Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Building productive relationships between farmers and scientists is critical to developing new innovation pathways to solve the challenges of contemporary agriculture. On-farm experimentation (OFE) is an effective approach that brings agricultural stakeholders to support farmers’ own management decisions for agricultural innovation, with digitalization playing a key role in motivating and enabling OFE.
Addressing trade-offs between the environment, health and inclusion in the quest for sustainable food systems requires integrated and coherent policies. This Perspective proposes a food systems transformation framework that brings these elements together and enables the design of concrete development pathways for food sustainability.
Global redistribution of accumulated nutrients could enhance food security and counteract degradative Earth system processes. Such a redress of unequal nutrient use may be enabled by a ‘one Earth currency’ allowing accumulated rights to nutrients to be traded.
Corporate reporting tools should incorporate equity considerations if they are to cover the true costs of operating in the food system. Looking at natural, social and human capital costs, this study proposes integrated metrics to account for the impact of economic activities across socio-economic, gender, racial, generational and risk-bearing domains.
Natural biomass cycling and avoidance of biomass overharvest are the basis of a sustainable food system. This study proposes five guiding principles for biomass use based on the concepts of ecology and circularity, as well as leverage points for their implementation.
Continuous and chronic exposure to mixtures of multiple chemicals, particularly from food, medicine and cleaning products, are of concern. A proactive combinatorial approach to identify, assess and regulate the likelihood of exposure and potential health effects is presented.
Metrics and methodologies to characterize food environments of school-age children and adolescents in low- and middle-income countries are explored here, with a view to inform priorities and actions for policy towards healthy, nutritious diets.
Corporate concentration and power can shape markets, technology and innovation agendas, and policy and governance frameworks. Issues, implications and mitigating measures to take in food systems are discussed here using the agricultural inputs industry as an example.
Conventional farming systems are susceptible to various sources of stress, but microalgae, mycoprotein and mealworm can offer healthy and more sustainable diets. This study highlights what makes future foods farming systems resilient and how to unlock their potential.
A framework based on circular economy and business model canvas principles is used to explore pathways towards future seafood sector resilience, elucidating how seafood business models currently operate and highlighting business practices that could increase sustainability.
Aquaculture must develop within planetary boundaries. Experience from agriculture, such as in managing monocultures and using genetically modified crops, can inform sustainable solutions for aquaculture.
Traceability is key to food quality and safety, but its wider implementation is hindered by high costs and technical complexity. A newly proposed mobile-based bidirectional system based on information concatenation through products’ 2D barcodes offers an effective, cheaper and more flexible alternative.
Fusarium wilt, the most destructive and uncontrollable fungal disease affecting banana, has now become a global threat. This Perspective proposes complementary strategies for banana Fusarium wilt management, including revising agrosystems and precision breeding.
Numerous pesticide reduction policies have been introduced in Europe. Shortcomings in current policies are discussed in this Perspective, and ten steps for guiding regulatory bodies towards implementing effective pesticide policies are presented.
By 2050, the majority of aquatic dietary protein will be produced by the aquaculture sector. A set of 15 metrics are presented here to guide the industry sustainably through the rapid growth and development it is experiencing.
Rehabilitation of degraded farmlands can have diverse benefits for sustainability, supporting rural livelihoods, economies, society and culture, as well as contributing to food security. A long-established agroforestry programme in Cameroon illustrates these benefits.
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.
Gender inequality, discriminatory laws and economic precarity persist for many women in the agriculture and food sectors. This Perspective frames the persistent malnutrition and food insecurity experienced in parts of South Asia, despite economic growth, in terms of social and political structures that inhibit the agency of women.
CRISPR technology has been widely used in plant genome editing and has great potential in precision breeding. The application of CRISPR technology to food crops provides potential for crop synthetic biology and crop domestication. The authors also discuss the implications of regulatory policy for deployment of the technology in the developing world.
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.