Nature foodPub Date : 2026-07-22DOI: 10.1038/s43016-026-01403-3
{"title":"Dietary footprints across populations","authors":"","doi":"10.1038/s43016-026-01403-3","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43016-026-01403-3","url":null,"abstract":"Diets affect both human and planetary health. Recent research reveals how dietary footprints vary across demographic groups and offers new data and methods for future studies.","PeriodicalId":94151,"journal":{"name":"Nature food","volume":"7 7","pages":"621-621"},"PeriodicalIF":24.7,"publicationDate":"2026-07-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.comhttps://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-026-01403-3.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148560089","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 : 2026-07-21DOI: 10.1038/s43016-026-01392-3
Nitya Rao, Hélène Binesse, Aswathy Vinod
{"title":"Food systems literacy in Indigenous health and nutrition","authors":"Nitya Rao, Hélène Binesse, Aswathy Vinod","doi":"10.1038/s43016-026-01392-3","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43016-026-01392-3","url":null,"abstract":"Indigenous and traditional knowledge and practices have been acknowledged as offering potential solutions to the triple crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and poor health and nutrition. Yet, top-down, medicalized approaches dominate health and nutrition education and practice. On the basis of 39 peer-reviewed studies, this systematic review explores why this is the case and how it might be changed by strengthening food systems literacy—the knowledge, skills and communicative practices through which people engage with food systems. It also examines the roles of different worldviews and forms of knowledge production to highlight the challenges and good practices embedded in selected interventions with Indigenous communities. The studies included here encompass various communicative and learning practices, institutions and interventions around health and nutrition with Indigenous communities across regions. They offer insights into how culturally grounded, participatory approaches can advance food systems literacy and support pathways towards more sustainable, resilient, equitable and healthy food systems. Indigenous and traditional knowledge can help to address climate, biodiversity and nutrition challenges, yet medicalized top-down approaches prevail. This systematic review explores how food systems literacy through culturally grounded, participatory work with local communities can support more sustainable, equitable and healthy food systems.","PeriodicalId":94151,"journal":{"name":"Nature food","volume":"7 8","pages":"746-755"},"PeriodicalIF":24.7,"publicationDate":"2026-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148551878","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 : 2026-07-15DOI: 10.1038/s43016-026-01385-2
{"title":"Sustainable diet shifts among adults in Scotland do not cost more","authors":"","doi":"10.1038/s43016-026-01385-2","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43016-026-01385-2","url":null,"abstract":"Reducing consumption of meat and dairy foods is essential for the long-term sustainability of the UK food system. A study quantifying the impact on environmental footprints, nutrient intake, health and cost when meat and dairy are reduced or replaced in the diets of adults in Scotland shows that these dietary changes incur no extra cost for most replacements.","PeriodicalId":94151,"journal":{"name":"Nature food","volume":"7 7","pages":"636-637"},"PeriodicalIF":24.7,"publicationDate":"2026-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148451519","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 : 2026-07-15DOI: 10.1038/s43016-026-01386-1
Kris A. G. Wyckhuys, Edmundo Barrios, Steven J. Fonte
{"title":"An agroecological perspective on systems-level transformations to keep current food systems from degrading the global commons","authors":"Kris A. G. Wyckhuys, Edmundo Barrios, Steven J. Fonte","doi":"10.1038/s43016-026-01386-1","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43016-026-01386-1","url":null,"abstract":"Science, technological innovation and farmer ingenuity can, in principle, drive transformations of food systems. Yet, in practice, this is routinely hampered by locked-in technological regimes, a lack of inter- or transdisciplinary research, and reductionist approaches to problem solving. Here we explore six leverage points through a systems-thinking lens that can generate vital forward momentum for agroecological transitions and put food systems firmly on a track to benefit people, nature and the planet. Food systems face numerous challenges such as biodiversity loss and undernourishment. This Perspective presents a systems-thinking approach rooted in agroecology that can guide transformative changes for the benefit of both people and the planet.","PeriodicalId":94151,"journal":{"name":"Nature food","volume":"7 7","pages":"638-643"},"PeriodicalIF":24.7,"publicationDate":"2026-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148451521","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}
{"title":"Integrated policies could raise China’s soybean self-sufficiency and ease global land-use pressure","authors":"Fei Lun, Jing Sun, Yi Zhou, Qiyuan Hu, Lai Gan, Tianbao Zhang, Sijia Wang, Josep Peñuelas, Jordi Sardans, Miao Lu, Peng Yang, Danfeng Sun, Jianguo Liu, Wenbin Wu","doi":"10.1038/s43016-026-01378-1","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43016-026-01378-1","url":null,"abstract":"Growing demand for animal-sourced foods is intensifying global reliance on soybeans, with China, the largest consumer and a low self-sufficiency rate (SSR) country, driving global largest imports and associated environmental spillover. To improve its SSR, China has implemented policies including rehabilitating salt-affected land, approving genetically modified soybeans and promoting healthy dietary transition. Here we evaluated these interventions using a scenario-based framework benchmarked against a no-policy baseline reconstructed soybean demand. China’s SSR declined from full self-sufficiency in 1961 to 17% by 2022 and is projected to decline to 12% by 2050 without intervention. Each 10% implementation of salt-affected land and genetically modified soybeans alone could increase soybean SSR by 1.4% and 1.0%, whereas a 50% healthy dietary implementation alone could raise to 17%. Although individual policies yield modest improvements, their combined implementation could increase SSR to 74% by 2030 and 80% by 2050. This shift could free soybean sufficient to feed 1.89 billion additional people globally while avoiding cropland expansion in tropical frontiers, enabling reforestation and carbon sequestration. Soybeans are central to global food security, but rising demand for animal-sourced foods has made China highly dependent on imports, creating environmental spillover through deforestation and land-use pressure in major exporting regions. Based on reconstructed soybean demand from 1961 to 2022, this study shows that combined policy implementation could raise China’s soybean self-sufficiency to 80% by 2050 while reducing global cropland expansion and supporting nutrition and climate benefits.","PeriodicalId":94151,"journal":{"name":"Nature food","volume":"7 7","pages":"669-677"},"PeriodicalIF":24.7,"publicationDate":"2026-07-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148416355","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 : 2026-07-10DOI: 10.1038/s43016-026-01395-0
Sitong Wang
{"title":"The hidden biodiversity cost of oil crops","authors":"Sitong Wang","doi":"10.1038/s43016-026-01395-0","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43016-026-01395-0","url":null,"abstract":"Oil crops underpin diets, livestock production and a growing bio-based economy. A supply-chain analysis shows that their biodiversity impacts are shaped not only by how much land is cultivated, but also by where production occurs — and which consumers ultimately drive demand.","PeriodicalId":94151,"journal":{"name":"Nature food","volume":"7 7","pages":"634-635"},"PeriodicalIF":24.7,"publicationDate":"2026-07-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148415985","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 : 2026-07-03DOI: 10.1038/s43016-026-01384-3
Joe Kennedy, Michael Clark, Cristina Stewart, Ricki Runions, Alexander Vonderschmidt, Sarah M. Frank, Peter Scarborough, Fiona Comrie, Alana McDonald, Geraldine McNeill, Peter Alexander, Lindsay M. Jaacks
{"title":"Reduced meat and dairy consumption improves health, environmental and most nutritional outcomes without increasing diet costs among Scottish adults","authors":"Joe Kennedy, Michael Clark, Cristina Stewart, Ricki Runions, Alexander Vonderschmidt, Sarah M. Frank, Peter Scarborough, Fiona Comrie, Alana McDonald, Geraldine McNeill, Peter Alexander, Lindsay M. Jaacks","doi":"10.1038/s43016-026-01384-3","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43016-026-01384-3","url":null,"abstract":"Shifting diets away from high levels of meat and dairy is increasingly considered an important part of climate mitigation, yet the best pathways for achieving these reductions without compromising nutrition, health or affordability remain unclear. Here, in a representative sample of Scottish adults, we evaluate 33 pathways to meeting the UK Climate Change Committee’s recommendations to reduce meat and dairy consumption by 20% by 2030, increasing to a 35% reduction in meat by 2050. The pathways incorporate existing dietary guidance, and modelled outcomes include intakes of 54 nutrients, obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, all-cause mortality, diet costs, greenhouse gas emissions, freshwater use, land use and eutrophication. Nearly all pathways were estimated to benefit most nutritional, health and environmental outcomes without increasing diet costs. Benefits were greater when reductions targeted high consumers of red meat and when meat and dairy were replaced gram for gram with foods such as vegetables, beans, eggs and plant-based dairy alternatives. Using microsimulation of Scottish Health Survey adults, this study compares 33 pathways for achieving the UK Climate Change Committee meat and dairy reduction targets. Most pathways improved nutrient intake, health and environmental outcomes without increasing diet costs, with greater benefits from reducing red and processed meat among high consumers and using gram-for-gram substitutions with foods including vegetables, beans, eggs and plant-based alternatives.","PeriodicalId":94151,"journal":{"name":"Nature food","volume":"7 7","pages":"711-721"},"PeriodicalIF":24.7,"publicationDate":"2026-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.comhttps://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-026-01384-3.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148379818","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 : 2026-07-03DOI: 10.1038/s43016-026-01393-2
Ehsan Eyshi Rezaei, Henrik Brinch-Pedersen, Frank Ewert
{"title":"Smart breeding for diversified agricultural systems","authors":"Ehsan Eyshi Rezaei, Henrik Brinch-Pedersen, Frank Ewert","doi":"10.1038/s43016-026-01393-2","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43016-026-01393-2","url":null,"abstract":"Modern plant breeding optimizes varieties for sole cropping, creating trait mismatches that constrain the diversification essential for climate resilience. We propose Smart Systems Breeding, reframing environmental variability as strategic information for precision variety deployment. This approach integrates farmer networks, environmental monitoring and modelling to accelerate breeding for locally adapted intercropping, crop mixtures and agroforestry that supports sustainable agriculture.","PeriodicalId":94151,"journal":{"name":"Nature food","volume":"7 7","pages":"622-626"},"PeriodicalIF":24.7,"publicationDate":"2026-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148379819","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}