Image Essay Agrobiodiversidad en América Latina: desafíos y rutas para su conservación y uso sostenible Este ensayo reflexiona sobre algunas posiciones, retos y estrategias que podrían contribuir al co-diseño de rutas para la conservación y uso sostenible de la agrobiodiversidad en América Latina y el Caribe, a partir de un webinar desarrollado por MESA en octubre de 2024. Read
Image Journal articles The productivity–stability trade-off in global food systems This study argues there is a productivity stability trade-off in agricultural systems and the historic drive for productivity and lack of diversity threatens future crop production stability. It concludes that strategies to promote diverse landscapes and crops are critical to food production. Read
Image Essay Food and Farming in the Fells: regenerative agriculture and pathways to change in Cumbria Student and dairy farmer Joe Lyall rejects polarising food system solutions and finds balance between food and nature in regenerative agriculture while reflecting on his family’s business. This essay is based on a submission to TABLE’s 2024 Essay Challenge. Read
Image Essay Groundswell 2024: questions for regenerative agriculture at the festival The annual regenerative agriculture festival has grown enormously in recent years. TABLE team members were fascinated by the event’s confidence, dynamic energy and environmental convictions - and found questions about what the regenerative movement means beyond the farm gate to be in the air but not yet answered. Read
Image Reports Growing the local food sector This report is part of a collaboration of food system organisations in the UK led by Sustain. It lays out a snapshot of the local food sector from the perspective of those on the frontline such as farmers, wholesalers, retailers and buyers. It details the major barriers preventing the sector's growth as well as some initial potential solutions for local food to thrive. The report is part of the first phase of a larger project to provide recommendations to grow and strengthen local food systems across the four nations of the UK. Read
Image Books Restoring Eden: Unearthing the Agribusiness Secret That Poisoned My Farming Community Restoring Eden describes the experience of Elizabeth Hilborn, environmental scientist and owner of a family fruit farm, as she traces the cause of diminishing yields and a lack of pollinators on her farm. She describes how the scientific evidence she collects from water samples reflected the increased use of agricultural chemicals in the region, polluting waterways and soils, and causing catastrophic declines in insect populations. Read
Image Journal articles The number of farms is likely to decline globally by the middle of the century This study suggests that from 2020 to the end of the century the number of farms globally will approximately halve from the current 616 million in 2020 to around 272 million in 2100, based on current observed trends that are tied to rural population, GDP and agricultural area. The study predicts that a turning point will be reached where farm consolidation outpaces farm creation, causing the average farm size to double. Read
Image Explainer Meat, metrics and mindsets: Exploring debates on the role of livestock and alternatives in diets and farming Should we eat meat, eggs, dairy and other animal-sourced foods? If so, how should we produce them and how much should we eat? If not, what should we eat instead? These are just some of the more contentious debates about the future of food systems.This Explainer summarises some of the key debates about livestock and its alternatives and describes both the arguments and the evidence underpinning different points of view. We look both at foodstuffs (meat, fish, plants and new foods based on cells grown in bioreactors) and farming methods (both intensive and extensive) with regards to discussions about their environmental, health and social impacts. In so doing, we explore the assumptions and values that often lead stakeholders to differing conclusions about what a sustainable food system looks like.https://doi.org/10.56661/2caf9b92 Read
Image Books Farming with the environment This book presents 30 years of research from the Allerton Project, a research and demonstration farm in the UK which assesses the effects of different farming methods on wildlife and the environment. It is aimed at farmers, practitioners and policymakers. Read
