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We found trade-offs among the environmental and animal welfare impacts of pig farms — those that had low greenhouse gas emissions typically had low land use but poor animal welfare and high antimicrobial use. Some farms performed well in all four impacts, but these farms were not consistently associated with any particular farm or label type.

Hybrid intelligence — arising from the sensible, targeted fusion of human minds and cutting-edge computational systems — holds great potential for enhancing the sustainability of agriculture. Leveraging the combined strengths of both collective human and artificial intelligence helps identify and stress-test pathways towards the reconciliation of biodiversity and productivity.

Greenhouse gas emissions, antimicrobial use, land use and animal welfare data representing most global commercial pig production systems show that no single system performs well across all measures, but trade-offs may be avoidable if mitigation measures are implemented within farming systems.

Neurotoxic methylmercury (MeHg) in rice poses health risks. This study explores the roles of various cropland microbial communities in MeHg formation on a large scale and identifies that Geobacteraceae are the key predictors of MeHg bioaccumulation in paddy soil systems, which holds the potential for mitigating global mercury exposure.

Mouthfeel occurs at macro, cellular and molecular scales. Biophysical approaches, including atomic force microscopy, offer tools to explore the mechanisms of oral mechanosensation for informing food product development and outlining the definition of flavour.

A newly developed metasurface that is eco-friendly, non-toxic and water soluble facilitates the use of sensor-enabled food packaging.

Food packaging is an important environmental concern and susceptible to counterfeit-prone labelling. This study presents a newly developed water-soluble food label using nanocomposite ink that addresses these issues.

The exact quantification of environmental and human health gains achieved through sustainable nitrogen management is often impaired by real-world data availability. Drawing on an extensive database in China, this study estimates the costs and benefits of combining organic and chemical fertilizers, straw recycling and deep placement of fertilizer.

Data-driven personalized nutrition (PN) can address the complexities of food systems in megacities, aiming to enhance food resilience. By integrating individual preferences, health data and environmental factors, PN can optimize food supply chains, promote healthier dietary choices and reduce food waste. Collaborative efforts among stakeholders are essential to implement PN effectively.

The transition towards plant-based diets requires supportive market and policy instruments. This study investigates how and the extent to which public funds support animal agriculture by tracking subsidy flows related to the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy across global food supply chains.

Ongoing depletion rates of phosphorus reserves might pose a challenge to future food security. This Analysis estimates the effects of matching plant-available soil Olsen P concentrations with thresholds for optimal yields of grassland and 28 crops on the longevity of global P reserves.

A lack of systematized information on existing agri-environmental policies poses challenges for research and practice. A new database with more than 6,000 agri-environmental policies implemented over the past six decades around the world helps fill the gap. This information enables the extraction of valuable insights for policymakers, academics and businesses.

Cropland fragmentation poses a significant threat to agricultural sustainability in China. Rational crop layout is required for different ecological regions to manage the fragmented croplands.

Using spatial statistics on a detailed land use map, the study highlights the impact of cropland fragmentation in China. Optimizing cropping structures to meet animal food demand or relocating fragmented croplands for large-scale farming can release the potential of the fragmented croplands for increased agricultural productivity and environmental protection.

Every study has limitations; the question is whether it moves the field forward and what this entails for each community.

Wild forage fish can provide nutrients essential for human health, yet some nutrients may be lost when forage fish are used as aquafeeds. Reallocating a third of food-grade forage fish towards direct human consumption can optimize seafood systems to deliver dietary nutrients for feed and food at different scales.

A mass-balance and fish-in/fish-out ratio approach demonstrates that redistributing wild-caught fish used in salmon aquaculture to human consumption could improve nutrient retention and support sustainable marine resource use.