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  • THE FRIDAY DIGEST:   Reshaping food systems is ‘irresistable’

    THE FRIDAY DIGEST:   Reshaping food systems is ‘irresistable’

    There was no escaping the major story this week, as the 2025 EAT-Lancet Commission released its ‘Report on Healthy, Sustainable, and Just Food Systems’. Building on its influential 2019 report, the 2025 edition was billed as the most comprehensive global…

  • THE FRIDAY DIGEST: A busy week for the PM (and the BRC)

    THE FRIDAY DIGEST: A busy week for the PM (and the BRC)

    All eyes were on Liverpool this week as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer battled to reclaim control of the political narrative following a torrid few months for his government. In the event, reaction to Starmer’s headline speech was largely positive…

  • THE FRIDAY DIGEST: Eco-scores a win following research results

    THE FRIDAY DIGEST: Eco-scores a win following research results

    Shifting towards more sustainable diets is a sticky business, but a universal ecolabel could actually help. That’s according to research by Wageningen University in The Netherlands, which showed that the presence of the Eco-score label helps consumers identify more sustainable…

  • THE FRIDAY DIGEST: The rise of strategic silence

    THE FRIDAY DIGEST: The rise of strategic silence

    How are businesses navigating the challenge of communicating their social responsibility in a world where the notion of being ‘woke’ has become a political and cultural battleground? The answer, for many, is simply to keep schtum. “The rise of strategic…

  • THE FRIDAY DIGEST: Less meat, more chicken and much to do at Defra

    THE FRIDAY DIGEST: Less meat, more chicken and much to do at Defra

    “Many people feel alone in their desire to eat less meat,” explained Eating Better executive director Sarah Wakefield as she revealed the findings of the alliance’s public attitudes survey this week. The survey of 1,733 people showed two-thirds of are…

  • THE FRIDAY DIGEST: Fewer nitrites, more plants in schools please

    THE FRIDAY DIGEST: Fewer nitrites, more plants in schools please

    In a week when children in England excitedly/reluctantly/mercifully (delete as appropriate) returned to the classroom, today’s Digest fittingly carries a school food theme. First comes news that the majority of state-run schools are routinely serving up nitrite-cured meats like ham…

  • THE FRIDAY DIGEST: Water a priority for Reed as farm inspections rise

    THE FRIDAY DIGEST: Water a priority for Reed as farm inspections rise

    “One of my key pillars for a profitable farming industry is helping the [farming] sector withstand shocks from extreme weather and climate change. To do this, we must adapt for the future and that includes changing how we work with…

  • THE FRIDAY DIGEST: Plastics talks end in failure

    THE FRIDAY DIGEST: Plastics talks end in failure

    Efforts to curb plastic pollution were left in tatters earlier this month after talks on a global plastics treaty collapsed without agreement. There were high hopes a deal could be struck at the latest session of UN-led talks (INC 5.2)…

  • THE FRIDAY DIGEST: Truth about toxic chemicals is hard to swallow

    THE FRIDAY DIGEST: Truth about toxic chemicals is hard to swallow

    Concerns about the chemicals in plastic production, packaging, recycling and pollution have, slowly but surely, been rising to the surface (as Footprint reported on Wednesday). Now they have really boiled over. A new report in The Lancet noted that plastic…

  • THE FRIDAY DIGEST: Food prices to rise and supplies to fall as climate change bites

    THE FRIDAY DIGEST: Food prices to rise and supplies to fall as climate change bites

    Britain is at risk of a worsening “climateflation” crisis amid the fallout from increasingly extreme weather that could drive up food prices by 34% by 2050. So reports The Guardian, which had the exclusive on a new report by the…