The way in which fields are cultivated and food is produced has a lasting impact on the environment and climate. Around a third of global greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity loss and soil degradation are caused by global agricultural and food systems. The Leibniz research network ‘Green Food - Healthy Society’ is now providing a new systemic approach to tackling these challenges.

The green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is a well-known model organism, especially in molecular biology. Here, the unicellular organism is used to research photosynthesis in living cells, metabolism and protein transport. The alga is also becoming increasingly important as a biofactory for the production of hydrogen. However, the cultivation of C. Chlamydomonas in the laboratory has its pitfalls.

Oil spills occur time and again in the world's oceans with serious consequences for the entire ecosystem. But here, too, nature has microbial helpers at the ready that can contain the spread of the oil slick and thus the environmental pollution. These are marine bacteria that feed on crude oil. A research team led by the University of Bonn has now taken a closer look at such a marine bacterium. RWTH Aachen University, HHU Düsseldorf and the Jülich Research Centre were involved in the study.

The development and production of alternative proteins is becoming increasingly urgent in view of the growing world population and the increasing strain on natural resources caused by the growing consumption of animal-based foods. These are foods or ingredients based on plants, cell cultivation and fermentation that have a comparable protein content and can therefore replace animal products such as meat and milk.

With LIFE (L'Instrument Financier pour l'Environnement), the European Union launched a programme in 1992 to promote innovation in environmental, nature and climate protection. Since then, more than 6,000 projects have received financial support across the EU, including projects in the bioeconomy sector. The starting signal for this year's funding round for the current LIFE period, which began in 2021 and runs until 2027, was given at the end of April.

Forests are both a carbon sink and a source of raw materials. However, the condition of trees has not only deteriorated in Germany. Aridity, drought and pests as well as large-scale deforestation in the tropics are jeopardising ecosystems worldwide and fuelling global warming. On 29 April 2025, the European Space Agency (ESA) launched BIOMASS, a satellite designed to monitor the Earth's green lungs.

The intensive use of agricultural land has placed a heavy burden on soils in north-west Europe. In many regions, the humus content is too low. As a result, soils are less able to store water, which increases the risk of erosion and flooding - and jeopardises food security in the long term.