Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML)

Food

The research within the Food research programme at CML focuses on a transition towards sustainable food production and consumption systems. We investigate from a very small to a very large scale, at a local, national or international level. We do so by researching for example molecular tools, food systems, up to the Nitrogen Crisis in the Netherlands.

The global food system is directly tied to the long-term environmental stability and future livability of the planet. Food consumption requires resources, such as soil and water and can drive emissions of greenhouse gases and nutrients, driving environmental issues.  

Our work cuts across scales, from investigating the interaction of soil microbes and plants up to global analyses of food systems and supply chains. We work experimentally using molecular tools (e.g. eDNA) and observations in controlled experiments and in field living-labs together with stakeholders.

Research on food systems

At the bigger scale we also use various environmental footprint and decision support tools such as input-output analysis and life-cycle assessments to evaluate the impacts of our food production, consumption, and trade. Our research on food systems also includes food waste, where we assess the split of avoidable and unavoidable portions at the consumer and production levels for a range of food commodities.

Finally, we employ measurements and models that trace biogeochemical flows across the technosphere, biosphere, and hydrosphere. This work takes place at the local scale, by studying nutrient cycles in the field, but also at national scale, with discussions on farming practices that can tackle the Nitrogen Crisis in the Netherlands, and at the global scale, such as assessing the phosphorus requirements and surpluses in various countries to assess its sustainable use. We further introduce the results of these studies into Life Cycle Inventories, so that the results can be used in general environmental analyses.

Major research lines

Our research bridges environmental and societal issues related to the food system, including farming practices, animal welfare, labour, new technologies, trade patterns, and diets.

Research lines include:

• Linking soil microbiome to plant quality and human health and effects of food production on the environment,
• Transition of peat-meadow from dairy production to sustainable agriculture.
• Transitions toward a sustainable food system.
• Nutrient cycling.
• Impacts of the EU deforestation regulation on overseas biodiversity and forest loss.
• Assessments toward the reduction of avoidable and the valorization of unavoidable food waste.

Interdisciplinary research

To make food systems more sustainable, we work in interdisciplinary context together with other disciplines such as social sciences, governance, economy, law, and medical sciences. Food is an important theme in the Liveable Planet program and we collaborate extensively with the Agro-food hub of the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Center for Sustainability. Further important collaborations include UNEP, PBL, FAO and Dutch Farming cooperatives.