Comment

Policies for supporting domestic grain production propose converting large areas of marginal and low-grade arable land into strategic cropland reserves. This process will require advances in science and land engineering, and presents opportunities to revitalize social, economic and ecological systems in rural China.

Despite decades of resistance in the USA, agroecology is gaining momentum as a catalyst for food systems transformation, calling for coordinated action between science, practice and movement to dismantle the dominant industrial paradigm.

Working conditions in food systems remain precarious across the globe. Little scientific guidance exists on what works where when it comes to initiatives aimed at addressing this issue. Investments in large-scale, nationally representative agricultural worker data are needed to properly document the scale and nature of working conditions and better guide policy design and implementation.

Crop pest invasions and their interactions with climate change may have been overlooked in crop yield projections, hindering the development of climate-resilient and sustainable agriculture. A harmonized strategy is proposed to integrate such interactions into crop yield projections and management under climate change scenarios.

Building soil health and manipulating the soil microbiome, alongside targeted plant breeding that prioritizes preferential root architectural development, hold the key to the future success of regenerative agriculture. Greater integration is needed between disciplines focused on the rhizosphere scale with plant, microbiome and soil scientists working at the wider farm scale.

The ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza is unprecedented in terms of the share of the population experiencing acute food insecurity and famine and the speed of the onset of the crisis. Research can help understand and anticipate the long-term impacts of the conflict on people and livelihoods, design more effective humanitarian support systems and identify options for creating resilient post-conflict livelihoods.

Current narrow views of what constitutes evidence have left blind spots in food system decision-making. Yet, alternative ways of facilitating the production and exchange of transdisciplinary knowledge enable key lessons for more equitable and informed policy processes.

Hybrid intelligence — arising from the sensible, targeted fusion of human minds and cutting-edge computational systems — holds great potential for enhancing the sustainability of agriculture. Leveraging the combined strengths of both collective human and artificial intelligence helps identify and stress-test pathways towards the reconciliation of biodiversity and productivity.

Data-driven personalized nutrition (PN) can address the complexities of food systems in megacities, aiming to enhance food resilience. By integrating individual preferences, health data and environmental factors, PN can optimize food supply chains, promote healthier dietary choices and reduce food waste. Collaborative efforts among stakeholders are essential to implement PN effectively.

The first instalment of the FAO food systems roadmap is a key step in identifying pathways to achieve zero hunger without breaching the 1.5 °C climate change threshold. But future instalments should be more methodologically transparent, emphasize the need to reduce animal-sourced food consumption and align with a holistic One Health approach.

The Periodic Table of Food Initiative addresses food biomolecular composition information gaps through a standardized, accessible and enabling platform based on analytical tools, data and capacity building. Data from 1,650 foods serve as starting point for demonstrating the capacity of this initiative to contribute to nutrition, health and food systems transformations.

Resource constraints and environmental impacts associated with current phosphorus fertilizer manufacture and use highlight considerable risks within global food production systems. Research portfolios targeted at existing soil phosphorus reserves might offer a solution.

Food systems transformations are necessary, but will be difficult to achieve without disrupting current political framings and governance mechanisms. The academic community can do more to drive change at the science–policy interface to open a larger political, social and economic space for progress.

The success of the European Union’s Farm to Fork strategy depends on the success of the expected legislative framework for sustainable food systems and the design and implementation of a new food systems governance architecture. Key elements include deliberative food systems governance and democracy, science–policy interfaces, independent progress monitoring, obligatory reporting rules and strategic and adaptive policy design.

The recent involvement of Nestlé in the Africa Food Prize reinforces the presence of the ultra-processed food industry in the continent and invites us to reflect on the implications this may have for Africa’s sustainable food systems agenda.

Climate change mitigation in agri-food systems is hindered by the weak interconnection between research, policy and societal action. Modelling tools, together with international superordinate bodies and stakeholder-inclusive assessment frameworks, can support a better alignment between these three pillars of human progress.

Finance is a critical catalyst of food systems transformation. At the 2021 United Nations Food Systems Summit, the Financial Lever Group suggested five imperatives to tap into new financial resources while making better use of existing ones. These imperatives are yet to garner greater traction to instigate meaningful change.

The overlooked link between fossil fuel-derived sulfur and the production of phosphate fertilizers may lower agricultural productivity and harm global food security unless action is taken.

The assignment of foods to one of four categories proposed by the Nova framework may be challenging in the absence of information on how these foods were prepared and their specific composition. A three-step iterative approach can make the categorization process more efficient and transparent, thereby increasing the accuracy of Nova estimates.

World Trade Organization rules must be reformed to allow governments to build and manage public food reserves, providing a critical tool in preventing or mitigating food crises.