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Using data from long-term nationwide observations and multi-level rainfall manipulative experiments, this study reveals that rice yield reductions due to extreme rainfall in China were comparable to those induced by extreme heat over the past two decades. Further projections highlight the increasing risk of rice yield reductions induced by extreme rainfall by the end of this century.
An analysis based on data from the Global Dietary Database shows mean animal-sourced food intakes among children and adolescents increased modestly from 1990 to two portions per day in 2018, but remain low in sub-Saharan Africa, India and Bangladesh.
Ensuring that waste or by-products from one process form the input of another is key for food systems sustainability. This study assesses the biophysical potential of redesigning the European (EU27 + UK) food system on the basis of circularity principles. Changes in food consumption, crop production, animal production and fertilizer patterns are considered through scenario analysis.
Quantification of the impact of climate change on crop yield and nitrogen use efficiency reflects global inequalities in agricultural N use and losses. Using long-term historical data from over 150 countries, this study reveals the importance of farm size to regulate N use for climate adaptation.
Volatile food prices induce risk and uncertainty, challenging consumers and producers alike. This study uses historical trade policy and price datasets encompassing two recent food crises to investigate the impact that trade policies announced by specific countries may have on global agricultural markets.
Nitrogen limitation is a key determinant of agriculture’s feeding capacity. Modelling simulations of feed–food competition, grassland-to-cropland allocation and nitrogen management strategies reveal how many people could be fed under organic versus industrial fertilization and other farming practices.
Greenhouse gas emissions due to food loss and waste in supply chain and waste management systems accounted for about half of the global annual greenhouse gas emissions from food systems in 2017. The outcomes of emission intervention strategies depend on temporal, regional and socio-economic conditions.
Self-reported data can introduce recall bias into population-level nutritional assessments. Wastewater analyses combining metabolomic and genomic techniques can inform nutritional assessments at the population scale and support public health nutrition.
Urban development in China has led to cropland loss and displacement over the past decades. This study uses a model-based approach to estimate spatial flows of grain, disaggregated by transport modal choices and routes, to explore the increase in carbon emission associated with the transport of cereals, tubers and soybean in China over 1990–2015.
Meat taxes could help to induce dietary changes beneficial for the environment, animal welfare and public health. Through a referendum choice experiment, this study examines how level and differentiation of the tax, its justification and behavioural salience impact support for meat taxation in Germany.
Nematode infections of cash crops impact economic well-being and food security in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa. This study reports a nature-based technology developed to protect yam seeds from soil-borne pathogens, increase yield and decrease post-harvest losses among smallholder farmers in Benin.
Chinese agricultural production is key to achieve the country’s 2060 carbon neutrality target. Combining meta-analysis and life-cycle assessment, this study estimates the climate change mitigation potential of straw, biochar, and an integrated biomass pyrolysis and electricity generation system.
Global assessments of greenhouse gas emissions from nitrogen fertilizers show that production accounts for approximately one-third of total greenhouse gas emissions, with the remainder coming from the use phase. Intervention technologies at both the production and use phases could reduce up to 84% of global greenhouse gas emissions of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers by 2050.