Aerial view of the CALS Quad

Publications

Featured Publications

The Lancet

The EAT–Lancet Commission on healthy diets

Food in the Anthropocene: the EAT–Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems

The absence of scientific targets for achieving healthy diets from sustainable food systems has been hindering large-scale and coordinated efforts to transform the global food system. This Commission brings together 19 Commissioners and 18 coauthors from 16 countries in various fields of human health, agriculture, political sciences, and environmental sustainability to develop global scientific targets based on the best evidence available for healthy diets and sustainable food production.

Springer Nature

Science and Innovations for Food Systems Transformation

Science and Innovations for Food Systems Transformation

In a new book, the Scientific Group on UN Food Systems Summit, including our very own Mario Herrero, Daniel Mason-D'Croz and Carlos Gonzalez-Fischer, outline a clear direction for sustainable food systems transformations - ensuring that solutions are systems-driven, anchored in science & inclusive of diverse regional voices.

Plant-based ‘beef’ reduces CO2 but threatens ag jobs

Ethical and economic implications of the adoption of novel plant-based beef substitutes in the USA: a general equilibrium modelling study

By embracing meat protein alternatives, U.S. food production could reduce its agricultural carbon footprint by between 2.5% and 13.5%, mostly by decreasing the number of cows needed for beef production by two to 12 million, according to the paper.

Heat stress for cattle may cost billions by century’s end

Impacts of heat stress on global cattle production during the 21st century: a modelling study

 

Looming climate change may be economically hard for low-income cattle farmers in poor countries due to increasing heat stress on the animals. Globally, by the end of this century those producers may face financial loss between $15 and $40 billion annually, according to the study.

Book addresses future of local and global agri-food systems

Socio-Technical Innovation Bundles for Agri-Food Systems Transformation

This book is a result of an expert panel, convened in 2019 by the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability and Nature Sustainability, that engaged more than 20 business, government, nonprofit and scientific experts from around the world in dialogue around urgent challenges of food systems, sustainability and global hunger. The findings offer recommendations for policymakers that the authors said would lead to healthy and nutritious diets; equitable and inclusive value chains; resilience to shocks and stressors; and climate and environmental sustainability.

planetary health diet
overhead image of a fruit market stand
hamburger
cattle grazing in field
women in field

All Publications

We continuously publish our work in peer-reviewed journals. Our research features in high-impact journals including Nature, The Lancet, Nature Climate Change, Nature Sustainability, PNAS and Global Change Biology.

 

  • Anastasiou, Kim, Phillip Baker, Gilly A. Hendrie, Michalis Hadjikakou, Sinead Boylan, Abhishek Chaudhary, Michael Clark, Daniel Mason-D'Croz et al. “Conceptualising the Drivers of Ultra-Processed Food Production and Consumption and Their Environmental Impacts: A Group Model-Building Exercise.” Global Food Security 37 (June 2023): 100688. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2023.100688.
  • Kennedy, Eileen T., Maximo A. Torero, Dariush Mozaffarian, William A. Masters, Roy A. Steiner, Sheryl L. Hendriks, Jamie A. Morrison, Kathleen A. Merrigan, Shibani A. Ghosh, and Daniel E. Mason-d’Croz. “Beyond the Food Systems Summit: Linking Recommendations to Action—The True Cost of Food.” Current Developments in Nutrition 7, no. 5 (May 2023): 100028. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cdnut.2023.100028.
  • Van Zanten, H. H. E., W. Simon, B. Van Selm, J. Wacker, T. I. Maindl, A. Frehner, R. Hijbeek, M. K. Van Ittersum, and M. Herrero. “Circularity in Europe Strengthens the Sustainability of the Global Food System.” Nature Food 4, no. 4 (April 17, 2023): 320–30. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-023-00734-9.
  • C. Castonguay, Adam, Stephen Polasky, Matthew H. Holden, Mario Herrero, Jinfeng Chang, Daniel Mason-D’Croz, Cecile Godde, et al. “MOO-GAPS: A Multi-Objective Optimization Model for Global Animal Production and Sustainability.” Journal of Cleaner Production 396 (April 2023): 136440. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.136440.
  • Davis, B., Mane, E., Gurbuzer, L.Y., Caivano, G., Piedrahita, N., Schneider, K., Azhar, N., Benali, M., Chaudhary, N., Rivera, R., Ambikapathi, R. and Winters, P. 2023. Estimating global and country-level employment in agrifood systems. FAO Statistics Working Paper Series, No. 23-34. Rome, FAO. https://doi.org/10.4060/cc4337en.
  • Hammond, James, Tim Pagella, Mark E. Caulfield, Simon Fraval, Nils Teufel, Jannike Wichern, Esther Kihoro, Mario Herrero, Todd S. Rosenstock, and Mark T. van Wijk. “Poverty Dynamics and the Determining Factors among East African Smallholder Farmers.” Agricultural Systems 206 (March 2023): 103611. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2023.103611.
  • Beal, Ty, Christopher D. Gardner, Mario Herrero, Lora L. Iannotti, Lutz Merbold, Stella Nordhagen, and Anne Mottet. “Friend or Foe? The Role of Animal-Source Foods in Healthy and Environmentally Sustainable Diets.” The Journal of Nutrition 153, no. 2 (February 2023): 409–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tjnut.2022.10.016.
  • Moghayer, Saeed, Monika Zurek, Maliha Muzammil, Daniel Mason-D’Croz, John Magrath, Andrzej Tabeau, Joost Mattheus Vervoort, and Thom Achterbosch. “A Low-Carbon and Hunger-Free Future for Bangladesh: An Ex- Ante Assessment of Synergies and Trade-Offs in Different Transition Pathways.” Frontiers in Environmental Science 10 (January 4, 2023): 977760. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2022.977760.
  • Castonguay, Adam C., Stephen Polasky, Matthew H. Holden, Mario Herrero, Daniel Mason-D’Croz, Cecile Godde, Jinfeng Chang, et al. “Navigating Sustainability Trade-Offs in Global Beef Production.” Nature Sustainability, January 2, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-022-01017-0.
  • Isanovic, Sejla, Shilpa V. Constantinides, Edward A. Frongillo, Shiva Bhandari, Sharraf Samin, Emma Kenney, Sigrid Wertheim-Heck, Stella Nordhagen, Michelle Holdsworth, Paula Dominguez-Salas, Ramya Ambikapathi, et al. “How Perspectives on Food Safety of Vendors and Consumers Translate into Food-Choice Behaviors in 6 African and Asian Countries.” Current Developments in Nutrition, December 2022, 100015. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cdnut.2022.100015.
  • James-Martin, Genevieve, Danielle L Baird, Gilly A Hendrie, Jessica Bogard, Kim Anastasiou, Paige G Brooker, Bonnie Wiggins, Gemma Williams, Mario Herrero, Mark Lawrence, Amanda J Lee, Malcolm D Riley. “Environmental Sustainability in National Food-Based Dietary Guidelines: A Global Review.” The Lancet Planetary Health 6, no. 12 (December 2022): e977–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(22)00246-7.
  • Ambikapathi, Ramya, Kate R. Schneider, Benjamin Davis, Mario Herrero, Paul Winters, and Jessica C. Fanzo. “Global Food Systems Transitions Have Enabled Affordable Diets but Had Less Favourable Outcomes for Nutrition, Environmental Health, Inclusion and Equity.” Nature Food 3, no. 9 (September 19, 2022): 764–79. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-022-00588-7.
  • Mason-D’Croz, Daniel, Anne Barnhill, Justin Bernstein, Jessica Bogard, Gabriel Dennis, Peter Dixon, Jessica Fanzo, et al. “Ethical and Economic Implications of the Adoption of Novel Plant-Based Beef Substitutes in the USA: A General Equilibrium Modelling Study.” The Lancet Planetary Health 6, no. 8 (August 2022): e658–69. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(22)00169-3.
  • Frehner, Anita, Renée P M Cardinaals, Imke J M de Boer, Adrian Muller, Christian Schader, Benjamin van Selm, Ollie van Hal, Giulia Pestoni, Sabine Rohrmann, Mario Herrero, and Hannah H E van Zanten. “The Compatibility of Circularity and National Dietary Recommendations for Animal Products in Five European Countries: A Modelling Analysis on Nutritional Feasibility, Climate Impact, and Land Use.” The Lancet Planetary Health 6, no. 6 (June 2022): e475–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(22)00119-X.
  • Waha, Katharina, Francesco Accatino, Cecile Godde, Cyrille Rigolot, Jessica Bogard, Joao Pedro Domingues, Elisabetta Gotor, Mario Herrero, Guillaume Martin, Daniel Mason-D’Croz, Francesco Tacconi, and Mark van Wijk. “The Benefits and Trade-Offs of Agricultural Diversity for Food Security in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Review of Existing Knowledge and Evidence.” Global Food Security 33 (June 2022): 100645. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2022.100645.
  • Barrett, Christopher B., Tim Benton, Jessica Fanzo, Mario Herrero, Rebecca J. Nelson, Elizabeth Bageant, Edward Buckler, Karen Cooper, Isabella Culotta, Shenggen Fan, Rikin Gandhi, Steven James, Mark Kahn, Laté Lawson-Lartego, Jiali Liu, Quinn Marshall, Daniel Mason-D'Croz, Alexander Mathys, Cynthia Mathys, Veronica Mazariegos-Anastassiou, Alesha Miller, Kamakhya Misra, Andrew Mude, Jianbo Shen, Lindiwe Majele Sibanda, Claire Song, Roy Steiner, Philip Thornton, and Stephen Wood. “Socio-Technical Innovation Bundles for Agri-Food Systems Transformation.” In Socio-Technical Innovation Bundles for Agri-Food Systems Transformation, edited by Christopher B. Barrett, Tim Benton, Jessica Fanzo, Mario Herrero, Rebecca J. Nelson, Elizabeth Bageant, Edward Buckler, et al., 1–20. Sustainable Development Goals Series. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-88802-2_1.
  • Hammond, James, Kim Siegal, Daniel Milner, Emmanuel Elimu, Taylor Vail, Paul Cathala, Arsene Gatera, Azfar Karim, Ja-Eun Lee, Sabine Douxchamps, Mai Thanh Tu, Emily Ouma, Ben Lukuyu, Pius Lutakome, Sonja Leitner, Ibrahim Wanyama, Trang Pham Thi, Phan Thi Hong Phuc, Mario Herrero, and Mark van Wijk. “Perceived Effects of COVID-19 Restrictions on Smallholder Farmers: Evidence from Seven Lower- and Middle-Income Countries.” Agricultural Systems 198 (April 2022): 103367. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2022.103367.
  • Piipponen, Johannes, Mika Jalava, Jan de Leeuw, Afag Rizayeva, Cecile Godde, Gabriel Cramer, Mario Herrero, and Matti Kummu. “Global Trends in Grassland Carrying Capacity and Relative Stocking Density of Livestock.” Global Change Biology 28, no. 12 (June 2022): 3902–19. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16174.
  • Thornton, Philip, Gerald Nelson, Dianne Mayberry, and Mario Herrero. “Impacts of Heat Stress on Global Cattle Production during the 21st Century: A Modelling Study.” The Lancet Planetary Health 6, no. 3 (March 2022): e192–201. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(22)00002-X.
  • Andrew, Neil L., Edward H. Allison, Tom Brewer, John Connell, Hampus Eriksson, Jacob G. Eurich, Anna Farmery, Jessica A. Gephart, Christopher D. Golden, Mario Herrero, Karen Mapusua, Katherine L. Seto, Michael K. Sharp, Phillip Thornton, Anne Marie Thow & Jillian Tutuo. “Continuity and Change in the Contemporary Pacific Food System.” Global Food Security 32 (March 2022): 100608. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2021.100608.
  • Ambikapathi, Ramya, Imani Irema, Isaac Lyatuu, Bess Caswell, Dominic Mosha, Stella Nyamsangia, Lauren Galvin, Ally Mangara, Morgan Boncyk, Savannah L Froese, Cristiana K Verissimo, Julieth Itatiro, Victoria Kariathi, Patrick Kazonda, Medina Wandella, Wafaie Fawzi, Japhet Killewo, Mary Mwanyika-Sando, George PrayGod, Germana Leyna, Crystal Patil, and Nilupa S Gunaratna. “Gender and Age Differences in Meal Structures, Food Away from Home, Chrono-Nutrition, and Nutrition Intakes among Adults and Children in Tanzania Using a Newly Developed Tablet-Based 24-Hour Recall Tool.” Current Developments in Nutrition 6, no. 3 (March 17, 2022): nzac015. https://doi.org/10.1093/cdn/nzac015.
  • Selm, Benjamin van, Anita Frehner, Imke J. M. de Boer, Ollie van Hal, Renske Hijbeek, Martin K. van Ittersum, Elise F. Talsma, Jan Peter Lesschen, Chantal M. J. Hendriks, Mario Herrero, and Hannah H. E. van Zanten. “Circularity in Animal Production Requires a Change in the EAT-Lancet Diet in Europe.” Nature Food 3, no. 1 (January 2022): 66–73. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00425-3.
  • Zhao, Hao, Jinfeng Chang, Petr Havlík, Michiel van Dijk, Hugo Valin, Charlotte Janssens, Lin Ma, Zhaohai Bai, Mario Herrero, Pete Smith, and Michael Obersteiner. “China’s Future Food Demand and Its Implications for Trade and Environment.” Nature Sustainability 4, no. 12 (December 2021): 1042–51. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-021-00784-6.
  • Mario Herrero, Daniel Mason-D’Croz, Philip K. Thornton, Jessica Fanzo, Jonathan Rushton, Cecile Godde, Alexandra Bellows, Adrian de Groot, Jeda Palmer, Jinfeng Chang, Hannah van Zanten, Barbara Wieland, Fabrice DeClerck, Stella Nordhagen and Margaret Gill, "Livestock and sustainable food systems: status, trends and priority actions," Scientific Group of the UN Food Systems Summit 2021, July 2021
  • Sheryl Hendriks, Adrian de Groot Ruiz, Mario Herrero Acosta, Hans Baumers, Pietro Galgani,
    Daniel Mason-D’Croz, Cecile Godde, Katharina Waha, Dimitra Kanidou, Joachim von Braun, Mauricio Benitez, Jennifer Blanke, Patrick Caron, Jessica Fanzo, Friederike Greb, Lawrence Haddad, Anna Herforth, Danie Jordaan, William Masters, Claudia Sadoff, Jean-François Soussana, Maria Cristi na Tirado, Maximo Torero & Matt hew Watkins, "The true cost of food," Scientific Group of the UN Food Systems Summit 2021, April 2021
  • Mario Herrero, Marta Hugas, Uma Lele, Aman Wira & Maximo Torero, "Shifts to healthy and sustainable consumption patterns," Scientific Group of the UN Food Systems Summit 2021, April 2021
  • Ambikapathi, Ramya, Gerald Shively, Germana Leyna, Dominic Mosha, Ally Mangara, Crystal L. Patil, Morgan Boncyk, Savannah L. Froese, Cristiana K. Verissimo, Patrick Kazonda, Mary Mwanyika-Sando, Japhet Killewo, and Nilupa S. Gunaratna. “Informal Food Environment Is Associated with Household Vegetable Purchase Patterns and Dietary Intake in the DECIDE Study: Empirical Evidence from Food Vendor Mapping in Peri-Urban Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.” Global Food Security 28 (March 2021): 100474. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2020.100474.
  • Chang, Jinfeng, Philippe Ciais, Thomas Gasser, Pete Smith, Mario Herrero, Petr Havlík, Michael Obersteiner, Bertrand Guenet, Daniel S. Goll, Wei Li, Victoria Naipal, Shushi Peng, Chunjing Qiu, Hanqin Tian, Nicolas Viovy, Chao Yue, and Dan Zhu. “Climate Warming from Managed Grasslands Cancels the Cooling Effect of Carbon Sinks in Sparsely Grazed and Natural Grasslands.” Nature Communications 12, no. 1 (December 2021): 118. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-20406-7.
  • Herrero, Mario, Philip K Thornton, Daniel Mason-D’Croz, Jeda Palmer, Benjamin L Bodirsky, Prajal Pradhan, Christopher B Barrett, Tim G Benton, Andrew Hall, Ilje Pikaar, Jessica R Bogard, Graham D Bonnett, Brett A Bryan, Bruce M Campbell, Svend Christensen, Michael Clark, Jessica Fanzo, Cecile M Godde, Andy Jarvis, Ana Maria Loboguerrero, Alexander Mathys, C Lynne McIntyre, Rosamond L Naylor, Rebecca Nelson, Michael Obersteiner, Alejandro Parodi, Alexander Popp, Katie Ricketts, Pete Smith, Hugo Valin, Sonja J Vermeulen, Joost Vervoort, Mark van Wijk, Hannah HE van Zanten, Paul C West, Stephen A Wood, and Johan Rockström. “Articulating the Effect of Food Systems Innovation on the Sustainable Development Goals.” The Lancet Planetary Health 5, no. 1 (January 2021): e50–62. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(20)30277-1.
  • Barrett, Christopher B., Tim G. Benton, Karen A. Cooper, Jessica Fanzo, Rikin Gandhi, Mario Herrero, Steven James, Mark Kahn, Daniel Mason-D’Croz, Alexander Mathys, Rebecca J. Nelson, Jianbo Shen, Philip Thornton, Elizabeth Bageant, Shenggen Fan, Andrew G. Mude, Lindiwe M. Sibanda, and Stephen Wood. “Bundling Innovations to Transform Agri-Food Systems.” Nature Sustainability 3, no. 12 (December 2020): 974–76. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-020-00661-8.
  • Damerau, Kerstin, Kyle Frankel Davis, Cécile Godde, Mario Herrero, Marco Springmann, Shilpa N. Bhupathiraju, Samuel S. Myers, and Walter Willett. “India Has Natural Resource Capacity to Achieve Nutrition Security, Reduce Health Risks and Improve Environmental Sustainability.” Nature Food 1, no. 10 (October 2020): 631–39. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-020-00157-w.
  • Passarelli, Simone, Ramya Ambikapathi, Nilupa S Gunaratna, Isabel Madzorera, Chelsey R Canavan, Abdallah R Noor, Amare Worku, Yemane Berhane, Semira Abdelmenan, Simbarashe Sibanda, Bertha Munthali, Tshilidzi Madzivhandila, Lindiwe M Sibanda, Kumlachew Geremew, Tadelle Dessie, Solomon Abegaz, Getnet Assefa, Christopher Sudfeld, Margaret McConnell, Kirsten Davison, and Wafaie Fawzi. “A Chicken Production Intervention and Additional Nutrition Behavior Change Component Increased Child Growth in Ethiopia: A Cluster-Randomized Trial.” The Journal of Nutrition 150, no. 10 (October 12, 2020): 2806–17. https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxaa181.
  • Waha, Katharina, Jan Philipp Dietrich, Felix T. Portmann, Stefan Siebert, Philip K. Thornton, Alberte Bondeau, and Mario Herrero. “Multiple Cropping Systems of the World and the Potential for Increasing Cropping Intensity.” Global Environmental Change 64 (September 2020): 102131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2020.102131.
  • Zeist, Willem-Jan van, Elke Stehfest, Jonathan C. Doelman, Hugo Valin, Katherine Calvin, Shinichiro Fujimori, Tomoko Hasegawa, Petr Havlik, Florian Humpenöder, Page Kyle, Hermann Lotze-Campen, Daniel Mason-D'Croz, Hans van Meijl, Alexander Popp, Timothy B. Sulser, Andrzej Tabeau, Willem Verhagen, and Keith Wiebe. “Are Scenario Projections Overly Optimistic about Future Yield Progress?” Global Environmental Change 64 (September 2020): 102120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2020.102120.
  • Ambikapathi, Ramya, Simone Passarelli, Isabel Madzorera, Chelsey R. Canavan, Ramadhani A. Noor, Semira Abdelmenan, Dagmawit Tewahido, Amare WorkuTadesse, Lindiwe Sibanda, Simbarashe Sibanda, Bertha Munthali, Tshilidzi Madzivhandila, Yemane Berhane, Wafaie Fawzi, and Nilupa S. Gunaratna. “Men’s Nutrition Knowledge Is Important for Women’s and Children’s Nutrition in Ethiopia.” Maternal & Child Nutrition 17, no. 1 (January 2021). https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.13062.
  • Béné, Christophe, Jessica Fanzo, Lawrence Haddad, Corinna Hawkes, Patrick Caron, Sonja Vermeulen, Mario Herrero, and Peter Oosterveer. “Five Priorities to Operationalize the EAT–Lancet Commission Report.” Nature Food 1, no. 8 (August 2020): 457–59. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-020-0136-4.
  • Herrero, Mario, Philip K. Thornton, Daniel Mason-D’Croz, Jeda Palmer, Tim G. Benton, Benjamin L. Bodirsky, Jessica R. Bogard, Andrew Hall, Bernice Lee, Karine Nyborg, Prajal Pradhan, Graham D. Bonnett, Brett A. Bryan, Bruce M. Campbell, Svend Christensen, Michael Clark, Mathew T. Cook, Imke J. M. de Boer, Chris Downs, Kanar Dizyee, Christian Folberth, Cecile M. Godde, James S. Gerber, Michael Grundy, Petr Havlik, Andrew Jarvis, Richard King, Ana Maria Loboguerrero, Mauricio A. Lopes, C. Lynne McIntyre, Rosamond Naylor, Javier Navarro, Michael Obersteiner, Alejandro Parodi, Mark B. Peoples, Ilje Pikaar, Alexander Popp, Johan Rockström, Michael J. Robertson, Pete Smith, Elke Stehfest, Steve M. Swain, Hugo Valin, Mark van Wijk, Hannah H. E. van Zanten, Sonja Vermeulen, Joost Vervoort, and Paul C. West. “Innovation Can Accelerate the Transition towards a Sustainable Food System.” Nature Food 1, no. 5 (May 2020): 266–72. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-020-0074-1.