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Both downsizing and improvements to livestock systems are needed to stay within planetary boundaries

Nature Food volume 5, pages 642–645 (2024)Cite this article

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A focus on improvements to livestock production limits the scope for food systems transformation. Research, policy and industry must adopt measures to downsize livestock production and consumption to meet sustainability targets and facilitate a just transition.

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Fig. 1: Livestock contributes to sustainable food systems in reaching its goals of providing safe and nutritious food only if its production fits within biophysical planetary boundaries.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge several funders: the Research Council of Finland (350649 and 350650); the Strategic Research Council of Finland (352638, 352639 and 352481); the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Finland (VN/10451/2022); and the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research Mistra, through Mistra Food Futures (DIA 2018/24 no. 8).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    Irina Herzon, Rachel Mazac, Marjukka Lamminen & Hanna L. Tuomisto

  2. Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    Irina Herzon, Rachel Mazac & Hanna L. Tuomisto

  3. Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden

    Rachel Mazac & Malin Jonell

  4. Department of Food and Nutrition, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    Maijaliisa Erkkola & Anne-Maria Pajari

  5. Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Tara Garnett

  6. Department of Economics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden

    Helena Hansson

  7. Global Economic Dynamics and the Biosphere, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden

    Malin Jonell

  8. Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden

    Malin Jonell

  9. Finnish Environment Institute, Helsinki, Finland

    Minna Kaljonen, Annika Lonkila & Marjaana Toivonen

  10. Department of Social Sciences and Philosophy, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland

    Teea Kortetmäki

  11. Department of Economics and Management, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    Mari Niva

  12. Centre for Development and Environment, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland

    Theresa Tribaldos

  13. Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Helsinki, Finland

    Hanna L. Tuomisto

  14. Ruralia Institute, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    Kari Koppelmäki

  15. Farming Systems Ecology, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands

    Kari Koppelmäki

  16. Department of Energy and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Science, Uppsala, Sweden

    Elin Röös

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  1. Irina Herzon
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  2. Rachel Mazac
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  15. Hanna L. Tuomisto
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  16. Kari Koppelmäki
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  17. Elin Röös
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Irina Herzon.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Nature Food thanks Michalis Hadjikakou and Brent Kim for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Herzon, I., Mazac, R., Erkkola, M. et al. Both downsizing and improvements to livestock systems are needed to stay within planetary boundaries. Nat Food 5, 642–645 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-024-01030-w

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