Nature FoodPub Date : 2025-07-15DOI: 10.1038/s43016-025-01191-2
Jianming Xu, Nan Zhang, Zhiyuan Yao, Taoxiang Zhang, Jiajia Xing, Haizhen Wang, Zhiwen Jiang, Randy A. Dahlgren, Bin Ma
{"title":"Available phosphorus and opportunistic pathogens drive geographic variation in Escherichia coli O157:H7 survival in soils across eastern China","authors":"Jianming Xu, Nan Zhang, Zhiyuan Yao, Taoxiang Zhang, Jiajia Xing, Haizhen Wang, Zhiwen Jiang, Randy A. Dahlgren, Bin Ma","doi":"10.1038/s43016-025-01191-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-025-01191-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The persistence of food-borne pathogens in soil can trigger disease outbreaks, highlighting the critical need to understand their survival patterns. Here we investigate the survival of <i>Escherichia coli</i> O157:H7, a notable food-borne pathogen, across 81 natural soils from eastern China using inoculation experiments. <i>E. coli</i> O157:H7 survival ranged from 2.0 days to 43.3 days in soils. The survival-time map revealed hotspots and geographical heterogeneity of <i>E. coli</i> O157:H7 survival across eastern China. Bioinformatics analysis and validation experiments identified available phosphorus as the major factor controlling <i>E. coli</i> O157:H7 survival, with higher available phosphorus content in soils extending their survival. Two opportunistic pathogens, <i>Enterococcus faecium</i> and <i>Aerococcus viridans</i>, facilitated <i>E. coli</i> O157:H7 survival by forming biofilm structures and cross-feeding, respectively. Climate factors showed mostly indirect correlations with <i>E. coli</i> O157:H7. These findings enhance our understanding of food-borne pathogen survival in soils and offer insights to inform agricultural practices for preventing and controlling outbreaks.</p>","PeriodicalId":19090,"journal":{"name":"Nature Food","volume":"23 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144629926","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nature FoodPub Date : 2025-07-14DOI: 10.1038/s43016-025-01199-8
Jennifer L. Pomeranz, Dariush Mozaffarian
{"title":"US federal and state actions can improve food ingredient safety","authors":"Jennifer L. Pomeranz, Dariush Mozaffarian","doi":"10.1038/s43016-025-01199-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-025-01199-8","url":null,"abstract":"A safe food supply is critical to the health and future of nations. The new US administration has issued robustly worded intentions to address unsafe food ingredients, yet with voluntary proposals and conflicting priorities. Additionally, states are rapidly innovating around ingredient bans, warnings and public disclosures. A review of these federal and state actions reveals specific ways they might materially advance food ingredient safety.","PeriodicalId":19090,"journal":{"name":"Nature Food","volume":"34 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144622295","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nature FoodPub Date : 2025-07-14DOI: 10.1038/s43016-025-01202-2
{"title":"Indirect emissions from food systems result in substantial and unequal health burdens","authors":"","doi":"10.1038/s43016-025-01202-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-025-01202-2","url":null,"abstract":"Food system emissions extend beyond farms to supporting sectors, such as energy, transport and processing. Tracing these indirect emissions reveals they now account for one-quarter of mortality attributable to food-related air pollution from fine particulate matter in China. Low-income groups bear a disproportionately high health burden, whereas high-income groups avoid a considerable share.","PeriodicalId":19090,"journal":{"name":"Nature Food","volume":"37 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144622296","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nature FoodPub Date : 2025-07-14DOI: 10.1038/s43016-025-01208-w
Christian Bugge Henriksen
{"title":"Towards a more plant-based bioeconomy for Europe","authors":"Christian Bugge Henriksen","doi":"10.1038/s43016-025-01208-w","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-025-01208-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In alignment with the European Council’s strategic agenda for 2024–2029, the new European Union (EU) Bioeconomy Strategy — expected to be launched by the end of 2025 — aims to boost competitiveness, increase the number of green jobs and promote a bioeconomy that prioritizes different uses of biomass while respecting ecological boundaries<sup>1</sup>. The strategy will be aligned with the EU Competitiveness Compass, the Clean Industrial Deal, the Vision for Agriculture and Food, the Council Recommendation on ensuring a fair transition towards climate neutrality and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.</p><p>When finalizing its new strategy, the European Commission should consider the principles for a circular bioeconomy outlined by Muscat et al.<sup>2</sup>: (1) safeguarding and regenerating the health of our (agro)ecosystems; (2) avoiding non-essential products and the waste of essential ones; (3) prioritizing biomass streams for basic human needs; (4) utilizing and recycling by-products of (agro)ecosystems; and (5) using renewable energy while minimizing overall energy use. Considering these principles in light of recent global developments and geopolitical instability makes it evident that a bioeconomy that is more plant-based will be necessary for achieving the strategy’s specific objectives of increasing resource efficiency and circularity, ensuring long-term competitiveness and investment security, securing competitive and sustainable supply, and positioning the EU in the international market.</p>","PeriodicalId":19090,"journal":{"name":"Nature Food","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144622298","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nature FoodPub Date : 2025-07-11DOI: 10.1038/s43016-025-01196-x
Dori Patay, Erica Reeve, Anne Marie Thow, Phil Baker, Penny Farrell
{"title":"Whole-of-food system governance for transformative change","authors":"Dori Patay, Erica Reeve, Anne Marie Thow, Phil Baker, Penny Farrell","doi":"10.1038/s43016-025-01196-x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-025-01196-x","url":null,"abstract":"Governance is key to the much-needed reorientation of food systems towards better social, environmental and economic outcomes. Yet, food system governance is fraught with competing interests, policy incoherence and power asymmetries. Here, we provide insights into whole-of-food system governance to resolve these issues and propose a governance approach informed by systems thinking that considers paradigms about who should govern food systems.","PeriodicalId":19090,"journal":{"name":"Nature Food","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144603731","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nature FoodPub Date : 2025-07-11DOI: 10.1038/s43016-025-01201-3
Sergiy Medinets, Mark A. Sutton
{"title":"Nitrogen benchmarking for cropping systems","authors":"Sergiy Medinets, Mark A. Sutton","doi":"10.1038/s43016-025-01201-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-025-01201-3","url":null,"abstract":"A data-driven conceptual framework that benchmarks sustainable nitrogen management for wheat production in China and shows strong potential for fostering locally adapted strategies that balance agricultural productivity with environmental sustainability.","PeriodicalId":19090,"journal":{"name":"Nature Food","volume":"106 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144603683","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nature FoodPub Date : 2025-07-11DOI: 10.1038/s43016-025-01189-w
Hannah H. E. van Zanten, Jessica Duncan, Hans van Meijl, Sjoukje Heimovaara
{"title":"Scientific reflection on the European Commission’s Vision for Agriculture and Food","authors":"Hannah H. E. van Zanten, Jessica Duncan, Hans van Meijl, Sjoukje Heimovaara","doi":"10.1038/s43016-025-01189-w","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-025-01189-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In February 2025, the European Commission announced its Vision for Agriculture and Food for the next five years and beyond. The Vision builds on the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of EU Agriculture, a process that brought together key stakeholders from across Europe. The Strategic Dialogue report is substantially more ambitious than the Commission’s Vision. The latter lacks a food systems approach, which can hamper an integrated, sustainable transition. As scientists, we stand ready to work with the Commission, and other stakeholders, to provide evidence and analysis to ensure Europe’s food system works for the health of people and the planet.</p>","PeriodicalId":19090,"journal":{"name":"Nature Food","volume":"11 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144603684","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nature FoodPub Date : 2025-07-11DOI: 10.1038/s43016-025-01184-1
Tazman Davies, Akshar Saxena, Jason H. Y. Wu, Matti Marklund
{"title":"Food price elasticity estimates in Australia","authors":"Tazman Davies, Akshar Saxena, Jason H. Y. Wu, Matti Marklund","doi":"10.1038/s43016-025-01184-1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-025-01184-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Fiscal food policies can be used, among others, to minimize the burden of diet-related diseases. To inform the design of such policies in Australia, we used the large grocery-purchasing dataset NielsenIQ Homescan to estimate own-price elasticities and cross-price elasticities for 18 food categories. We found that households were most responsive to changes in price for non-sugar-sweetened beverages and sugar-sweetened beverages: a 10% increase in price was associated with reductions in demand of 15% and 12%, respectively. Additionally, an increase in the price of one category was associated with relatively small changes in the quantity demanded for other categories (that is, 92% of cross-price elasticities had an absolute value <0.2). There were small differences in own-price and cross-price elasticities across socioeconomic quintiles. These price elasticity estimates can be used to model the health and equity impacts of fiscal food policies in Australia.</p>","PeriodicalId":19090,"journal":{"name":"Nature Food","volume":"44 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144603732","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nature FoodPub Date : 2025-07-10DOI: 10.1038/s43016-025-01198-9
Daniel A. Jacobo-Velázquez
{"title":"Tariffs and food security in the US–Mexico agricultural corridor","authors":"Daniel A. Jacobo-Velázquez","doi":"10.1038/s43016-025-01198-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-025-01198-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Mexico is a global leader in fresh produce exports, supplying nearly 90% of US avocado imports and a large share of tomatoes, berries and peppers<sup>1,2</sup>. Even without enforcement, tariff threats have driven price volatility, contract renegotiations and logistical disruptions<sup>3</sup>. The situation highlights the fragility of North America’s tightly integrated food system and the risks of using trade policy as a political instrument.</p><p>Trade decisions of this magnitude are not merely economic; they are levers with direct consequences for public health and environmental resilience<sup>4</sup>. US consumers, especially lower-income groups, could face reduced access to affordable, nutritious food during off-seasons when domestic production is limited<sup>5</sup>. Studies show that such disruptions tend to increase prices and worsen inequality in food access<sup>1,2</sup>.</p>","PeriodicalId":19090,"journal":{"name":"Nature Food","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144593855","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nature FoodPub Date : 2025-07-08DOI: 10.1038/s43016-025-01197-w
Xiaotian Mi, Gang He, Weihong Qiu, Qingsong Zhang, Yulong Yin, Jinshan Liu, Mei Shi, Zhaohui Wang, Zhenling Cui
{"title":"Data-driven nitrogen management benchmarks support China’s wheat self-sufficiency by 2030","authors":"Xiaotian Mi, Gang He, Weihong Qiu, Qingsong Zhang, Yulong Yin, Jinshan Liu, Mei Shi, Zhaohui Wang, Zhenling Cui","doi":"10.1038/s43016-025-01197-w","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-025-01197-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Targeted improvement pathways for crop production are needed to meet growing food demand, but quantitative benchmarks are still lacking in China. Here we establish nitrogen (N) management benchmarks for wheat production at regional-to-country scales using a modified approach outlined by the EU Nitrogen Expert Panel, defined as meeting both the requirements for targeted crop N output and the threshold for N surplus. A large-scale survey of farmers shows that only 20% of China’s wheat harvested area met N management benchmarks. Optimized N management, soil fertility and climatic factors account for 70% of the effect on N management benchmarks; the combination of these contributors is projected to increase China’s wheat harvested area that meets N management benchmarks to 75% by 2030. With this, wheat production would increase by 12%, sufficient to achieve wheat self-sufficiency without imports. We demonstrate how N management benchmarks can be achieved under future climate change scenarios.</p>","PeriodicalId":19090,"journal":{"name":"Nature Food","volume":"10 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144578024","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}