We review here the findings from an empirical study of yield ratios between plant and animal foods grown organically compared to either conventional or low-input peasant farming methods. Our 2007 study demonstrated that organic yields were sufficiently large, in principle, to provide much of the global food supply in terms of calories across all major food groups. Publication of the study encountered strong opposition from reviewers as well as support. Once published, the findings were widely cited and well received by practitioners of sustainable agriculture and agroecologists. Several follow-up studies using larger datasets and newer analytical methods found yield ratios (yield gaps) similar to or somewhat larger than ours. Most of these studies also concluded that organic production methods could make a major contribution to the global food supply. In a food-system context, organic production could also contribute to carbon sequestration and maintenance of native biodiversity, particularly if less land were devoted to growing livestock feed or crops for biofuels, and if less food were wasted. Organic agriculture is often more profitable for farmers, boosts rural employment, and improves social connections among farmers and between farmers and consumers. Together, these elements contribute to the kind of food system that simultaneously serves people and nature.

Alternative dairy management practices are often touted as avenues for achieving environmental, social, and cultural sustainability in the unique Northeastern United States dairy market. Some of these management practices, like selling into alternative markets, becoming certified organic, and grazing, are specifically outlined by researchers and policymakers as opportunities for farmers in the Northeast. This research uses the thematic analysis of 25 semi-structured interviews to develop an understanding of farmers’ attitudes toward and willingness to adopt these management practices. Participating farmers represented a range of farm size, location, and attributes, including those who used some, all, or none of these practices. Themes developed from this data relate to practicality, farmer values, the importance of local food availability, and the need to reshape consumer interaction and education. The need to expand dairy marketing opportunities and pathways is illustrated through descriptions of farmers’ experiences. This research explores novel perspectives of how the confluence of perceived value and practicality of alternative management practices can contribute to the long-term sustainability and viability of the dairy food system in the Northeast.

This study presents a framework for assessing the scalability of innovations aimed at achieving low-emission development, using a case study of Nandi County, Kenya. Food system emissions make up a significant portion of Kenya’s total greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing these emissions is crucial for lowering the country’s overall emissions, supporting Kenya’s commitment to the Paris Agreement. To achieve this, Kenya must scale innovations that can transform the food system toward low emissions while meeting national development targets. The framework was thus tested, in the scope of two participatory workshops, on three CGIAR innovations with relevance to Nandi County: Improved Livestock Breeds and Feeds (ILBF), Integrated Aquaculture Practices (IAP), and Biogas Technology (BT). Stakeholders evaluated these innovations in a two-day participatory workshop using a multi-criteria scoring process. Based on established criteria, the participants developed scores that reflected an innovations’ potential for scaling. ILBF scored 24 out of 33 points (75%), IAP scored 27 (81%), and BT scored 26 (76%). The results indicate varying potential for scaling among the innovations, highlighting the importance of context-specific and systemic enabling factors, beyond technical performance. These include institutional, social, and biophysical contexts, adoption barriers, market potential, costs of innovation, financial opportunities for scaling, environmental and social co-benefits and trade-offs as well as economic benefits, all of which are critical in creating an enabling environment for scaling. The framework serves as a support tool for evaluating potential opportunities, barriers, bottlenecks, and trade-offs to inform scaling strategies in a more systematic and responsible manner. Beyond its empirical findings, the study contributes methodologically by illustrating how participatory multi-criteria assessment can strengthen strategic decision-making for Agricultural Research for Development programs.

Food waste represents a complex global challenge with significant environmental, economic, and social implications. Emerging digital technologies (DTs), which are reshaping food supply chains by enhancing efficiency, resilience, and sustainability, hold significant potential to reduce this waste. This study aims to investigate areas where DTs have the potential to reduce food waste in the food industry and downstream supply chain and identify the mechanisms through which they contribute to this goal. To address this aim, the study employs a systematic review of publications indexed in the Web of Science database covering 2020–2025. Based on 73 studies selected from 488 identified records, the study summarizes the current knowledge on the impacts of digital solutions, emphasizing their role in enabling food quality monitoring, process optimization, traceability, and dynamic inventory management. In addition to the potential benefits, this study also discusses the possible negative impacts associated with the adoption of DTs in the food sector. Thus, the study contributes to the knowledge base on the consequences of digital solutions and identifies key research gaps. While existing studies highlight the potential of DTs to reduce food waste, data-driven evidence remains limited. This constrains the evaluation of DT impacts and complicates decision-making, not only for firms considering their adoption but also for policymakers aiming to support their broader implementation.

Although local food is widely promoted, consumers differ substantially in how they define what local means. Little is known about how this definitional heterogeneity relates to variation in estimated willingness-to-pay (WTP) premiums for local. This study examines heterogeneity in consumers’ WTP for local produce and meat, elicited under a common, prescribed 50-mile definition, and evaluates how these valuations vary across individuals’ personal definitions of local food, ranging from farm- and county-level scales to broader state and national scales. Using online survey data from 509 participants, primarily from the Mid-Atlantic region, we find weak evidence that WTP premiums generally decline as personal definitions broaden from farms to counties and states. More precisely, however, respondents selecting broader definitions do not fol` a strictly monotonic pattern: the two highest reported WTP premiums come from the smallest scale (farm-level) and the largest scale (national). Overall, the results demonstrate substantial heterogeneity in WTP for local food associated with personal definitions.

In a review article published in this journal in 2010, we described the mitigation and adaptation potential of organic agricultural systems. In this article, we reflect on our findings and update the results from 2010. Today’s scientific evidence confirms that the principles of organic agriculture can facilitate a transition to climate-neutral food systems. Compliance with only mandatory requirements of organic certification is not sufficient for climate neutrality but can significantly offsets agricultural emissions by avoiding mineral fertilizers and increasing soil carbon sequestration. Most relevant to achieve climate neutrality of the food system is a shift toward more plant-based diets. Although behavioral change is more challenging to achieve, the principles of organic agriculture can positively trigger a climate-sensitive mind-shift of consumption and production patterns. Organic farming methods can also significantly contribute to climate adaptation in terms of better resilience under climatic variability and stress conditions. The all-encompassing systemic approach of organic agriculture indicates a viable path to food system resilience to climate change.

This study assesses the sustainability of agricultural practices in Western Newfoundland by evaluating the technical, allocative, cost, scale, and environmental efficiencies of 15 local farms using data envelopment analysis. The findings reveal that while most farms demonstrated high technical efficiency (average score: 95%), notable inefficiencies persist in the allocative, cost, and environmental efficiency dimensions. Key issues include labor inefficiency, chemical fertilizer overuse, and suboptimal farm scale, whereas effective land management and quality seed use were identified as major drivers of productivity. A detailed case study highlights a farm achieving full efficiency across all metrics through sustainable practices such as no-dig methods, permaculture, rainwater harvesting, and composting, demonstrating how regenerative strategies can enhance both economic and ecological performance. The study also uses stepwise regression to identify education, farm experience, and farm type as significant factors influencing efficiency outcomes. These results underscore the potential for targeted interventions, technology adoption, and policy support to improve farm performance and advance sustainable agriculture in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. By integrating multidimensional efficiency metrics, this research provides actionable insights for optimizing resource use, reducing environmental impact, and strengthening the resilience of regional agrifood systems.

In the field of agroecology, on-farm experimentation often involves ‘co-design’ activities. This participatory openness exacerbates the challenges associated with the researcher’s stance and the use and goals of experimental approaches. To shed light on this situation and improve upon it, we conducted a reflective and comparative analysis of five agroecological projects involving co-design that were carried out by the co-authors. The aim was to identify and discuss how the use of co-design expanded and diversified the role of on-farm experimentation in scientific research. Three main themes arose from the analysis; each encompassed findings, lessons learned, and considerations to clarify the framework of collaborative on-farm experimentation. The first theme was related to the adaptable, contingent, and transdisciplinary nature of the examined projects. The projects followed a step-by-step design framework. The different phases of each project were completed using various methods and participation modalities, either sequentially or jointly. Farm fields and ponds were important places for social interactions and observations that fueled the ongoing processes of diagnosis, technique adaptation, and evaluation, and the development of shared assumptions and statements among academics and non-academics. The second theme addressed the different experimental approaches used and their relationships to scientific demonstration, depending on the objective of diagnosis and evaluation. We identified and conceptualized three approaches that were taken in the analyzed projects: practice-centered, ecosystem services-centered, and product-centered approaches. The third theme emphasized elements related to the transformative capacity of co-design activities with on-farm experimentation. It emphasized the influence of technical feasibility, expected gain, perceived risk, and the degree of systemic innovation required. Transformative capacity was associated with the conditions and development of the learning process, rather than the success of the innovative practices. This implies changes in farming practices that extend well beyond the project’s duration and are inadequately documented.

Our 2005 article in this journal provided a comprehensive synthesis and review of available literature then, and compared various aspects of organic versus conventionally produced alternatives. In this reflection, the authors provide a brief commentary on the impact of the publication and updates on the findings since it was published. We conclude with a brief commentary and outlook on selected issues relevant to organic versus conventional food products, and considerations and future directions.

While current discussions of insect production emphasize sustainability benefits, research on consumer attitudes toward livestock production reveals that animal welfare concerns often equal or exceed environmental considerations in purchasing decisions. This article examines trends in consumer attitudes toward farm animal welfare in North America and Europe to anticipate potential challenges to the emerging insect industry’s social license to operate and then applies those trends to black soldier fly production. The analysis suggests that as public awareness grows, welfare concerns will likely emerge as a determinant of industry acceptance. Proactively addressing the most emotionally salient welfare issues—particularly those involving visible suffering or perceived unnaturalness—represents a strategic investment in maintaining consumer trust.

This study examined the operational and economic aspects of rice drying and storage practices, focusing on the effectiveness of fumigation methods. Based on three case studies of two rice drying and storage companies of different sizes and a milling company, the study explores the economic viability of utilizing an emerging and sustainable pest control treatment technology—atmospheric cold plasma (ACP) fumigation chamber to the Weevil-Cide (Aluminum Phosphide Pellets) fumigant currently used by many agribusiness facilities and companies. The study employs a capital budgeting approach to evaluate economic feasibility and an input–output model to determine the broader economic impact. The findings revealed that the ACP chamber is more cost-effective for mills rather than drying and storage companies, suggesting that profitability in rice drying and storage is closely tied to the volume processed and stored, and the stage in the production chain. The investment in the novel technology was found to have a significant economic impact on the U.S. economy.

The increasing demand for sustainable feed ingredients in aquaculture has driven research into alternative protein sources to replace fishmeal. This study evaluated the nutritional, physiological, and microbiological impacts of housefly (Musca domestica) larvae meal as a replacement for fishmeal in the diets of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Diets were formulated to replace fishmeal with larvae meal at 50% and 100% inclusion levels. Growth performance, body composition, intestinal health, and gut microbiota were assessed over a 16-week feeding trial. Fish fed larvae meal-based diets exhibited comparable growth metrics, muscle yield, and hepatosomatic index to those fed fishmeal and commercial diets, indicating no compromise in growth efficiency. Intestinal histological examination revealed no diet-induced morphological changes, with all parameters remaining within normal ranges, highlighting the compatibility of larvae meal with fish intestinal health. Analysis of gut microbiota showed a shift toward Firmicutes dominance and increased abundance of Clostridiales in larvae meal-fed fish, suggesting enhanced fermentation activity. Blood chemistry parameters were consistent across dietary groups, supporting the physiological suitability of larvae meal-based diets. These findings demonstrate that housefly larvae meal is a sustainable and nutritionally viable alternative to fishmeal in aquafeeds for rainbow trout. The results underscore its potential to reduce reliance on fishmeal while maintaining fish health and growth performance.

Biochar, when used as soil amendment, could enhance soil health, plant growth, and farm profitability while offsetting adverse effects of environmental pollution. Yet the adoption rate of biochar among agricultural producers remains extremely low. Message framing has been shown to play an important role in forming positive attitudes and generating desirable outcomes. To understand the effect of message framing in promoting biochar, we conducted a randomized experiment through an online survey of crop producers located in Eastern South Dakota. The results showed that participants who read a message about the benefits of adopting biochar from an economic perspective expressed higher interest in learning about biochar; no such effect was observed among participants who read a message about the benefits of adopting biochar from a stewardship perspective. Compared with the control group, economic and stewardship frames increased farmers’ likelihood of adopting biochar in the next 5 years, by 10.6% and 10.8%, respectively. Our findings illustrate the importance of message framing in encouraging farmers to adopt conservation practices that are rarely used. To promote future adoption of conservation practices such as biochar, it is important to highlight both economic and stewardship benefits when conveying information to farmers.

Food systems sustainability has interested researchers for decades; one area of interest is developing methods to measure it in various contexts. Our review of the literature finds many studies that have posited metrics and indicators for measuring sustainability in the food system, with most of them relying on secondary data rather than direct inquiry of stakeholders like farmers. This Preliminary Report presents results of farmer perceptions of sustainability, focusing on consumer-facing agriculture (direct market and agritourism) farms in Vermont, as part of the first phase of research in one of a set of projects aimed at developing sustainability metrics. We emphasize metrics that can be used for farm management, marketing, and policy advocacy, and add two dimensions (human and production) to the more common three (ecological, economic, and social). Using interviews from six case studies, we posit indicators across five dimensions of sustainability and identify tradeoffs in achieving them, emphasizing the farmers’ experiences. Our discussion compares and contrasts our results with the literature. Results will form the basis of a statewide farmer survey, which will be conducted in the next year.

Society faces an urgent need to move agriculture toward more environmentally sustainable practices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity loss, and water pollution. Mandatory policy tools, such as regulations, are unpopular with farmers, notoriously difficult to enforce, and politically challenging in the United States. Instead, social norms—descriptive, dynamic, and injunctive—may be critical levers for scaling up conservation practices. In this study, we analyze the predictive power of social norms on three practices, two of which benefit conservation (no-till and cover crops) and one that is likely harmful to conservation (fall nitrogen fertilizer application). Farmers (N = 585) in four U.S. states (Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, and Pennsylvania) completed a survey indicating perceived social norms and adoption of each practice. Logit models of practice adoption demonstrate that different types of social norms predict each of the three practices. We find that social norms are correlated with practices that are both helpful and harmful to conservation outcomes. Descriptive norms are associated with no-till adoption, while dynamic norms are associated with the use of cover crops. Both descriptive and injunctive norms are associated with fall nitrogen fertilizer application. In line with previous work, we also find that self-efficacy, response efficacy, farm size, and farm income are statistically significant predictors of the adoption of each practice. Future research would benefit from examining the role of different types of social norms in more contextually specific areas of farm management and at different junctures in the prevalence of management practices within a farming community, whether emerging, well-established, or declining in use.

Microbial protein feed (MPF), produced through precision fermentation, offers a promising pathway toward a more sustainable agri-food sector by reducing reliance on conventional feed sources. This emerging cellular technology can help conserve natural resources, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and address the growing global demand for protein alternatives. Similar to other biotechnology innovations, the realization of MPF’s potential benefits dependents heavily on a supportive regulatory environment. This study examines the regulatory frameworks of the United States, the European Union, China, and Australia to assess how pre-market regulations shape the development of MPF and to identify specific legal challenges faced by manufacturers. Across these jurisdictions, there are no specific laws or regulations for MPF products. Their oversight falls under general feed and GMO-related legislation, creating regulatory gaps, ambiguity in product assessments, and procedural inefficiencies that are further exacerbated by overlapping regulatory authorities and generic labeling requirements. Such challenges not only slow the commercialization of MPF products but also impede broader efforts to develop more sustainable agri-food systems. Our analysis indicates that targeted regulatory reforms are needed to streamline pre-market approval pathways and improve risk assessment standards. By adopting dedicated regulatory approaches and strengthening pre-market consultation mechanisms with developers, these jurisdictions will be better positioned to advance environmentally responsible protein production and accelerate the transition to a more sustainable agri-food sector.

Balancing pest control and pollination is a dual challenge for pollinator-dependent crops and the producers that grow them. For organic cucurbit production, organic compliant insecticides underperform at suppressing pests and can have nontarget impacts on pollinators. One promising alternative is pest-protective row covers, which successfully exclude insect pests from damaging cucurbit crops. However, they also exclude pollinators. In this study across two years, four row cover pollination management strategies were compared for their efficacy for acorn squash (Cucurbita pepo L.). Row covers were installed at crop transplant and four treatments were initiated: on–off (row cover removed at flowering), on–off–on (row cover removed at flowering and reinstalled post-flowering), open ends (row cover tunnel ends opened at flowering and reclosed post-flowering), and full season (row cover installed through whole season, commercial bumble bee colonies installed at flowering). During the pre-flowering net stage (when row covers were installed), all treatments had low pest abundance and were not statistically different. In the post-flowering net stage, the full season and open ends treatments had statistically lower cucumber beetle pest abundance relative to the on–off–on treatment. The number of seeds per squash fruit weight, an indicator of pollination success, was statistically lower in the full season treatment relative to the on–off–on treatment in 2021, which may be explained by the statistically lower bee activity in the full season treatment relative to the on–off and on–off–on treatments. Squash seeds were not counted in 2020. The open ends treatment had statistically higher marketable yield than the full season and on–off–on treatments in 2020; in 2021, there was no difference in marketable yield across treatments. For the open ends treatment, increased distance from the opened tunnel ends significantly decreased the pest abundance, while it significantly increased marketable yield. However, there was no relationship between pollinator activity and distance to the tunnel opening. This two-year study suggests the open ends strategy had the most consistently high yields, while it reduced pollination management effort and eliminated the costs of commercial bee colonies compared to other treatments. Only minor pressure from insect-vectored diseases was observed during the study, thus, the advantages of each pollination strategy should be considered in relation to varying pest, pollinator, and disease conditions.