The Center on Food Security and the Environment is a joint effort of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment.
Sustainable development
Recent Publications
Records 24 / 44
Sustainable development of the palm oil sector in the Congo Basin
May 2019
Key messages:The Congo Basin is rich in biodiversity and stores an estimated 25%-30% of the worlds tropical forest carbon stocks.
Global warming has increased global economic inequality
April 2019
Understanding the causes of economic inequality is critical for achieving equitable economic development.
Mapping Missing Population in Rural India: A Deep Learning Approach with Satellite Imagery
February 2019
Millions of people worldwide are absent from their country’s census.
Satellite mapping of tillage practices in the North Central US region from 2005 to 2016
December 2018
Low-intensity tillage has become more popular among farmers in the United States and many other regions.
Sustainable and Equitable Increases in Fruit and Vegetable Productivity and Consumption are Needed to Achieve Global Nutrition Security
November 2018
Increased intake of fruits and vegetables (F&V) is recommended for most populations across the globe.
Increase in crop losses to insect pests in a warming climate
August 2018
Crop responses to climate warming suggest that yields will decrease as growing-season temperatures increase.
The paradox of irrigation efficiency
August 2018
Reconciling higher freshwater demands with finite freshwater resources remains one of the great policy dilemmas.
Estimating global agricultural effects of geoengineering using volcanic eruptions
August 2018
Solar radiation management is increasingly considered to be an option for managing global temperatures1,2, yet the economic effects of ameliorating climatic changes by scattering sunlight back to...
Anticipated burden and mitigation of carbon-dioxide-induced nutritional deficiencies and related diseases: A simulation modeling study
July 2018
Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations are anticipated to decrease the zinc and iron concentrations of crops.
The effects of intensive aquaculture on nutrient residence time and transport in a coastal embayment
May 2018
Aquaculture in many countries around the world has become the biggest source of seafood for human consumption.
Unprecedented rates of land-use transformation in modelled climate change mitigation pathways
May 2018
Integrated assessment models generate climate change mitigation scenarios consistent with global temperature targets.
Sell Low and Buy High: Arbitrage and Local Price Effects in Kenyan Markets
April 2018
Large and regular seasonal price fluctuations in local grain markets appear to offer African farmers substantial inter-temporal arbitrage opportunities, but these opportunities remain largely...
Eyes in the sky, boots on the ground : assessing satellite- and ground-based approaches to crop yield measurement and analysis in Uganda
March 2018
Crop yields in smallholder systems are traditionally assessed using farmer-reported information in surveys, occasionally by crop cuts for a sub-section of a farmer's plot, and rarely using full...
Assessing Hazard Vulnerability, Habitat Conservation and Restoration for the Enhancement of China’s Coastal Resilience
February 2018
Worldwide, humans are facing high risks from natural hazards, especially in coastal regions with high population densities.
The Elusive Goal of Global Food Security
February 2018
Ending world hunger is a universal goal, yet progress and social awareness of the issue waxes and wanes in the course of broader political and economic developments.
Feed conversion efficiency in aquaculture: do we measure it correctly?
February 2018
Globally, demand for food animal products is rising.
Improving environmental practices in agricultural supply chains: The role of company-led standards
December 2017
Food retailers and manufacturers are increasingly committing to address agricultural sustainability issues in their supply chains.
The rise in global biodiesel production: Implications for food security
December 2017
Policies that promote biofuels in major agricultural economies raise important questions for food prices and food security at local to global scales.
Oil palm expansion in Cameroon: Insights into sustainability opportunities and challenges in Africa
November 2017
Oil palm production expanded 1.2 million hectares in sub-Saharan Africa since 1990, with expansion accelerating in several heavily forested countries since 2000.
Increasing drought and diminishing benefits of elevated carbon dioxide for soybean yields across the US Midwest
November 2017
Elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations ([CO2]) are expected to increase C3 crop yield through the CO2 fertilization effect (CFE) by stimulating photosynthesis and by reducing stomatal conductance...
Using satellite data to identify the causes of and potential solutions for yield gaps in India's Wheat Belt
September 2017
Food security will be increasingly challenged by climate change, natural resource degradation, and population growth.
Impact of a rural solar electrification project on the level and structure of women's empowerment
September 2017
Although development organizations agree that reliable access to energy and energy services—one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals—is likely to have profound and perhaps disproportionate...
Data Science for Food Security
August 2017
Using agricultural and economic characteristics in African nations as test cases, new research by David Lobell and Marshall Burke demonstrates the use of satellite data to address the long-standing...
The political economy of biodiesel in an era of low oil prices
May 2017
Global biodiesel production grew by 23% per annum between 2005 and 2015, leading to a seven-fold expansion of the sector in a single decade.
People
Rosamond L. Naylor Senior Fellow William Wrigley Professor of Earth System Science, Senior Fellow, Stanford Woods Institute and Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Professor, by courtesy, Economics, Senior Fellow and Founding Director, Center on Food Security and the Environment 
Steven Gorelick Cyrus F. Tolman Professor and Senior Fellow, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment 
Pamela Matson Chester Naramore Dean of the School of Earth, Energy and Environmental Sciences, Richard and Rhoda Goldman Professor of Environmental Studies, Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment, FSE Affiliated Faculty Professor, Earth Sciences, Senior Fellow, Stanford Woods Institute 
Ertharin Cousin Payne Distinguished Lecturer, FSI Distinguished Fellow, FSE, Distinguished Fellow, CDDRL 
