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© The Authors The agricultural sector faces multiple challenges linked to increased climate uncertainty, causing severe shocks including increased frequency of extreme weather events, new pest and disease risks, soil degradation, and pre and postharvest food losses. This situation is further exacerbated by geopolitical instability and volatility in energy prices impacting on fertiliser supplies and production costs. Net zero strategies are vital to achieve both food security and address negative environmental impacts. This perspective paper reviews and assesses the most viable options (actions) to achieve net zero with a focus on the arable/livestock and protected cropping sectors in the UK. The methodology was based on a synthesis of relevant literature, coupled with expert opinions using the holistic PESTLE (Political, Environmental, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental) approach to categorise actions, leading to formulation of a roadmap to achieve net zero. The PESTLE analysis indicated that there are technically and economically viable actions available which need to be prioritised depending on the ease of their implementation within the two crop sectors investigated. These actions include (i) policy changes that are better aligned to net zero; (ii) circular economy approaches; (iii) connectivity and accessibility of information; (iv) increased resilience to shocks; (v) changing diets, nutrition and lifestyles; (vi) target setting and attainment; and (vii) farm economics and livelihoods. The outputs can be used by stakeholders and decision makers to inform policy and drive meaningful changes in global food and environmental security.

Obesity amongst the Mexican population has increased rapidly in the last 10 years, having an impact in public health. This study aims to assess the impact of agri-food production indicators such as accessibility, availability and affordability (A3) of food and their impact on consumers’ behaviour to further understand the nutritional transition in Mexico. The paper presents findings from a systematic literature review and secondary data analysis, which suggests the agriculture sector has an important role in improving nutrition. Initial findings from the literature review revealed that this sector has been highly neglected in Mexico, and recent uncertainties such as the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) have had an impact on nutrition inequalities. Such inequalities could be addressed with a better understanding of the factors influencing the A3 of food products throughout the supply chain. In addition, the findings demonstrate the potential of understanding behaviour as a way of expanding awareness of the internal/external drivers affecting obesity. The findings from the literature review and secondary data analysis will complement further research including a survey to identify obesity trends and factors influencing poor nutrition in Mexican households. Outputs from the research will be compiled to develop scenarios that will analyse future threats and opportunities associated with changing diets and nutritional values in Mexico to support effective decision-making.

The European Food Safety Authority's has established procedures for the identification of emerging risk in food and feed. The main objectives are to: (i) to carry out activities aiming at identifying, assessing and disseminating information on emerging issues and ensure coordination with relevant networks and international organisations; (ii) promote the identification of data sources and data collection and /or data generation in prioritised emerging issues; and the (iii) evaluate of the collected information and identify of emerging risks. The objective(s) of the Standing Working Group on Emerging Risks (SWG‐ER) is to collaborate with EFSA on the emerging risks identification (ERI) procedure and provide strategic direction for EFSA work building on past and ongoing projects related to EFSA ERI procedure. The SWG‐ER considered the ERI methodologies in place and results obtained by EFSA. It was concluded that a systematic approach to the identification of emerging issues based on experts’ networks is the major strength of the procedure but at present, it is mainly focused on single issues, over short to medium time horizons, no consistent weighting or ranking is applied and clear governance of emerging risks with follow‐up actions is missing. The analysis highlighted weaknesses with respect to data collection, analysis and integration. No methodology is in place to estimate the value of the procedure outputs in terms of avoided risk and there is urgent need for a communication strategy that addresses the lack of data and knowledge uncertainty and addresses risk perception issues. Recommendations were given in three areas: (i) Further develop a food system‐based approach including the integration of social sciences to improve understanding of interactions and dynamics between actors and drivers and the development of horizon scanning protocols; (ii) Improve data processing pipelines to prepare big data analytics, implement a data validation system and develop data sharing agreements to explore mutual benefits; and (iii) Revise the EFSA procedure for emerging risk identification to increase transparency and improve communication.

Executive summary: The AGFORWARD project (Grant Agreement N° 613520) had the overall goal to promote agroforestry practices in Europe that will advance sustainable rural development. It had four objectives (described below) which address 1) the context and extent of agroforestry in Europe, 2) identifying, developing and field-testing agroforestry innovations through participatory networks, 3) evaluating innovative designs and practices at field-, farm-, and landscape-scales, and promoting agroforestry in Europe through policy development and dissemination. Agroforestry is defined as the practice of deliberately integrating woody vegetation (trees or shrubs) with crop and/or animal systems to benefit from the resulting ecological and economic interactions. Context: European agroforestry has been estimated to cover 10.6 Mha (using a literature review) and 15.4 Mha using the pan-European LUCAS dataset (i.e. 8.8% of the utilised agricultural area). Livestock agroforestry (15.1 Mha) is, by far, the dominant type of agroforestry. The LUCAS analysis provides a uniform method to compare agroforestry areas between countries and over time. Identify, develop and field-test agroforestry innovations: 40 stakeholder groups (involving about 820 stakeholders across 13 European countries) developed and field-tested agroforestry innovations which have been reported in 40 “lesson learnt” reports, and in a user-friendly format in 46 “Agroforestry innovation leaflets”. The innovations for agroforestry systems of high nature and cultural value included cheaper methods of tree protection and guidance for establishing legumes in wood pastures. Innovations for agroforestry with timber plantations, olive groves and apple orchards include the use of medicinal plants and reduction of mowing costs. Innovations for integrating trees on arable farms included assessments of yield benefits by providing wind protection. Innovations for livestock farms included using trees to enhance animal welfare, shade protection, and as a source of fodder. Peer-reviewed journal papers and conference presentations on these and other related topics were developed. Evaluation of agroforestry designs and practices at field- and landscape-scale: a range of publicly available field-scale analysis tools are available on the AGFORWARD website. These include the “CliPick” climate database, and web-applications of the Farm-SAFE and Hi-sAFe model. The results of field- and landscape-scale analysis, written up as peer-reviewed papers, highlight the benefits of agroforestry (relative to agriculture) for biodiversity enhancement and providing regulating ecosystem services, such as for climate and water regulation and purification. Policy development and dissemination: detailed reviews of existing policy and recommendations for future European agroforestry policy have been produced. The support provided is far wider than the single specified agroforestry measures. The recommendations included the collation of existing measures, and that agroforestry systems should not forfeit Pillar I payments. Opportunities for farmlevel and landscape-level measures were also identified. The project results can be found on the project website (www.agforward.eu), a Facebook account (www.facebook.com/AgforwardProject), a Twitter account (https://twitter.com/AGFORWARD_EU), and a quarterly electronic newsletter (http://www.agforward.eu/index.php/en/newsletters-1514.html). The number of national associations in Europe was extended to twelve, and a web-based training resource on agroforestry (http://train.agforward.eu/language/en/agforall/) created. AGFORWARD also supported the Third European Agroforestry Conference in Montpellier in 2016 attracting 287 delegates from 26 countries including many farmers. We also initiated another 21 national conferences or conference sessions on agroforestry, made about 240 oral presentations, 61 poster presentations, produced about 50 news articles, and supported about 87 workshop, training or field-visit activities (in addition to the stakeholder groups).

The precautionary principle was formulated to provide a basis for political action to protect the environment from potentially severe or irreversible harm in circumstances of scientific uncertainty that prevent a full risk or cost-benefit analysis. It underpins environmental law in the European Union and has been extended to include public health and consumer safety. The aim of this study was to examine how the precautionary principle has been interpreted and subsequently applied in practice, whether these applications were consistent, and whether they followed the guidance from the Commission. A review of the literature was used to develop a framework for analysis, based on three attributes: severity of potential harm, standard of evidence (or degree of uncertainty), and nature of the regulatory action. This was used to examine 15 pieces of legislation or judicial decisions. The decision whether or not to apply the precautionary principle appears to be poorly defined, with ambiguities inherent in determining what level of uncertainty and significance of hazard justifies invoking it. The cases reviewed suggest that the Commission's guidance was not followed consistently in forming legislation, although judicial decisions tended to be more consistent and to follow the guidance by requiring plausible evidence of potential hazard in order to invoke precaution.

Academic programmes implicitly require critical thinking, and increasingly the requirement for critical thinking is explicit as part of autonomous and inquiry based learning. Because of the different cultural and learning backgrounds across a global student group, there is not a single, uniform understanding of and approach to critical thinking. This presentation describes research conducted to explore engineering students conceptualisation of critical thinking, with a view to using the findings to contribute to improved design of academic programmes. Research subjects were a cross-institutional, global group of masters level engineering students; the investigation spanned two separate academic cohorts each in two different institutions. A set of attributes giving evidence of critical thinking was determined from the literature (Castle, Colucciello and Profetto-McGrath). A combination of qualitative and quantitative methods will be used to provide insights into emerging themes. Focus groups were used to identify key themes, and questionnaires will be used to further explore those themes and confirm initial findings. Statistical measures of analysis such as variance and correlation of ranks will highlight similarities and differences in how groups of students conceptualise critical thinking. The preliminary research has confirmed an inconsistent development of critical thinking attributes

Local authorities need to find more effective ways to engage communities because public participation in collection schemes and acceptance of municipal waste facilities are integral to delivering effective waste strategies. The technical expertise politicians relied on in the past, to produce cost-effective and environmentally sound solutions, no longer provides sufficient justification to approve waste facilities. A new conceptualization of the relationship between science and politics, whereby there is some balance in the use of expert and local knowledge, is required to legitimize waste policy decisions. This paper aims to develop a better understanding of what happens at the interface between ‘expert' and ‘public' in municipal waste management decision making. It establishes opinions on the extent to which public values and preferences may be considered in practice in order to avoid or resolve controversial issues by gaining public consent..

Stakeholders and communities need to be given an early opportunity to shape local waste policy in order to encourage the swift planning, development and acceptance of alternative technologies needed to meet imminent statutory targets to divert materials from landfill. Some local authorities in the UK are testing more participatory methods such as citizen juries and consensus panels but these one-off exercises have to date not been capitalized upon in building experiences and expertise. This paper presents preliminary findings from a qualitative study that explores the socio-technical nature of the municipal waste problem and establishes stakeholders' opinions on the mode or level of participation appropriate for decisions on the treatment and disposal of residual waste

Local authorities need to find more effective ways to involve stakeholders and communities in decision-making since public acceptance of municipal waste facilities is integral to delivering effective waste strategies. This study explores the potential for adopting an analytical-deliberative process in a UK waste management context. It addresses questions of perception, interests, the decision context, the means of engagement and the necessary resources and capacity for adopting an iterative decision process. A mixed methods approach was used to gather empirical data through combined interviews and questionnaires with local authorities, waste industry experts, government officials and regulators, environmental campaigners and other community groups. The main output from the research is an empirical framework which captures and builds on theories of public involvement and the experiences of practitioners, and is intended to offer guidance for integrating analysis and deliberation in different waste management situations. The framework includes guidelines for greater inclusivity in decisions on contentious technologies or where there are high levels of uncertainty regarding the outcome of decisions. The empirical findings reveal that one of the more fundamental challenges to adopting an analytical-deliberative process in a UK waste management context is creating effective dialogue in a regulatory culture where participatory democracy is not the dominant political ideology. This appears to be more significant at the strategic planning level, where past institutional assumptions about public ignorance and incompetence may still hold, posing important methodological challenges to adopting analytical-deliberative processes. At the facility planning stage, there is greater awareness (among local authorities) of the benefits of analytical-deliberative structures. These benefits are associated with greater opportunities for trading-off impacts to the local community, thus addressing concerns around perceptions of social equity, fairness and legitimacy of the decision process. Overall, the research reveals the importance of engaging different stakeholders early in the decision process, specifically where issues are contentious or uncertain, to obtain a better understanding of decision needs and establish appropriate rules for successful public involvement.

Ongoing and successful development work around the design and delivery of audio feedback and audio lecture note‐making at Sheffield Hallam University, together with an awareness of how digital audio might be used to empower disabled students, led to the proposal for the Student Audio Notes project. The idea of digital audio‐enhanced learner autonomy had emerged from earlier work by the authors which had suggested that feedback could be more meaningful if the learner takes responsibility for gathering it and \ud feeding it forward into their studies and indeed, later, into their employment. This learner \ud responsibility provided an important focus for The Student Audio Notes Project (SANP): a \ud year‐long investigation into how students might use MP3 recording devices to enrich their \ud own experiences of learning. SANP gave out MP3 recorders to participating students and \ud aimed to encourage and challenge these students to explore how the devices could be used so that good practice might emerge and be shared. It was hoped that they would identify \ud and record any encounters involving verbalised communication that they felt helpful in \ud deepening and reflecting upon their learning. In this way the act of audio recording would \ud ideally become an essential, ever‐present, autonomous learning habit for them. \ud A strand of this investigation sought to find out, in particular, whether the recording of \ud digital audio by disabled students could bring benefits to disabled learners. As the study by \ud Healey et al. (2006) showed, 51% of disabled students (n=276) responded well to tutor \ud support aimed at improving the standard of their academic work, as opposed to the 43% of non‐disabled students (n=272). It was expected, therefore, that student’s use of audio note‐making would result in similar beneficial impacts. When note‐making systems are used effectively, as previous research by Intons‐Peterson and Fournier (1986) has also shown, note‐making can increase memory encoding in the learner and so enhance their ability to \ud recall the information later. Therefore, it was hoped that SANP would show how audio note‐making could be effective in empowering students with disabilities. Findings from SANP demonstrate that all participating students discovered benefits from \ud using recording devices and that they found it useful to capture a range of formal, semi‐\ud formal and informal situations. These findings raise questions for further research and \ud support and some recommendations are made to ensure such activity is properly undertaken and supported.