Research Brief: Ruminating on sustainable food systems in a net-zero world

RESEARCH BRIEF: Ruminating on sustainable food systems in a net-zero world Bob van Oort, Anne Sophie Daloz, Robbie Andrew, Fay Madeleine Farstad, Monica Guillen-Royo, Erlend Andre T. Hermansen, Nina Bergan Holmelin, Steffen Kallbekken, Anton Orlov, Jana Sillmann, Katrine Skagen and Nora Svarstad Ytreberg. 18 December 2025 1 Title Ruminating on sustainable food systems in a net-zero world Key findings and recommendations ● Current ruminant livestock production levels and meat-lobbyism represent a persistent challenge for multiple sustainability goals, including decarbonization due to methane emissions and land demands. ● Siloed approaches that address only emissions may undermine other goals such as biodiversity or food security. ● Sustainability encompasses a broad set of goals rather than selective ones and demands multiple, simultaneous strategies—ranging from feedand breeding innovations to dietary changes, reducing food waste, and promoting more sustainable land use. Crucially, these interventions must be coordinated under integrated governance frameworks that move in step with net-zero timelines. ● The authors conclude that effective transformation will require coherent policy design that bridges all aspects of food, with context-specific strategies adapted to diverse regional conditions. They highlight both co-benefits and risks - for example, increased grazing could reduce livestock pressure on arable land and increase food production, but might also increase emissions or biodiversity loss if poorly managed. At the same time, the article notes limitations: benefits of food system transformation remain conceptual when implementation is particularly difficult in regions with weaker institutions, or with strong cultural, political or economic barriers - such as dietary preferences and industry influence. Understanding local dynamics and possibilities are underexplored but critical to real-world change. Context This article examines how the term ‘sustainability’ is frequently misunderstood and deliberately misused to resist or undermine food system transformations aimed at achieving health, environmental, and climate goals. The paper has a particular focus on the outsized role of ruminant livestock and continues with a solution-based approach, exploring how a food system change at the national level could in fact benefit multiple agri-political goals. 2 Want to know more? ● Full reference: van Oort, B., Daloz, A.S., Andrew, R. et al. Ruminating on sustainable food systems in a net-zero world. Nat Sustain 7, 1225–1234 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-024-01404-9 ● MYRIAD-EU website: www.myriadproject.eu ● X: @Myriad_EU ● Contact: Anne Sophie Daloz (anne.sophie.dalo[email protected].no)