Science is crucial for evidence-based decision-making. Public trust in scientists can help decision makers act on the basis of the best available evidence, especially during crises. However, in recent years the epistemic authority of science has been challenged, causing concerns about low public trust in scientists. We interrogated these concerns with a preregistered 68-country survey of 71,922 respondents and found that in most countries, most people trust scientists and agree that scientists should engage more in society and policymaking. We found variations between and within countries, which we explain with individual- and country-level variables, including political orientation. While there is no widespread lack of trust in scientists, we cannot discount the concern that lack of trust in scientists by even a small minority may affect considerations of scientific evidence in policymaking. These findings have implications for scientists and policymakers seeking to maintain and increase trust in scientists.

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The dramatic changes brought by the relationship between humans and their natural environments by different human activities such as the exploitation of natural resources and use of fossil fuels threatens humanity at large. Beside considerable disagreements on when Anthropocene began, it is considered an epochal transformation linked to deterioration of global ecologies, loss of biodiversity and environmental degradation. Environmental anthropologists are contributing both theoretically and by important ethnographic insights in analyzing and understanding the consequences of climate changes in socio-ecological systems worldwide. In this article we provide an overview of main theoretical contributions during the development of environmental anthropology as a discipline. In addition, we highlight the possible Cultural Evolution theory (CE) contribution in climate changes consequences to a socio-ecological system.

The transformation of Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) among minority populations undergoing cultural and linguistic assimilation over time is poorly understood. Arbëreshë communities in Greece, who have preserved Albanian-derived traditions for centuries, offer a unique opportunity to examine how folk plant knowledge adapts over time. This study examines the linguistic labels and culinary uses of wild greens among Arbëreshë (or Arvanites), an ethno-linguistic minority traditionally speaking Arbërisht or Arvanitika, the Tosk dialect of Albanian, who have resided in the Argolis and Corinthia regions of the Peloponnese for several centuries. In 2025, fieldwork was conducted in four rural Arbëreshë villages in the Argolis and Corinthia regions of Greece, combining semi-structured interviews with 24 elderly participants, participant observation, and the collection and identification of botanical specimens. The contemporary dataset was compared with historical ethnobotanical records from the 1970s to assess temporal changes in the use of wild vegetables and folk plant nomenclature. Our results reveal that current Arbëreshë ethnobotanical heritage has undergone profound Hellenisation, with 62% of folk plant names of Greek origin, 14% Albanian, and 24% hybrid, reflecting strong linguistic and cultural assimilation over the past half-century. The traditional boiled green mix (lakra in Arbëreshë, chorta in Greek) remains central to the local cuisine, which is rooted in foraged plants, although its culinary applications have diversified. In total, 37 taxa of wild vegetables across 37 genera and 14 families were documented in 2025, compared with 21 taxa across 21 genera in the filtered 1970 dataset. Core families, such as Asteraceae and Brassicaceae, remained dominant, while new families, like Malvaceae and Portulacaceae, appeared, possibly indicating both ecological and culinary changes. These findings raise questions about whether the Arbëreshë wild vegetable heritage was strongly influenced by the surrounding Greek majority or primarily acquired after migration, potentially facilitated by intermarriages and shared Orthodox Christian affiliation. Overall, our study highlights a largely Hellenised Arbëreshë biocultural heritage and underscores the urgent need for national and regional stakeholders to recognise and celebrate the remaining minority’s linguistic and ethnobotanical diversity. The transformation of local ethnobotanical knowledge over the past fifty years appears influenced by ecological availability, socio-cultural dynamics, and changing taste preferences.

Genes and culture co-evolve to determine variations in dietary habits. Our evolutionary heritage regarding food choice and food preferences is responsible for the mismatch with the food environments we have created, which leads to problems such as overweight and obesity. Several hypotheses have attempted to explain the high rate of obesity present in today’s world. The thrifty genotype hypothesis suggested that obesity today is a throwback to our ancestors having undergone positive selection for genes that favored energy storage. The drifty genotype hypothesis contends that the prevalence of thrifty genes is not a result of positive selection for energy-storage genes but, rather, is attributable to genetic drift resulting from the removal of predatory selection pressures. Both hypotheses focus on environmental changes over time, positive selection and genetic drift. While genetics plays a significant role, we believe that cultural selection is also responsible for the spread of obesogenic phenomena in Albania. The high rates of overweight and obesity among Albanians today can be explained as a mismatch between our evolutionary past and maladaptive behaviors.