Institute of Economy, Geography and Demography of the CSIC

Eighty-two percent of EU farm subsidies articulated through the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) financed high-emission livestock production in 2013, according to a study published in Nature Food. The analysis, which is based on data from 1986 to 2013 - the latest year for which records are available - highlights that 82% went to animal products in the following proportions: 38% directly and 44% for feed production. The authors note that food of animal origin is associated with 84 % of the greenhouse gases emitted by EU food production. 

Work by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) estimates that by 2050, more than three quarters (155 out of 204) of countries will not have fertility rates high enough to maintain their population size. The percentage will rise to 97% by the year 2100. The authors warn that national governments must plan for the threats these changes will pose to the economy, food security, health, the environment and geopolitical security. The findings are published in the journal The Lancet. 

Research published in Nature Human Behaviour analyses changes in life expectancy since the advent of covid-19. Its findings show that some countries in western Europe, including Spain, regained some of their lost life expectancy, and others returned to 2019 levels. On the other hand, losses continued in Eastern Europe and the United States.

Studies have shown that the coronavirus has caused life expectancy to fall in many parts of the world in recent years, although differences between countries and regions are considerable. The latest WHO estimates are close to 15 million deaths worldwide between 2020 and 2021.