Nature foodPub Date : 2026-04-14DOI: 10.1038/s43016-026-01342-z
Anna Schuhbauer, Louise Teh
{"title":"A dual sustainability crisis for Kenya’s small-scale fisheries","authors":"Anna Schuhbauer, Louise Teh","doi":"10.1038/s43016-026-01342-z","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43016-026-01342-z","url":null,"abstract":"Data collected over 27 years show that ecological and social sustainability can quietly diverge, driven by factors that fisheries assessments typically overlook. For small-scale reef fishers in Kenya, rising fish prices and higher catches have failed to translate into decent earnings, with fewer than 2% making the national minimum wage.","PeriodicalId":94151,"journal":{"name":"Nature food","volume":"7 4","pages":"317-318"},"PeriodicalIF":21.9,"publicationDate":"2026-04-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147680493","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 : 2026-04-10DOI: 10.1038/s43016-026-01330-3
T. R. McClanahan
{"title":"Losses of ecological and social sustainability among small-scale fishers in Kenya’s nearshore fisheries","authors":"T. R. McClanahan","doi":"10.1038/s43016-026-01330-3","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43016-026-01330-3","url":null,"abstract":"Balancing fish supply, poverty reduction, biodiversity conservation and livelihoods in fisheries management requires a detailed understanding of fishing effort, catch and revenue dynamics. Here a ~27-year time series of ecological and economic data from Kenya’s nearshore fisheries is analysed. Despite rising nominal fish prices and total fisheries revenue, increasing costs of living caused real incomes to decline, leading fishers to exit the fishery and aggregate incomes to stabilize just below national minimum wage thresholds. Reduced fishing effort contributed to partial recovery of fish biomass but failed to restore natural ecosystem structure or maximum production potential. Achieving both ecological recovery and social sustainability will require further rebuilding of fish populations to restore production capacity, fishing effort, livelihood diversity and living wages, while simultaneously meeting the growing societal demand for nutrient-rich fish. Fishers’ livelihoods are threatened by the rising cost of living and dwindling fish stocks. A dataset of Kenya’s small-scale fisheries spanning 27 years reveals increasing poverty despite rising nominal fish prices and incomes, while reduced fishing effort has prompted some recovery in fish biomass.","PeriodicalId":94151,"journal":{"name":"Nature food","volume":"7 4","pages":"381-390"},"PeriodicalIF":21.9,"publicationDate":"2026-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147649090","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 : 2026-04-09DOI: 10.1038/s43016-026-01341-0
Rob Ralston, Katherine Sievert, Kim Anastasiou, Joe Yates, Jennifer Clapp
{"title":"Ultra-processed foods are a key driver of the global plastics pollution crisis","authors":"Rob Ralston, Katherine Sievert, Kim Anastasiou, Joe Yates, Jennifer Clapp","doi":"10.1038/s43016-026-01341-0","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43016-026-01341-0","url":null,"abstract":"The plastic waste generated by ultra-processed foods (UPFs) is a key driver of the global plastics crisis. Recognizing the integral role of plastics in UPF production is essential to developing a more socio-ecological perspective on these food products. This Comment identifies the linkages between the rise of UPFs and the rise of plastic packaging, calling for a renewed research agenda.","PeriodicalId":94151,"journal":{"name":"Nature food","volume":"7 4","pages":"309-311"},"PeriodicalIF":21.9,"publicationDate":"2026-04-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147641512","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 : 2026-04-09DOI: 10.1038/s43016-026-01343-y
{"title":"Climate change will likely increase the need for heat stress mitigation in apple production","authors":"","doi":"10.1038/s43016-026-01343-y","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43016-026-01343-y","url":null,"abstract":"A climate-yield model of French apple production quantifies the potential for future climate change adaptation in this sector. While cooler regions can still reap benefits from a warming climate in the short term, yield losses will become increasingly frequent by 2050 due to the lack of adaptive capacity to heat stress.","PeriodicalId":94151,"journal":{"name":"Nature food","volume":"7 4","pages":"319-320"},"PeriodicalIF":21.9,"publicationDate":"2026-04-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147641754","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 : 2026-04-09DOI: 10.1038/s43016-026-01345-w
Harriet Bartlett, Márcia Zanella, Beatriz Kaori, Leandro Sabei, Michelle S. Araujo, Tauana Maria de Paula, Adroaldo J. Zanella, Mark A. Holmes, James L. N. Wood, Andrew Balmford
{"title":"Author Correction: Trade-offs in the externalities of pig production are not inevitable","authors":"Harriet Bartlett, Márcia Zanella, Beatriz Kaori, Leandro Sabei, Michelle S. Araujo, Tauana Maria de Paula, Adroaldo J. Zanella, Mark A. Holmes, James L. N. Wood, Andrew Balmford","doi":"10.1038/s43016-026-01345-w","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43016-026-01345-w","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":94151,"journal":{"name":"Nature food","volume":"7 4","pages":"391-391"},"PeriodicalIF":21.9,"publicationDate":"2026-04-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.comhttps://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-026-01345-w.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147641752","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nature foodPub Date : 2026-04-06DOI: 10.1038/s43016-026-01332-1
Anouk Reuzé, Julia Baudry, Joséphine Brunin, Sandrine Péneau, Caroline Méjean, Mathilde Touvier, Philippe Pointereau, Denis Lairon, Serge Hercberg, Emmanuelle Kesse-Guyot, Benjamin Allès
{"title":"Greater readiness to reduce meat consumption is associated with lower greenhouse gas emissions","authors":"Anouk Reuzé, Julia Baudry, Joséphine Brunin, Sandrine Péneau, Caroline Méjean, Mathilde Touvier, Philippe Pointereau, Denis Lairon, Serge Hercberg, Emmanuelle Kesse-Guyot, Benjamin Allès","doi":"10.1038/s43016-026-01332-1","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43016-026-01332-1","url":null,"abstract":"Meat reduction is central to achieving climate targets. Here, using the transtheoretical model, we assessed readiness to reduce meat consumption in 2018 and diet-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2014 and 2018 among 13,635 French adults. Individuals in advanced stages of meat reduction in 2018 decreased GHG emissions between 2014 and 2018, mainly through reducing ruminant meat, with smaller decreases in pork and poultry. Despite these changes, GHG emissions remained above national targets, indicating that current efforts are insufficient to achieve climate goals. Greater readiness to reduce meat consumption was associated with actual decreases in meat intake and associated greenhouse gas emissions among a cohort of French adults, primarily through reduced ruminant meat consumption, with smaller declines in pork and poultry. However, these reductions remain insufficient to meet national climate targets.","PeriodicalId":94151,"journal":{"name":"Nature food","volume":"7 4","pages":"328-333"},"PeriodicalIF":21.9,"publicationDate":"2026-04-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147620396","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 : 2026-04-03DOI: 10.1038/s43016-026-01337-w
Ying Ma, Xiang Li, Yongming Luo
{"title":"Microbiome-driven innovations for climate-resilient crop production","authors":"Ying Ma, Xiang Li, Yongming Luo","doi":"10.1038/s43016-026-01337-w","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43016-026-01337-w","url":null,"abstract":"Crop productivity under climate stress remains constrained by conventional agricultural approaches that underuse plant–microbiome interactions. A microbiome-centred, climate-responsive framework was proposed to enhance crop resilience and agro-sustainability by prioritizing targeted manipulation of crop-associated microbiomes, offering a scalable and adaptive pathway to buffer climate stresses and stabilize crop performance.","PeriodicalId":94151,"journal":{"name":"Nature food","volume":"7 4","pages":"304-308"},"PeriodicalIF":21.9,"publicationDate":"2026-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147611841","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 : 2026-04-02DOI: 10.1038/s43016-026-01339-8
Lan van Wassenaer
{"title":"Artificial intelligence and the foundations of food systems research","authors":"Lan van Wassenaer","doi":"10.1038/s43016-026-01339-8","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43016-026-01339-8","url":null,"abstract":"Artificial intelligence has recently become an invisible infrastructure shaping how knowledge is produced and applied in food systems. From data pipelines to policy modelling, artificial intelligence-mediated workflows are becoming integral to research practice. An analysis of the intersection of agricultural economics, food systems and digitalization suggests that this transformation is reshaping scientific authority, professional competence and governance in ways that demand deliberate institutional design.","PeriodicalId":94151,"journal":{"name":"Nature food","volume":"7 4","pages":"302-303"},"PeriodicalIF":21.9,"publicationDate":"2026-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147599536","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 : 2026-03-31DOI: 10.1038/s43016-026-01333-0
Laurent Giguère, Rachael D. Garrett, Matthieu Stigler, Graham J. Dow
{"title":"Harnessing adaptation has increased French apple yields but heat stress mitigation will become essential by 2050","authors":"Laurent Giguère, Rachael D. Garrett, Matthieu Stigler, Graham J. Dow","doi":"10.1038/s43016-026-01333-0","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43016-026-01333-0","url":null,"abstract":"Evidence on how climate change affects perennial fruit crops remains limited. Here, focusing on historical apple production in France from 1989 to 2020, we find that most regions adapted to harness warming-related benefits, especially in the apple blooming period. However, in hotter Mediterranean departments, adaptations to mitigate yield losses were crucial to avoiding greater losses. Although historical effects were mostly positive due to ‘harnessing adaptation’, temperatures will increasingly exceed optimal thresholds, increasing the number of regions experiencing net losses by 2050 unless heat stress mitigation improves. French apple yields have increased as temperatures have shifted towards yield optima, but by 2050, more regions may experience yield losses unless heat stress mitigation improves.","PeriodicalId":94151,"journal":{"name":"Nature food","volume":"7 4","pages":"321-327"},"PeriodicalIF":21.9,"publicationDate":"2026-03-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147583813","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 : 2026-03-26DOI: 10.1038/s43016-026-01336-x
Zhaohai Bai, Lin Ma
{"title":"Beyond regenerative grazing","authors":"Zhaohai Bai, Lin Ma","doi":"10.1038/s43016-026-01336-x","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43016-026-01336-x","url":null,"abstract":"Adaptive multi-paddock grazing can improve soil carbon storage, pasture productivity and farm profitability, but enteric methane and the constraints of intensive global farming underscore the need for broader interventions.","PeriodicalId":94151,"journal":{"name":"Nature food","volume":"7 4","pages":"315-316"},"PeriodicalIF":21.9,"publicationDate":"2026-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147523504","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}