strategies of sustainable nitrogen management in the urban human system. The main conclusions are as follows. (1) Waste nitrogen discharge affected the environment quality. 5286 t of N (5095 t of N-NH₃, 86 t of N-N₂O, and 105 t of N-NOx) was emitted into the atmosphere that affected air quality. 9304 t of N was discharged into surface water and 203 t of N was leaked, which had a negative impact on the prevention and control of surface water pollution. And 8334 t of N pose a potential threat to environmental quality. (2) Nitrogen management in Dar es Salaam faced huge challenges. From the perspective of nitrogen flow of the urban human system, the diet structure and household energy structure need to be optimized, and food waste is serious. Sewage treatment and garbage treatment are seriously insufficient, and the corresponding technologies are backward. In order to solve the existing problems of nitrogen flow in the urban human system and include sustainable nitrogen management under future challenges of growing population and economy, we proposed strategies including healthy diet guidance, reducing food waste, detailed assessment of household nitrogen accumulation, transformation of household energy structure to low nitrogen emission energy, increasing nitrogen recycling ratio, and infrastructure improvement of sewage treatment and garbage treatment, hence contributing to the achievement of related SDGs.

Strategies for reducing meat consumption within college and university settings: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction

Despite the considerable public and planetary health benefits associated with reducing the amount of meat consumed in high-income countries, there is a limited empirical understanding of how these voluntary changes in food choice can be effectively facilitated across different settings. While prior reviews have given us broad insights into the varying capacities of behavior change strategies to promote meaningful reductions in meat consumption, none have compared how they perform relative to each other within a uniform dining context.

Methods

To address this gap in the literature, we synthesized the available research on university-implemented meat reduction interventions and examined the variations in the success rates and effect estimates associated with each of the three approaches identified in our systematic review.

Results

From our analyses of the 31 studies that met our criteria for inclusion (n = 31), we found that most were successful in reducing the amount of meat consumed within university settings. Moreover, independent of the number of individual strategies being used, multimodal interventions were found to be more reliable and effective in facilitating these changes in food choice than interventions targeting the choice architecture of the retail environment or conscious decision-making processes alone.

Discussion

In addition to demonstrating the overall value of behavior change initiatives in advancing more sustainable dining practices on college and university campuses, this study lends further insights into the merits and mechanics underlying strategically integrated approaches to dietary change. Further investigations exploring the persistence and generalizability of these effects and intervention design principles are needed.

Systematic review registration

https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/DXQ5V, identifier: 10.17605/OSF.IO/DXQ5V.

Effect of grassland cutting frequency, species mixture, wilting and fermentation pattern of grass silages on in vitro methane yield

Mitigating enteric methane (CH₄) emissions is crucial as ruminants account for 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. We hypothesised that less frequent harvesting, use of crops with lower WSC concentration, ensiling at low crop dry matter (DM) and extensive lactic acid fermentation would reduce in vitro CH₄ production. Timothy (T), timothy + red clover mixture (T + RC) or perennial ryegrass (RG), cut either two or three times per season, was wilted to 22.5% or 37.5% DM and ensiled with or without formic acid-based additive. Silages were analysed for chemical composition and fermentation products. In vitro CH₄ production was measured using an automated gas in vitro system. Methane production was, on average, 2.8 mL/g OM lower in the two-cut system than in the three-cut system (P < 0.001), and 1.9 mL/g OM lower in T than in RG (P < 0.001). Silage DM did not affect CH₄ production (P = 0.235), but formic acid increased CH₄ production by 1.2 mL/g OM compared to the untreated silage (P = 0.003). In conclusion, less frequent harvesting and extensive silage fermentation reduce in vitro CH₄ production, while RG in comparison to T resulted in higher production of CH₄.

Analysis of the Scale of Global Human Needs and Opportunities for Sustainable Catalytic Technologies

We analyzed the enormous scale of global human needs, their carbon footprint, and how they are connected to energy availability. We established that most challenges related to resource security and sustainability can be solved by providing distributed, affordable, and clean energy. Catalyzed chemical transformations powered by renewable electricity are emerging successor technologies that have the potential to replace fossil fuels without sacrificing the wellbeing of humans. We highlighted the technical, economic, and societal advantages and drawbacks of short- to medium-term decarbonization solutions to gauge their practicability, economic feasibility, and likelihood for widespread acceptance on a global scale. We detailed catalysis solutions that enhance sustainability, along with strategies for catalyst and process development, frontiers, challenges, and limitations, and emphasized the need for planetary stewardship. Electrocatalytic processes enable the production of solar fuels and commodity chemicals that address universal issues of the water, energy and food security nexus, clothing, the building sector, heating and cooling, transportation, information and communication technology, chemicals, consumer goods and services, and healthcare, toward providing global resource security and sustainability and enhancing environmental and social justice.

Cropland displacement contributed 60% of the increase in carbon emissions of grain transport in China over 1990-2015

Rapid urbanization and population growth have increased the need for grain transportation in China, as more grain is being consumed and croplands have been moved away from cities. Increased grain transportation has, in turn, led to higher energy consumption and carbon emissions. Here we undertook a model-based approach to estimate the carbon emissions associated with grain transportation in the country between 1990 and 2015. We found that emissions more than tripled, from 5.68 million tons of CO₂ emission equivalent in 1990 to 17.69 million tons in 2015. Grain production displacement contributed more than 60% of the increase in carbon emissions associated with grain transport over the study period, whereas changes in grain consumption and population growth contributed 31.7% and 16.6%, respectively. Infrastructure development, such as newly built highways and railways in western China, helped offset 0.54 million tons of CO₂ emission equivalent from grain transport. These findings shed light on the life cycle environmental impact within food supply chains.

Comparing the environmental impacts of nuclear and renewable energy in top 10 nuclear-generating countries: evidence from STIRPAT model

The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of nuclear energy and renewable energy on CO₂ emissions in major top 10 nuclear-generating countries based on the Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence, and Technology (STIRPAT) model from 1993 to 2018. For comparison, the impact of renewable energy on emissions is also examined. For robust checking, four models would be used. The cross-sectional dependence (CD) test reveals the existence of CD in the panel data. Stationary tests indicate the selected variables have no unit root in 1st difference, and cointegration tests confirm the time series data in four multivariable models are long-run cointegrating relationship in each model. Fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) and augmented mean group (AMG) are employed to estimate the long-run coefficients of independent variables, which reveals the positive impacts of variables on emissions. One percent increase in population, economic growth, carbon intensity, and nuclear or renewable energy consumption can lead to 0.984 ~ 1.060%, 1.001 ~ 1.012%, 1.000 ~ 1.011%, 0.009 ~ 0.011%, or 0.003 ~ 0.005% increase in emissions, respectively. Dumitrescu-Hurlin (DH) panel Granger causality test reveals that the causalities between the variables are mixed. Finally, some implications are proposed, such as limiting population quantity and improving the population quality, implementing a green economy, and developing safe nuclear and renewable energy.

Effects on rumen microbiome and milk quality of dairy cows fed a grass silage-based diet supplemented with the macroalga Asparagopsis taxiformis

The objective was to determine the effects on rumen microbiome and milk quality of reducing the methane (CH4) produced from enteric fermentation by the addition of Asparagopsis taxiformis (AT) to the diets of dairy cows. Six Nordic Red cows at 122 ± 13.7 (mean ± SD) days in milk, of parity 2.7 ± 0.52 and producing 36 kg ± 2.5 kg milk per day at the start of the trial were divided into three blocks by milk yield and assigned to an extra-period Latin-square change-over design comprising two dietary treatments. An extra period of observation was added to the Latin-square change-over design to control for carry-over effects. The dietary treatments were a diet consisting of grass silage and a commercial concentrate mixture (60:40) either not supplemented or supplemented with 0.5% AT on an organic matter intake basis. On average, daily CH4 production, CH4 yield, and CH4 intensity decreased by 60%, 54%, and 58%, respectively, in cows fed the diet supplemented with AT. Furthermore, hydrogen gas emitted by cows fed diets supplemented with AT increased by more than five times compared with cows fed a non-AT-supplemented diet. Feed intake was decreased and milk production altered, reflecting a decreased yield of milk fat in cows fed an AT-supplemented diet, but feed efficiency increased. Rumen fermentation parameters were changed to promote propionate rather than acetate and butyrate fermentation. The most prominent change in milk quality was an increase in bromine and iodine when the diet was supplemented with AT. The reduction in CH4 was associated with a shift from Methanobrevibacter to Methanomethylophilaceae in the archaeal population and a lower relative abundance of Prevotella in the bacterial population. Changes in milk fat odd-numbered and branched-chain fatty acids in the current study of AT supplementation support observed differences in ruminal archaeal and bacterial populations.

Greenhouse gas emissions from nitrogen fertilizers could be reduced by up to one-fifth of current levels by 2050 with combined interventions

Food security relies on nitrogen fertilizers, but its production and use account for approximately 5% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Meeting climate change targets requires the identification and prioritization of interventions across the whole life cycle of fertilizers. Here we have mapped the global flows of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers and manure and their corresponding GHG emissions across their life cycle. We have then explored the maximum mitigation potential of various interventions to reduce emissions by 2050. We found that approximately two-thirds of fertilizer emissions take place after their deployment in croplands. Increasing nitrogen-use efficiency is the single most effective strategy to reduce emissions. Yet this should be combined with decarbonization of fertilizer production. Using currently available technologies, GHG emissions of fertilizers could be reduced up to approximately one-fifth of current levels by 2050.

Un-yielding: Evidence for the agriculture transformation we need

There has been a seismic shift in the center of gravity of scientific writing and thinking about agriculture over the past decades, from a prevailing focus on maximizing yields toward a goal of balancing trade-offs and ensuring the delivery of multiple ecosystem services. Maximizing crop yields often results in a system where most benefits accrue to very few (in the form of profits), alongside irreparable environmental harm to agricultural ecosystems, landscapes, and people. Here, we present evidence that an un-yielding, which we define as de-emphasizing the importance of yields alone, is necessary to achieve the goal of a more Food secure, Agrobiodiverse, Regenerative, Equitable and just (FARE) agriculture. Focusing on yields places the emphasis on one particular outcome of agriculture, which is only an intermediate means to the true endpoint of human well-being. Using yields as a placeholder for this outcome ignores the many other benefits of agriculture that people also care about, like health, livelihoods, and a sense of place. Shifting the emphasis to these multiple benefits rather than merely yields, and to their equitable delivery to all people, we find clear scientific evidence of win-wins for people and nature through four strategies that foster FARE agriculture: reduced disturbance, systems reintegration, diversity, and justice (in the form of securing rights to land and other resources). Through a broad review of the current state of agriculture, desired futures, and the possible pathways to reach them, we argue that while trade-offs between some ecosystem services in agriculture are unavoidable, the same need not be true of the end benefits we desire from them.

Perceptual blindless in nutrition: We are in a critical time to be connected

Our health and well-being are affected by our food systems. The new nutrition reality has been linked to complex food systems, interrelated with several pathways and determinants, including physical, socioeconomic, environmental, and ecological, and lately, has been strongly associated with population health, the increase in chronic diseases, and climate change. We briefly comment on four pillars, namely food environments, food security, food supply, and safety and nutritional epidemiology, all of which are key determinants of food systems. We overview some highlights, challenges, and methodologies with a view to advancing food and nutrition science as an integrated field of research. By modifying food systems, we are able to improve the aging and well-being of populations and the health of the planet. Trusted science, nutritional education, new scientific-public communication, integrated policy, investment, food availability, and cultural strategies are all essential for creating better food systems. Perceptual blindness in nutrition must be transformed.

Invisible (bio)economies: a framework to assess the 'blind spots' of dominant bioeconomy models

Bioeconomy as a new promissory discourse neither challenges the paradigm of economic growth, nor questions its embeddedness in capitalist (neo-)colonial patriarchal power relations. However, the calls for a 'genuine' socio-ecological transformation and for alternative bioeconomy visions imply exactly a destabilization of these power relations. Drawing on the Bielefeld subsistence approach and on its colonialism-capitalism-patriarchy nexus, I argue that the latest bioeconomy strategy and policy papers of both the EU and Estonia each disregard certain spheres of the bioeconomy due to the three-dimensional power relations. As a seemingly neutral political discourse, the bioeconomy is shaped by cultural assumptions and narratives that determine and perpetuate what is deemed worthy of protection and what is pushed aside as merely 'natural'. As such, the current bioeconomy papers promote a 'biomass-based model of capital accumulation' that is essentially built on the prerequisite of the subordination, devaluation, appropriation and/or exploitation of (1) different geographical regions, (2) ecological foundations, and (3) prevalent bioeconomy practices. As a widespread agricultural practice in Eastern Europe, Food Self-Provisioning (FSP) serves as a good example of how predominant bioeconomy models (1) simply operate as new forms of postcolonial development discourse, instead of embracing the plurality of decolonial 'alternatives to development'; (2) deepen the human-nature dichotomy by regarding nature as a mere resource to be extracted more efficiently instead of cultivating mutually nourishing partnership-like relation(ship)s with nature; and (3) maintain the separation between monetized and maintenance economies, rather than fostering ethics of care to overcome the structural separation between the latter.

Differential carbon utilization enables co-existence of recently speciated Campylobacteraceae in the cow rumen epithelial microbiome

The activities of different microbes in the cow rumen have been shown to modulate the host's ability to utilize plant biomass, while the host-rumen interface has received little attention. As datasets collected worldwide have pointed to Campylobacteraceae as particularly abundant members of the rumen epithelial microbiome, we targeted this group in a subset of seven cows with meta- and isolate genome analysis. We show that the dominant Campylobacteraceae lineage has recently speciated into two populations that were structured by genome-wide selective sweeps followed by population-specific gene import and recombination. These processes led to differences in gene expression and enzyme domain composition that correspond to the ability to utilize acetate, the main carbon source for the host, at the cost of inhibition by propionate. This trade-off in competitive ability further manifests itself in differential dynamics of the two populations in vivo. By exploring population-level adaptations that otherwise remain cryptic in culture-independent analyses, our results highlight how recent evolutionary dynamics can shape key functional roles in the rumen microbiome.

Traffic-light front-of-pack environmental labelling across food categories triggers more environmentally friendly food choices: a randomised controlled trial in virtual reality supermarket

BACKGROUND

Food systems highly contribute to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and shifting towards more environmentally friendly diets is urgently needed. Enabling consumers to compare the environmental impact of food products at point-of-purchase with front-of-pack labelling could be a promising strategy to trigger more environmentally friendly food choices. This strategy remained to be tested.

METHODS

The effect of a new traffic-light front-of-pack environmental label on food choices was tested in a 2-arm randomised controlled trial in a virtual reality supermarket. Participants (n = 132) chose food products to compose two main meals for an everyday meal scenario and for an environmentally friendly meal scenario with or without the label. The environmental label (ranging from A: green/lowest impact, to E: red/highest impact) was based on the Environmental Footprint (EF) single score calculation across food categories. The effect of the label on the environmental impact of food choices in each scenario was tested using linear mixed models.

RESULTS

In the everyday meal scenario, the environmental impact of meals was lower in the label condition than in the no label condition (-0.17 ± 0.07 mPt/kg, p = 0.012). This reduction was observed at no nutritional, financial nor hedonic cost. The effectiveness of the label can be attributed to a change in the food categories chosen: less meat-based and more vegetarian meals were chosen with the label. In the environmentally friendly meal scenario, we demonstrated that the label provided new information to the participants as they were able to further reduce the environmental impact of their food choices with the label (-0.19 ± 0.07 mPt/kg, p = 0.005).

CONCLUSIONS

Implementing a front-of-pack environmental label on food products in real supermarkets could increase awareness of the environmental impact of food and contribute to drive more environmentally friendly food choices.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

The study protocol was pre-registered prior to data collection at Clinicaltrials.gov (NCT04909372).

The effect of optimizing chemical fertilizers consumption structure to promote environmental protection, crop yield and reduce greenhouse gases emission in China

To ensure food security, simultaneously achieving environmental protection and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction has become a significant challenge in the sustainable development of China's chemical fertilizers (CFs) industry. Hence, this work attempt to construct a multi-objective optimization model (MOOM) based on crop yield, environment protection, and GHG emissions to adjust and optimize China's CFs structure (nitrogen, phosphate, potash, and compound fertilizers). The findings revealed that it's impossible to achieve the coordinated development of the three objectives only through the adjustment of CFs structure. Different optimization measures were sequentially integrated with the MOOM to innovatively obtain the most suitable optimization schemes and the quantitative adjustment interval (which was compared with those in 2018) of the CFs structure. The following are the specific conclusions. First, compared with 2018, the appropriate increase interval for the total CFs consumption was 9 %-21 %, in which the proportion intervals of nitrogen, phosphate, potash, and compound fertilizers were 18 %-25 %, 12 %-18 %, 7 %-12 %, 48 %-60 %, respectively. Second, the reduction ranges of environmental impact and GHG emissions were 1.1 %-12 % and 12.2 %-16.4 %, respectively, under the optimal scheme (combination of the synergy of organic fertilizer substitution and technology improvement with the MOOM), and the growing range of crop yield was 0.2 %-52 %. The main contribution of this work is to build a methodology system for the adjustment and optimization of CFs consumption structure. The findings of the study could be used by the government to develop relevant policies and by other sectors to perform multi-objective optimization.

Data-driven decarbonisation pathways for reducing life cycle GHG emissions from food waste in the hospitality and food service sectors

The Hospitality and Food Service (HaFS) sectors are notoriously known for their contribution to the food waste problem. Hence, there is an urgent need to devise strategies to reduce food waste in the HaFS sectors and to decarbonise their operation to help fight hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition and mitigate climate change. This study proposes three streams to decarbonise the staff cafeteria operation in an integrated resort in Macau. These include upstream optimisation to reduce unserved food waste, midstream education to raise awareness amongst staff about the impact of food choices on the climate and health, and finally downstream recognition to reduce edible plate waste using a state-of-the-art computer vision system. Technology can be an effective medium to facilitate desired behavioural change through nudging, much like how speed cameras can cause people to slow down and help save lives. The holistic and data-driven approach taken revealed great potential for organisations or institutions that offer catering services to reduce their food waste and associated carbon footprint whilst educating individuals about the intricate link between food, climate and well-being.

Highly Exposed NH2 Edge on Fragmented g-C3 N4 Framework with Integrated Molybdenum Atoms for Catalytic CO2 Cycloaddition: DFT and Techno-Economic Assessment

This study focuses on the applicability of single-atom Mo-doped graphitic carbon nitride (GCN) nanosheets which are specifically engineered with high surface area (exfoliated GCN), NH₂ rich edges, and maximum utilization of isolated atomic Mo for propylene carbonate (PC) production through CO₂ cycloaddition of propylene oxide (PO). Various operational parameters are optimized, for example, temperature (130 °C), pressure (20 bar), catalyst (Mo₂ GCN), and catalyst mass (0.1 g). Under optimal conditions, 2% Mo-doped GCN (Mo₂ GCN) has the highest catalytic performance, especially the turnover frequency (TOF) obtained, 36.4 h^-1 is higher than most reported studies. DFT simulations prove the catalytic performance of Mo₂ GCN significantly decreases the activation energy barrier for PO ring-opening from 50-60 to 4.903 kcal mol^-1 . Coexistence of Lewis acid/base group improves the CO₂ cycloaddition performance by the formation of coordination bond between electron-deficient Mo atom with O atom of PO, while NH₂ surface group disrupts the stability of CO₂ bond by donating electrons into its low-level empty orbital. Steady-state process simulation of the industrial-scale consumes 4.4 ton h^-1 of CO₂ with PC production of 10.2 ton h^-1 . Techno-economic assessment profit from Mo₂ GCN is estimated to be 60.39 million USD year^-1 at a catalyst loss rate of 0.01 wt% h^-1 .

A large share of climate impacts of beef and dairy can be attributed to ecosystem services other than food production

Domesticated ruminants supply nutrient-dense foods but at a large environmental cost. However, many ruminant production systems are multi-functional, providing ecosystem services (ES) other than direct provision of food. When quantifying the climate impact of ruminant products using life cycle assessment (LCA), provisioning ES (i.e. beef and milk) are generally considered the only valuable outputs and other ES provided are ignored, which risks overlooking positive contributions associated with ruminant production. Non-provisioning ES can be included in LCA by economic allocation, using compensatory payments (through agri-environmental schemes) as a proxy for the economic value of ES. For example, farmers can receive payments for maintenance of pastures, which supports e.g. pollination. However, the association between different payment schemes, the ES provided, and livestock production is not always straightforward and it can be difficult to determine which payment schemes to include in the allocation. This study examined how accounting for ES in quantification of climate impact for beef and milk production on Swedish farms was affected by different ways of coupling ES to livestock production through payment schemes. Quantification was done using LCA, attributing the climate impact to beef, milk, and other ES by economic allocation. This resulted in <1-48% and 11-31% of climate impacts being allocated to other ES, instead of beef and milk, respectively, affecting suckler farms most. The results were influenced by which payment schemes, representing different ES, that were included; when only payments directly related to livestock rearing were included, the difference in the climate impact was still large between farm types, while the difference decreased considerably when all environmental schemes were included. While emissions do not disappear, ES-corrected climate impact can potentially be useful as part of consumer communication or in decision-making, reducing the risk of overlooking ES provided by ruminant production in a simpler way than using separate indicators.

Black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens as a potential innovative and environmentally friendly tool for organic waste management: A mini-review

The application of black soldier fly (BSF), Hermetia illucens based technology to process organic wastes presents a practical option for organic waste management by producing feed materials (protein, fat), biodiesel, chitin and biofertilizer. Therefore, BSF organic wastes recycling is a sustainable and cost-effective process that promotes resource recovery, and generates valuable products, thereby creating new economic opportunities for the industrial sector and entrepreneurs. Specifically, we discussed the significance of BSF larvae (BSFL) in the recycling of biowaste. Despite the fact that BSFL may consume a variety of wastes materials, whereas, certain lignocellulosic wastes, such as dairy manure, are deficient in nutrients, which might slow BSFL development. The nutritional value of larval feeding substrates may be improved by mixing in nutrient-rich substrates like chicken manure or soybean curd residue, for instance. Similarly, microbial fermentation may be used to digest lignocellulosic waste, releasing nutrients that are needed for the BSFL. In this mini-review, a thorough discussion has been conducted on the various waste biodegraded by the BSFL, their co-digestion and microbial fermentation of BSFL substrate, as well as the prospective applications and safety of the possible by-products that may be generated at the completion of the treatment process. Furthermore, this study examines the present gaps and challenges on the direction to the efficient application of BSF for waste management and the commercialization of its by-products.