France, March 19 -- A UN roadmap to reform the world's food systems - which account for a third of carbon emissions - has been criticised by experts who say it lacks transparency and fails to properly address the crucial need to reduce meat consumption.

In a commentary published on Monday in the journal Nature Food, academics from the US, Brazil and the Netherlands said the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) had "missed opportunities" to cutgreenhouse gas emissions, while also offering up solutions that could potentially make things worse.

Part one of the FAO's roadmap - the first of its kind - was released at the Cop28 climate conference in Dubai in December. It aims to achieve zero hunger and malnutrition while staying withi...