Food systems transformations are necessary, but will be difficult to achieve without disrupting current political framings and governance mechanisms. The academic community can do more to drive change at the science–policy interface to open a larger political, social and economic space for progress.

Agricultural extension services are critical for food security and rural development but face several limitations—particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Based on real-life testing of GPT to generate technical advice for cassava farmers in Nigeria, this Perspective examines the shortcomings of this technology, as well as its potential to transform extension services.

The relevance of history to contemporary food security issues is often overlooked, yet context is key to understand drivers of vulnerability and to design interventions. This Review offers a historical account of eastern African food systems from 1497 to 1840, including maps, documentary sources and archaeological data on foodstuffs, farming and diets.

A scenario analysis shows that disregarding the links between bovine milk and meat production could lead to imbalances between national dietary guidelines and production outcomes, leading to unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions and potentially to food waste.

The UK Government aims to reduce premature deaths from non-communicable diseases by one-third by 2030 (SDG 3). Using life table methodology and data from the UK Biobank, this study indicates that sustained dietary changes—from median or unhealthy to a longevity-associated dietary pattern or to the Eatwell Guide recommendations—could lead to substantial life expectancy gains.

The relationships between the use of agricultural inputs and crop yields are complex. This study presents a machine learning model to predict the changes in crop yield in the face of single and combined agricultural input shocks and shows that shocks in the availability of commercial agricultural inputs have a considerable impact on crop yields, particularly in high-yield regions worldwide.

Storage and processing can impact micronutrient levels of biofortified foods at the point of consumption. A systematic review and online dashboard present data on how processing methods affect micronutrient retention.

Plant-beneficial bacteria provide multiple benefits to plants. This study constructs a database to couple microbial taxonomy with their plant-beneficial traits, and predicts that fossil-fuel-dependent scenarios could potentially lead to a marked decline of plant-beneficial bacteria abundance in global soils.

Dietary shifts can be hard to implement and their impacts can differ across population groups. Using dietary intake data from more than 7,000 US children and adults, this study identifies relatively simple dietary substitutions from higher- to lower-carbon foods, estimating the impact of these substitutions on greenhouse gas emissions and overall dietary healthfulness.

Resource constraints and environmental impacts associated with current phosphorus fertilizer manufacture and use highlight considerable risks within global food production systems. Research portfolios targeted at existing soil phosphorus reserves might offer a solution.

Today’s nutrition crisis is a manifestation of the broader malfunctioning of our global food system. The specific factors linking the two warrant further investigation.

Food systems transformations are necessary, but will be difficult to achieve without disrupting current political framings and governance mechanisms. The academic community can do more to drive change at the science–policy interface to open a larger political, social and economic space for progress.