How natural is our food, and what does ‘natural' mean anyway? Science for Sustainable Agriculture asked this important question to consumers to understand their perception of key issues about the use of science in food and agriculture. The independent survey was designed and conducted by consumer research agency England Marketing Ltd.

According to agricultural economist Graham Brookes, a member of the Science for Sustainable Agriculture advisory group, the study highlights the deficiency in knowledge about the real origin of many common food crops and the transformation they went through to be available in the UK. “This raises questions about the validity of current public discussions around issues such as precision breeding when most consumers appear unaware of the level of scientific intervention which has already gone into the development of our everyday foods,” he added.

Investing in the health of soils is a key cornerstone to help the UK ensure the future of sustainable food production while meeting green goals, according to a new NFU report.

The union's Foundation of Food report highlights why good soil health is crucial to the UK's farming systems and is essential to food production.

It also explains the benefits that healthy soil deliver in reducing flood risk, supporting wildlife habitats and biodiversity, and the sequestration and storage of carbon.

RePlanet calls on EU to ditch organic targets and for governments to lift bans on genetically modified crops

Governments should put a moratorium on the use of biofuels and lift bans on genetic modification of crops, a green campaigning group has urged, in the face of a growing global food crisis that threatens to engulf developing nations.

Ending the EU’s requirement for biofuels alone would free up about a fifth of the potential wheat exports from Ukraine, and even more of its maize exports, enough to make a noticeable difference to stretched food supplies, according to analysis by the campaign group RePlanet.

In another recommendation likely to be controversial, the report suggests that the EU’s organic targets should also be ditched in favour of conventional and intensive farming techniques to allow for higher productivity.

The UK's tree planting goals developed to tackle climate change could 'endanger' productive farmland, the sheep sector has warned. The importance of the 'right tree in the right place' has been highlighted by the National Sheep Association (NSA).

The government pledged in 2019 to reach 30,000 hectares of new planting by the end of 2024. Defra said in a statement it was currently on track to meet the target, but acknowledged there was ‘more to do to stay on our ambitious trajectory’.

Interest in afforestation as a means to offset carbon footprint continues to grow among individuals and large companies. But farming groups have continuously raised concerns over the the UK's ability to produce food as investment companies actively buy farms across the country.

Scientists believe gene editing and speed breeding could be used to double global wheat yields, feed a growing global population and reduce pressure on land.

Wheat is the world’s most widely grown crop and is second only to rice in terms of human consumption, with global harvests in the region of 750 million tons.

But crop scientists say the crop has “untapped genetic potential”, which could be exploited to deliver higher yields and achieve global food security in a sustainable way.

A novel network of researchers funded to the tune of £5m is set to help the UK’s agri-food industry move one step closer to net zero.

The network will bring UK researchers together to explore ways to support the industry to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.

The three-year project will explore how the journey from farm to fork could be made more sustainable, helping to meet the government’s goal of net zero by 2050.

The farming industry must do more to change young people’s views of agriculture and horticulture if it is to attract new entrants to the sector, according to a new report.

The aim of the study, commissioned by the Institute for Agriculture and Horticulture (TIAH) and carried out by Family Kids and Youth Market Research and Consultancy, was to understand the main barriers preventing newcomers from following a career in farming and comes as a response to the acute, industry-wide labour shortages.

The report considered the views of 14 focus groups including young people, careers teachers, parents and grandparents from across England and found that there was either little or no knowledge of farming outside those already involved.

Three farmers have accused the RSPB of "irresponsible scaremongering" after the charity claimed a 'cocktail' of pesticides used by British farmers is harming wildlife.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said in a new report that more than 150 pesticides are harming wildlife and biodiversity in the countryside. The report warned there were still significant gaps in the understanding of what this 'cocktail' of pesticides is doing to land, wildlife and food chains.

But three farmers, Alastair Leake, Paul Temple and Matt Ridley, members of the Science for Sustainable Agriculture advisory group, warned that the claims about the link between pesticide use and biodiversity loss were "unsubstantiated" and "risked damaging the practical working relationship between the NGO and individual farmers".

Defra has allocated a £12.5m funding pot to improve the efficiency of farm-based protein production in the UK, and so reduce dependence on imports.

Funding will be drawn from the £270m Farming Innovation Programme and earmarked for farm-led research and development into sustainable protein production.

The money will be available to farmers, growers, businesses and academics to collaborate on projects that improve protein crops such as beans and peas. Ultimately the government wants to improve the resilience of England’s farms by reducing the reliance on imported protein sources, which have seen costs soar.

Agriculture’s progress to reduce greenhouse gas emissions has been described as “glacial” in a damning independent report that says the government is not on track to meet its net-zero target by 2050.

The Climate Change Committee (CCC) 2022 progress report to parliament concludes that agriculture and land use have the weakest policies, despite being vital to delivering net-zero emissions.

In further criticism of the government’s recently published food strategy, the CCC said the plan did little to address farming’s slow progress on reversing climate change, which must now be remedied in the new land use framework promised next year.

A new study has found the climate impact of food miles has been underestimated by 3.5-7.5 times, with transport accounting for 19 per cent of total food system emissions.

The research, published in the journal Nature Food, recommended that people in affluent countries eat more locally-produced foods in order to mitigate their environmental impact.

Scientists analysed 74 countries and regions and 37 different types of food, as opposed to focusing on selected commodities such as canned tomatoes or beef and wheat, as other assessments of food miles have done. They found fruit and vegetables had the highest food miles emissions because they often need to be refrigerated and are in demand out of season.

Artificial fertiliser use could be reduced by employing nature-based farming techniques, according to a major new study co-ordinated by Rothamsted Research.

Looking at the results of more than 30 long-running farm trials, the report shows that crop choice and the addition of manure can sustain high yields at low fertiliser rates.

Published in the journal Nature Sustainability, the findings also show that, although artificial fertiliser has helped feed the global population, it has come at a cost. Water pollution, climate change emissions and biodiversity loss were all partly attributable to excessive fertiliser use, the report said.