World Food Day 2022

For World Food Day 2022, RELX's Global Head of Corporate Responsibility, Dr. Márcia Balisciano, speaks to Dr. Rickey Yada.

New foods for sustainable consumption.

Experts from a range of fields and geographies describe key threats to global food security over the next two decades and suggest key research questions and gaps on this topic.

Development of plant based meat analogues for sustainable food systems.

Developing plant-based burgers. Consumer perception of clean label in plant-based meat alternatives was investigated.

Lab grown meat as a sustainable alternative.

Developing sustainable alternative to foods.

Developing products with insects for sustainable food systems.

With the introduction of nanotechnology in the food industry, new and innovative techniques have started to develop, which holds a promising future to end malnutrition and help achieve United Nations Sustainable Developmental Goal-2 (UN SDG-2), named as zero hunger. This review highlights the need for nanofortification of vitamin B-complex in food matrix to address challenges faced by conventional fortification methods (bioavailability, controlled release, physicochemical stability, and shelf life).

A radical transformation of the world food system is needed to meet the UN sustainable development goals and ensure food security, whilst maintaining the health of the people and the planet. There is an urgent need to accelerate innovation for more sustainable and healthy food systems.

This paper examines the relationship between farmers’ nutritional intake, production structure and regional market conditions.

There is clear evidence that lifestyle factors affect iron bioavailability. However, information regarding the effect of alcohol and caffeine consumption on iron metabolism is limited.

Using agronomic experiment data from 62 studies between 1987 and 2021, we employ a meta-analysis to analyze the factors contributing to the heterogeneous effects of wastewater irrigation on crop yield.

COVID-19 is having a far-reaching negative impact on global economic and social development. One of the challenges arising from the pandemic is ensuring food security, especially with respect to cold chain food.

The nexus of agri-food and sustainability in economic development has recently attracted the interest of policymakers, as global challenges like climate change and food security are revisited and reassessed. The critical role of food production in economic development has been emphasized through targeted agricultural quality policies. Many developed countries worldwide, including EU member states, have introduced food quality policies that could support sustainability.

These results suggested that ratoon rice is a suitable cropping system to achieve the food security, economic and environmental goals.

Authors measure nutrient content in coral reef fishes in Seychelles and show that reef fish are important sources of selenium and zinc and contain levels of calcium, iron, and omega-3 fatty acids comparable with other animal-source foods.

The present review highlights on the issues of hindrances in applicability of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal (AM) to the agricultural fields focusing on the mode of functions, maintaining soil and environmental sustainability; interactions with other biofertilizers and impact of various agrochemicals and agro-practices including tillage and crop rotation.

This review critically examines the current state-of-art on use of microbial strains as biofertilizers and the important roles performed by these beneficial microbes in maintaining soil fertility and enhancing crop productivity.

In this review, we explore how agriculture is implementing the use of microbial inoculants (single species or consortia) to improve crop yields, and discuss current strategies to study plant-associated microorganisms and how their diversity varies under unconventional agriculture.

Fluorescent and non-fluorescent species of Pseudomonas are important for plant growth promotion, phytopathogenic control and plant disease management. Ecologically significant applications of Pseudomonas in biocontrol and bioaugmentation are crucial for maintaining food security.

African swine fever outbreak has caused serious economic losses in China. Consequently, pork supply faces huge demand. An effective biosafety procedure was developed for production of pigs in small-scale farms in China.

The present study is the first applications of the input-oriented stochastic distance function approach in estimating scale and scope economies using data of multi-crop farming households in Vietnam.

Gender norms also apply to the expectations around food and cooking. "I am a widow therefore I can cook: I am a widower therefore I need someone to cook for me" is unfounded.

This editorial describes a Special Issue which has been created to inspire high-impact recent advancements on bioprospecting beneficial microorganisms as a sustainable strategy to warranty global food security.

The use of grains as an alternative to wheat in breadmaking has rapidly grown in the last few years, driven by the Sustainable Development Goals toward improving food security and promoting sustainable agriculture. Flours from legumes, pseudo-cereals, minor cereals and milling by-products, such as bran, are of particular interest. The production of partially substituted or wheat-free bread is, however, a challenging task in terms of texture and flavour attributes.

The effect of the river chief system on reducing agricultural NPS pollution is explored in this study using panel data from 308 Chinese counties during the period from 2004 to 2015.

This paper briefly reviews different debates about approaches for paths out of poverty, considering several views, from the analysis of specific policies to more general or systemic considerations.

It reviews the international experience to end poverty in all its forms everywhere.

Using China Health and Nutrition Survey data, this study employs a consistent two-step quadratic almost ideal demand system model, with addressed problems of endogeneity of total expenditure and zero shares, to estimate the food demand elasticities among adults in rural areas with regard to the different income strata.

Implementation of the effective mitigation scenarios discussed in the article might help China, as a signatory to the 2015 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (Paris Agreement), to achieve a 30% reduction in crop yield-scaled N2O emissions by 2030.

Contamination of urban-garden vegetables with potentially toxic elements is a great problem in developing countries. This study assessed the level of PTEs (Cu, Pb, Cr and Cd) in market-sold vegetables in southwest Nigeria and evaluated the estimated daily intake (EDI) to understand the health implications.

Elemental selenium, a new type of selenium supplement, can be biosynthesized via microorganisms. This study is to characterize a patent probiotic bacteria Enterococcus durans A8–1, capable of reducing selenite (Se6+ or Se4+) to elemental selenium (Se0) with the formation of Se nanoparticles (SeNPs).

Illustrates the impact of the pandemic and resulting reduction in travel on food insecurity in Tajikistan.

Fat replacement for health benefits.

Limiting food waste for more sustainable consumption.

The paper presents policy responses to the pandemic that illustrate how the crisis has opened opportunities for initiating changes that can lead to a more just food system.

Discussion of the addition of glycemic index values to a Venezuelan food composition database with the aim of providing a useful resource for research and clinical settings in the region.

Wheat is a major staple food in many diets worldwide. Authors identify a rapid and robust method for identifying fungi-infected damage to wheat crops, with the aim of reducing economic losses and hunger.

A literature quantitative research analysis carried out via Scopus, researching publications on food dyes and their related health relationship. Consumers are becoming increasingly interested in the link between additives such as food dyes and overall food quality.

The paper shows that future global wheat prices will exhibit steeper spikes at 2°C global warming despite a 1.7% increase in production, increasing inequalities.

Analysis of how drought, heat stress, and heavy precipitation could affect over 1.6 million producers within the Fairtrade supply chain by 2050.

The transformation toward a healthy, just, and environmentally friendly food system needs to be reinforced—and not abandoned—in the face of the Russia-Ukraine war. We need comprehensive solutions that bring short-term relief and also avert the existential threat our food system poses to the health of people and the planet.

 The knowledge about various indices related to the composting process has become an important and wider area of research in the current time. The review therefore focuses on the various stability and maturity indices of composting process and lays emphasis on the advantages and uses of the matured compost. 

Urban agriculture is booming. During case study Water-Energy-Food nexus research at urban farms, investigation indicated two types of ‘food’ to be relevant for urban agriculture. 

Despite its significant adverse impacts on the environment, society, and economy, food waste is unavoidable around the world. The increase in population and income will worsen the situation and put more pressure on food security. 

This chapter focuses on genetically modified crops that can aid farmers in increasing crop resilience and productivity. While their safety and ethics have raised concern, these promising technologies offer hope for the improvement of food security for global populations, especially those in under-developed or developing countries.

This chapter covers strategies for greenhouse gas management in livestock production, while maintaining a high-yeild and safe food system.

Legumes offer a wide range of benefits in addition to improving food security within many regions of the world.  Grain legumes particularly offer benefits as presented in this chapter.

Nutritional value is imperative for food security. Understanding how breeding can enhance this is an important tool toward eliminating hunger and food insecurity.

Building effective policy and practices to ensure sustainable supplies of nutritious foods requires understanding the contributing factors and developing appropriate practices in response.

Harnessing genomic selection for efficient and sustainable livestock production is an important and markable way to address food security challenges.

Orphan crops are crops hold little significance at the global scale but play vital role in the food and nutrition security in the developing world.

Climate adaptation and mitigation strategies aim at strengthening existing food systems and infrastructure of agro-ecosystems, to make them more resilient to the effects of climate-led adversities.

Food security is achieved when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.

This chapter focuses on how good quality foods prevent malnutrition in all its forms.

This chapter addresses world hunger, malnutrition, and extreme poverty.

This chapter reviews the state of global infant and young child nutrition, its long-term health consequences, the mechanisms involved, and potential approaches to addressing these challenges.

Insects are becoming an increasingly attractive option as a sustainable food source, both for humans and animals. This chapter covers this growing area of interest in the research community as well as the challenges of farming and harvesting insects for food.

This chapter focuses on the effect of population-level dietary choices (type of foods) and habits (food waste) on environmental sustainability, and introduces four food determinants of sustainable diets from the consumer's perspective.

The goal of global food security will be achieved only by improving the qualitative and quantitative traits of crops through exploitation of metabolic pathways involving advanced analytical tools and technologies.

An Article in support of SDGs 2, and 3, assessing the impact of incorporating dietary assessment in 10 year absolute risk charts for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

This Viewpoint supports SDGs 2 and 15 by highlighting the importance of trees and forests to food systems, and exploring how the value of trees and forests in this regard can be enhanced to improve nutritional and environmental sustainability.

A Personal View in support of SDGs 2 and 3, proposing recommendations for improving future trials in the field of nutrition and cognitive health, particularly in relation to dementia, and highlighting the need for testing of both personalised interventions and generalisable public health interventions.

A Health Policy paper in support of SDGs 2 and 3, calling on the World Health Assembly to pass a resolution for universal mandatory folic acid fortification to prevent the development of spina bifida and anencephaly and to help countries reach their 2030 Sustainable Development Goals on child mortality and health equity.

An Article in support of SDGs 2, 13, and 15, assessing the environmental consequences and nutritional contributions of national food-based dietary guidelines while considering circular food system principles

An Editorial on the cost of living crisis, in the context of SDGs 1, 2, and 3, calling for governments to act urgently to address poverty and food insecurity to avoid further compromising the health of populations, especially children.

An Article on the increase in hunger brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, in the context of SDG 3, focusing specifically on the Supplemental NutrAticition Assistance Program on mitigating this indirect effect of the pandemic on a national level across the USA.

An Article in support of SDGs 2 and 15, showing that farm-level diversification might contribute to improved nutrition among children and other target groups in some but not all situations, but livestock production seems to be conducive for improving child and adolescent nutrition on average.

A Review on the association between agricultural food production and hunting practices and zoonotic disease outbreaks, in the context of SDGs 3, 12, and 15, highlighting the need to redesign the global food system to reduce the threat of future outbreaks.

An Article in support of SDGs 2 and 3, highlighting that in almost all regions and countries the progress on reducing anaemia in women of reproductive age is insufficient to meet the World Health Assembly's global nutrition target to halve anaemia prevalence by 2030.

An Article in support of SDGs 2 and 10, analysing global inequalities in the double burden of malnutrition and its association with economic and social globalisation, showing that the probability of the double burden of malnutrition at the household level differs across country income and household wealth.

An Article in support of SDG 2 and 12, providing a comprehensive picture of consumption of total animal-source foods, unprocessed red meat, processed meat, seafood, egg, milk, cheese, and yoghurt consumption in 185 countries among children and adults.

A Review in support of SDGs 3 and 12, focusing on the decrease in traditional food availability and the increase in food import dependence in small islands, discussing the resulting reduction in diet quality and food security and the increase in type 2 diabetes risk.

An Article in support of SDGs 2 and 3, identifying the populations whose nutrient needs are most costly to meet, focusing on current food policies and systems

A Review on food technology, in the context of SDGs 3 and 9, focusing specifically on the potential clinical applications of food-based substances, especially agro-waste and food processing byproducts.

An Article in support of SDGs 12 and 13, assessing the potential benefits of moving to more sustainable diets for greenhouse gas emissions, land use, mortality, and cancer rates.

An Article in support of SDGs 12 and 13, assessing greenhouse gas emissions, water footprint, and ecological footprint of different food types in Brazil, with a particular focus on ultra-processed foods

A Review in support of SDG 12, summarising the advantages and dsiadvantages of different models used to label foods according to their environmental and nutritional impact. This review highlights the need to develop reference values for the classifiation of sustainable foods

An Article in support of SDGs 2 and 12, assessing the financial costs of healthy and sustainable diets in countries with different income levels

An Article in support of SDGs 3 and 12, assessing trends in UK meat consumption and the associated changes in environmental impact.

A Review in support of SDG 2, summarising the consumption of fats globally and estimating the changes required to increase fat consumption in some parts of the world to nutritional recommendations, in a sustainable way

An Editorial on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on childhood obesity, in the context of SDGs 3 and 12, highlighting the need for governmental and commercial action advocating for healthier nutrition and intersectional collaboration between health and education sectors.

A Commentary on the role of governments in mitigating the health effects of malnutrition, in the context of SDGs 3 and 12, highlighting the need for the implementation of more comprehensive policies to limit the availability of unhealthy foods and to increase that of healthy foods to communities across Africa.

A Research Paper on food insecurity in the UK, in the context of SDGs 1, 2, and 3, focusing specifically on the association between the implementation of austerity policies in 2010 and the increase in foodbank use and food insecurity over the following decade.

A Research Paper on obesity, in the context of SDGs 3, 9, and 11, focusing specifically on the role of multi-level and multi-component interventions addressing healthy nutrition, physical activity, and education to mitigate the rising epidemic.

A Viewpoint on recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, in the context of SDGs 3, 5, and 10, focusing specifically on the benefits of investing in maternal, neonatal, and child health domains, including nutrition.

An Article in support of SDGs 2 and 3, analysing the effectiveness of multiple micronutrient powders in infants and showing net health benefits of this intervention in most countries, although cost-effectiveness varied in different settings.

An Article in support of SDGs 2 and 12, analysing the affordability of the EAT–Lancet benchmark diets using food price and household income data for 744 foods in 159 countries, collected under the International Comparison Program.

An Article in support of SDGs 2 and 3, analysing the burden of child and maternal malnutrition across all states in India, highlighting the progress so far and efforts needed to achieve the national 2022 and global 2030 targets.

An Article in support of SDGs 2 and 12, analysing the affordability of the EAT–Lancet benchmark diets using food price and household income data for 744 foods in 159 countries, collected under the International Comparison Program.

An Article in support of SDGs 2 and 3, highlighting that in almost all regions and countries the progress on reducing anaemia in women of reproductive age is insufficient to meet the World Health Assembly's global nutrition target to halve anaemia prevalence by 2030.

An Article in support of SDGs 2 and 10, analysing global inequalities in the double burden of malnutrition and its association with economic and social globalisation, showing that the probability of the double burden of malnutrition at the household level differs across country income and household wealth.

An Article in support of SDGs 2 and 3, analysing the effectiveness of multiple micronutrient powders in infants and showing net health benefits of this intervention in most countries, although cost-effectiveness varied in different settings.

An Article in support of SDGs 2 and 3, analysing the burden of child and maternal malnutrition across all states in India, highlighting the progress so far and efforts needed to achieve the national 2022 and global 2030 targets.

A Health Policy paper in support of SDGs 2 and 3, calling on the World Health Assembly to pass a resolution for universal mandatory folic acid fortification to prevent the development of spina bifida and anencephaly and to help countries reach their 2030 Sustainable Development Goals on child mortality and health equity.

A Personal View in support of SDGs 2 and 3, proposing recommendations for improving future trials in the field of nutrition and cognitive health, particularly in relation to dementia, and highlighting the need for testing of both personalised interventions and generalisable public health interventions.

This Viewpoint supports SDGs 2 and 15 by highlighting the importance of trees and forests to food systems, and exploring how the value of trees and forests in this regard can be enhanced to improve nutritional and environmental sustainability.

An Article in support of SDGs 2, 13, and 15, assessing the environmental consequences and nutritional contributions of national food-based dietary guidelines while considering circular food system principles

An Article in support of SDGs 2 and 15, showing that farm-level diversification might contribute to improved nutrition among children and other target groups in some but not all situations, but livestock production seems to be conducive for improving child and adolescent nutrition on average.

An Article in support of SDG 2 and 12, providing a comprehensive picture of consumption of total animal-source foods, unprocessed red meat, processed meat, seafood, egg, milk, cheese, and yoghurt consumption in 185 countries among children and adults.

A Review in support of SDGs 3 and 12, focusing on the decrease in traditional food availability and the increase in food import dependence in small islands, discussing the resulting reduction in diet quality and food security and the increase in type 2 diabetes risk.

An Article in support of SDGs 2 and 3, identifying the populations whose nutrient needs are most costly to meet, focusing on current food policies and systems

An Article in support of SDGs 12 and 13, assessing greenhouse gas emissions, water footprint, and ecological footprint of different food types in Brazil, with a particular focus on ultra-processed foods

An Article in support of SDGs 12 and 13, assessing the potential benefits of moving to more sustainable diets for greenhouse gas emissions, land use, mortality, and cancer rates.

An Article in support of SDGs 2 and 12, assessing the financial costs of healthy and sustainable diets in countries with different income levels

A Review in support of SDG 12, summarising the advantages and dsiadvantages of different models used to label foods according to their environmental and nutritional impact. This review highlights the need to develop reference values for the classifiation of sustainable foods

An Article in support of SDGs 3 and 12, assessing trends in UK meat consumption and the associated changes in environmental impact.

A Review in support of SDG 2, summarising the consumption of fats globally and estimating the changes required to increase fat consumption in some parts of the world to nutritional recommendations, in a sustainable way

An Article in support of SDGs 2, and 3, assessing the impact of incorporating dietary assessment in 10 year absolute risk charts for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

An Editorial on the cost of living crisis, in the context of SDGs 1, 2, and 3, calling for governments to act urgently to address poverty and food insecurity to avoid further compromising the health of populations, especially children.

An Editorial on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on childhood obesity, in the context of SDGs 3 and 12, highlighting the need for governmental and commercial action advocating for healthier nutrition and intersectional collaboration between health and education sectors.

A Viewpoint on recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, in the context of SDGs 3, 5, and 10, focusing specifically on the benefits of investing in maternal, neonatal, and child health domains, including nutrition.

A Review on the association between agricultural food production and hunting practices and zoonotic disease outbreaks, in the context of SDGs 3, 12, and 15, highlighting the need to redesign the global food system to reduce the threat of future outbreaks.

A Research Paper on food insecurity in the UK, in the context of SDGs 1, 2, and 3, focusing specifically on the association between the implementation of austerity policies in 2010 and the increase in foodbank use and food insecurity over the following decade.

A Research Paper on obesity, in the context of SDGs 3, 9, and 11, focusing specifically on the role of multi-level and multi-component interventions addressing healthy nutrition, physical activity, and education to mitigate the rising epidemic.

A Commentary on the role of governments in mitigating the health effects of malnutrition, in the context of SDGs 3 and 12, highlighting the need for the implementation of more comprehensive policies to limit the availability of unhealthy foods and to increase that of healthy foods to communities across Africa.

A Review on food technology, in the context of SDGs 3 and 9, focusing specifically on the potential clinical applications of food-based substances, especially agro-waste and food processing byproducts.

An Article on the increase in hunger brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, in the context of SDG 3, focusing specifically on the Supplemental NutrAticition Assistance Program on mitigating this indirect effect of the pandemic on a national level across the USA.