Volume 7 Issue 4, April 2026

Artificial intelligence has recently become an invisible infrastructure shaping how knowledge is produced and applied in food systems. From data pipelines to policy modelling, artificial intelligence-mediated workflows are becoming integral to research practice. An analysis of the intersection of agricultural economics, food systems and digitalization suggests that this transformation is reshaping scientific authority, professional competence and governance in ways that demand deliberate institutional design.

Crop productivity under climate stress remains constrained by conventional agricultural approaches that underuse plant–microbiome interactions. A microbiome-centred, climate-responsive framework was proposed to enhance crop resilience and agro-sustainability by prioritizing targeted manipulation of crop-associated microbiomes, offering a scalable and adaptive pathway to buffer climate stresses and stabilize crop performance.

The plastic waste generated by ultra-processed foods (UPFs) is a key driver of the global plastics crisis. Recognizing the integral role of plastics in UPF production is essential to developing a more socio-ecological perspective on these food products. This Comment identifies the linkages between the rise of UPFs and the rise of plastic packaging, calling for a renewed research agenda.

Fishing gear and location influence the nutrient composition of harvests. Fishery nutrient profiles can identify fishing methods that provide multiple nutrients of public health concern, offering an approach to analyse alignment between fishery management and nutrition goals.

Adaptive multi-paddock grazing can improve soil carbon storage, pasture productivity and farm profitability, but enteric methane and the constraints of intensive global farming underscore the need for broader interventions.

Data collected over 27 years show that ecological and social sustainability can quietly diverge, driven by factors that fisheries assessments typically overlook. For small-scale reef fishers in Kenya, rising fish prices and higher catches have failed to translate into decent earnings, with fewer than 2% making the national minimum wage.

A climate-yield model of French apple production quantifies the potential for future climate change adaptation in this sector. While cooler regions can still reap benefits from a warming climate in the short term, yield losses will become increasingly frequent by 2050 due to the lack of adaptive capacity to heat stress.

French apple yields have increased as temperatures have shifted towards yield optima, but by 2050, more regions may experience yield losses unless heat stress mitigation improves.

Greater readiness to reduce meat consumption was associated with actual decreases in meat intake and associated greenhouse gas emissions among a cohort of French adults, primarily through reduced ruminant meat consumption, with smaller declines in pork and poultry. However, these reductions remain insufficient to meet national climate targets.

An analytical framework and predictive model provides guidance for nutrition-sensitive, small-scale fisheries management strategies that span fisheries, health, environmental and social inclusion domains.

Regenerative agriculture promises lower emissions and healthier soils, but results vary by environment and practice. Across four diverse rainfall zones, this study finds that practices that yielded the largest soil carbon gains and greatest greenhouse gas mitigation were not always the most profitable, underscoring the need for context-specific evaluation using multiple sustainability metrics.

A multi-model intercomparison using six global agro-economic models explores how ozone reductions arising from climate change mitigation could impact crop yields. Yield changes are projected to 2050, linking reduced ozone to food security and the alleviation of hunger.

A multi-model approach quantifies the irrigation expansion required to offset climate impacts on rice, maize, wheat and barley production under sustainable and unsustainable water-use scenarios.

Fishers’ livelihoods are threatened by the rising cost of living and dwindling fish stocks. A dataset of Kenya’s small-scale fisheries spanning 27 years reveals increasing poverty despite rising nominal fish prices and incomes, while reduced fishing effort has prompted some recovery in fish biomass.