First Anniversary Collection

Advances such as machine learning may enable the full biochemical spectrum of food to be studied systematically. Uncovering the ‘dark matter’ of nutrition could open new avenues for a greater understanding of the composition of what we eat and how it relates to health and disease

A comprehensive review of the constitutive nature, design approaches, structural properties and applications of food gels, pertinent to the food science, nutrition and health communities.

Many cities have enough space to satisfy their population’s demand for fruits and vegetables. A conceptual framework based on the city of Sheffield, United Kingdom, highlights key challenges and opportunities for the realization of untapped urban horticultural potential.

Technologies and systemic innovation are critical for the transformation of the food system. This Perspective identifies promising technologies, assesses their readiness and proposes eight action points to accelerate innovation.

Consumer acceptance of novel and disruptive technologies is key to their implementation and to building capacity for transforming food systems. Using gene technology, nanotechnology, cultured meat and food irradiation as cases, this Review explores consumer acceptance through the frames of food neophobia, disgust sensitivity and cultural values.

A ‘foodshed’ model indicates the minimum distance between crop production and consumption globally. Results show that most of the world’s population depends on trade to feed themselves, even under different levels of yield gap closure and food loss reduction.

Livestock greenhouse gas emissions are key to the sustainability of food systems. A spatially explicit analysis of global livestock supply chains shows large variability of nitrogen use efficiency across species, systems, production intensities and the origin and management of animal feed.

Country-specific impacts of dietary transitions must be considered in climate change mitigation efforts. By modelling the trajectory of food, including international trade, this study reveals how greenhouse gas emissions of low-, middle- and high-income countries are expected to change with the adoption of the EAT–Lancet diet.

The online food delivery and takeaway market is growing in China, serving 406 million customers with 10.0 billion orders in 2018. Here, data from an online food delivery platform, life-cycle environmental impacts of packaging and tableware waste generated across 353 cities in China, and scenarios for paper alternatives and tableware sharing are presented.

An integrated subnational environmental and nutritional optimization approach indicates that, with a transition from current production and consumption patterns, India has the capacity to achieve national food self-sufficiency goals while reducing regional cropland use, water demand and GHG emissions.

Polypropylene-based food containers are utilized widely, but their potential to degrade and produce microplastics is poorly understood. Here, microplastics released from formula preparation procedures in polypropylene feeding bottles are quantified, demonstrating the potential for global infant exposure to microplastics.

Limited data on household cooking practices are an obstacle to estimating the contribution of home cooking to climate change. Based on a survey with over 700 respondents, this study estimates GHG emissions associated with different cooking methods and appliances in the UK, as well as strategies to reduce them.