Pulse Brain · Growing Health Evidence Index
Tier 4 — Narrative / commentaryPeer-reviewed

Broad bidirectional effects of global food production on the environment

José M. Mogollón, Michalis Hadjikakou, Oliver Taherzadeh, Esther N. Ngumbi, H.H.E. van Zanten, N. B. Basu, Anniek Kortleve, Paul Behrens

Nature Reviews Earth & Environment · 2026

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Summary

Published in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment in 2026, this review by Mogollón and colleagues synthesises evidence on the bidirectional relationships between global food production and environmental systems. Rather than treating agriculture solely as a pressure on the environment, the paper appears to articulate how environmental degradation or improvement simultaneously constrains or enables future food production capacity. The work suggests food systems research must account for these feedback loops to identify truly sustainable pathways.

UK applicability

UK food policy and farming practice operate within global supply chains and are subject to international environmental constraints. The bidirectional framework may inform UK climate adaptation and food security strategies, particularly where domestic production interacts with imported food systems.

Key measures

Environmental impacts of food production systems (as suggested by title); feedback mechanisms between agricultural practices and environmental change; global-scale food system interactions

Outcomes reported

The study examined how global food production systems affect environmental outcomes and how environmental changes feed back to alter food production capacity and sustainability. The analysis appears to map bidirectional relationships between agricultural activities and environmental conditions across multiple impact domains.

Theme
Climate & resilience
Subject
Climate & greenhouse gas mitigation
Study type
Narrative Review
Study design
Narrative review
Source type
Peer-reviewed study
Status
Published
Geography
Global
System type
Food supply chain
DOI
10.1038/s43017-026-00778-y
Catalogue ID
SNmok6mkdz-jv5ve1

Topic tags

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