The FAO assesses the global plant genetics for food and agriculture, based on information from 128 countries and four regional and 13 international research centres. It reports on the progress since 2012 and challenges and needs for the future. 

TABLE brings you a round-up of COP16 outcomes plus insight and analysis from experts, such as Oliver Camp from the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition and TABLE’s own Camilo Ardila who is based at the Universidad de los Andes in Colombia. 

Researchers used annual land-cover maps to estimate habitat changes for 1,322 bird and mammal species across four continents to discover to what extent cropland abandonment improved biodiversity. It finds that most bird and mammal species gain habitat because of cropland abandonment, yet even more would have benefited if recultivation had not occurred. 

Environmentalist Vandana Shiva argues food is the currency of life, indivisible from Earth and its natural systems. She claims to unpack the false promises of technology and reveal the dangers of UPFs and take a stand on a future based on the natural regeneration of biodiversity. 

This report by The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) identifies opportunities to reduce species loss by improving practices in corn, beans and coffee. It warns that conservation offers biodiversity gains but can also lead to agricultural intensification which drives biodiversity loss, a phenomenon known as the Jevons paradox. 

The paper explores to what extent ruminant farming can enhance and preserve biodiversity, and calculates what would be an equivalent level of consumption. It found that with biodiverse-friendly grazing production, an average person could consume 2.2kg of milk per year and 0.8 kg of red meat.