Assessing the Evolving Fragility of the Global Food System

Science.gov (United States)

Puma, Michael Joseph; Bose, Satyajit; Chon, So Young; Cook, Benjamin I.

2015-01-01

The world food crisis in 2008 highlighted the susceptibility of the global food system to price shocks. Here we use annual staple food production and trade data from 1992-2009 to analyse the changing properties of the global food system. Over the 18-year study period, we show that the global food system is relatively homogeneous (85 of countries have low or marginal food self-sufficiency) and increases in complexity, with the number of global wheat and rice trade connections doubling and trade flows increasing by 42 and 90, respectively. The increased connectivity and flows within these global trade networks suggest that the global food system is vulnerable to systemic disruptions, especially considering the tendency for exporting countries to switch to non-exporting states during times of food scarcity in the global markets. To test this hypothesis, we superimpose continental-scale disruptions on the wheat and rice trade networks. We find greater absolute reductions in global wheat and rice exports along with larger losses in network connectivity as the networks evolve due to disruptions in European wheat and Asian rice production. Importantly, our findings indicate that least developed countries suffer greater import losses in more connected networks through their increased dependence on imports for staple foods (due to these large-scale disturbances): mean (median) wheat losses as percentages of staple food supply are 8.9 (3.8) for 1992-1996, increasing to 11 (5.7) for 20052009. Over the same intervals, rice losses increase from 8.2 (2.2) to 14 (5.2). Our work indicates that policy efforts should focus on balancing the efficiency of international trade (and its associated specialization) with increased resilience of domestic production and global demand diversity.

Book Review, Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal

Science.gov (United States)

Could curbing food waste significantly reduce world hunger and environmental pressures? Tristram Stuart argues cogently that it could in his book Waste, which details the global food-waste scandal and delves into questions such as how much food is available globally? How much is needed and used, a...

Globalization of food and agriculture and the poor:

OpenAIRE

von Braun, Joachim; Díaz-Bonilla, Eugenio

2008-01-01

The economic impact of globalization, particularly on poverty, and the changes in agri-food markets have received much attention in recent years. However, the intersection of these two trends has been neglected. The present volume fills this gap by focusing on the way globalization of agri-food systems affects the world's poor and its impact on food and nutrition security in developing countries. Rather than offering a single policy prescription or simplistic messages about globalization bein...

Public-private interactions in global food safety governance.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Ching-Fu

2014-01-01

In response to an apparent decline in global food safety, numerous public and private regulatory initiatives have emerged to restore public confidence. This trend has been particularly marked by the growing influence of private regulators such as multinational food companies, supermarket chains and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), who employ private standards, certification protocols, third-party auditing, and transnational contracting practices. This paper explores how the structure and processes of private food safety governance interact with traditional public governance regimes, focusing on Global Good Agricultural Practices (GlobalGAP) as a primary example of the former. Due to the inefficiency and ineffectiveness of public regulation in the face of global problems, private governance in food safety has gradually replaced states' command-and-control regulation with more flexible, market-oriented mechanisms. The paper concludes by emphasizing the importance of constructive regime interaction instead of institutional boundary building to global food safety governance. Public and private ordering must each play a role as integral parts of a larger, dynamic and evolving governance complex.

Locating food sovereignty: geographical and sectoral distance in the global food system

NARCIS (Netherlands)

M.J. Robbins (Martha Jane)

2013-01-01

textabstractThis paper seeks to problematize the role of local food systems within the food sovereignty movement and as a counter to the logic of the global industrial food system. It answers the question of how food sovereignty, via its tenet of local food systems, addresses the geographical and

Globalization of water and food through international trade: impacts on food security, resilience and justice

Science.gov (United States)

D'Odorico, P.; Carr, J. A.; Seekell, D. A.; Suweis, S. S.

2015-12-01

The global distribution of water resources in general depends on geographic conditions but can be (virtually) modified by humans through mechanisms of globalization, such as trade, that make food commodities available to populations living far from the production regions. While trade is expected to improve access to food and (virtual) water, its impact on the global food system and its vulnerability to shocks remains poorly understood. It is also unclear who benefits from trade and whether it contributes to inequality and justice in resource redistribution. We reconstruct the global patterns of food trade and show with a simple model how the ongoing intensification of imports and exports has eroded the resilience of the global food system. Drawing on human rights theory, we investigate the relationship between inequality and injustice in access to water and food. We assess the fulfillment of positive and negative water and food rights and evaluate the obligations arising from the need to ensure that these rights are met throughout the world. We find that trade enhances the vulnerability to shocks but overall increase the number of people whose water and food rights are met.

Global Food Safety-International Consumers' Rights?

Science.gov (United States)

Hussain, Malik Altaf

2013-10-11

Your submissions to this Special Issue "Food Microbiology and Safety" of Foods -a new open access journal-are welcome. We understand there are no foodborne illness-free zones in the world. Therefore, a proper understanding of foodborne pathogens and the factors that impact their growth, survival and pathogenesis would equip us with tools to ensure global food safety. This Special Issue publishes articles on different aspects of food microbiology and safety. [...].

Global Changes in Food Supply and the Obesity Epidemic.

Science.gov (United States)

Zobel, Emilie H; Hansen, Tine W; Rossing, Peter; von Scholten, Bernt Johan

2016-12-01

We explore how a global shift in the food system caused by global economic growth, increase in available food per capita and in food processing is a driver of the obesity epidemic. Economic development in most areas of the world has resulted in increased purchasing power and available per capita food. Supermarkets and a growing fast-food industry have transformed our dietary pattern. Ultra-processed food rich on sugars and saturated fat is now the major source of energy in most countries. The shift in food supply is considered a major driver of the obesity epidemic and the increasing prevalence of accompanying complications, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. However, the global shift might also have direct effects on the increase in type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer, independently of overweight and obesity. The shift in the food supply is a major driver of the obesity epidemic.

Global Changes in Food Supply and the Obesity Epidemic

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zobel, Emilie H.; Hansen, Tine W; Rossing, Peter

2016-01-01

power and available per capita food. Supermarkets and a growing fast-food industry have transformed our dietary pattern. Ultra-processed food rich on sugars and saturated fat is now the major source of energy in most countries. The shift in food supply is considered a major driver of the obesity......Purpose of Review We explore how a global shift in the food system caused by global economic growth, increase in available food per capita and in food processing is a driver of the obesity epidemic. Recent Findings Economic development in most areas of the world has resulted in increased purchasing...... epidemic and the increasing prevalence of accompanying complications, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. However, the global shift might also have direct effects on the increase in type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer, independently of overweight and obesity. Summary...

Atoms for food - A global partnership

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wedekind, L.

2008-10-01

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have been partners for nearly half a century, contributing to efforts toward shared goals of food security. Their mission - through a Joint Division headquartered at the IAEA in Austria - is to help countries effectively use nuclear science and related technologies for food and agricultural development. Millions of people today look to a better future because of the foresight and longstanding investment of FAO and IAEA Member States in the 'Atoms for Food' partnership. Worldwide, more than 100 countries are working together through the Joint Division to increase their harvests, combat animal and plant diseases and pests, and protect the lands, water resources, and environments on which food and agricultural production depend. This century's stark realities of hunger, poverty, climate change, and environmental degradation bring an unprecedented scale of challenges to the fields of food and agriculture. Action requires the research, expertise, and experience of the FAO/IAEA partnership and other effective alliances worldwide to help countries achieve and sustain higher levels of food security for their people. The two organizations are well matched. FAO brings to the table its comprehensive knowledge and networks on food and agriculture. The IAEA, in turn, contributes technical know-how, specifically in agricultural and related applications of nuclear science and technology. The partnership's potential builds on decades of experience

Global Food Safety?International Consumers? Rights?

OpenAIRE

Hussain, Malik Altaf

2013-01-01

Your submissions to this Special Issue “Food Microbiology and Safety” of Foods—a new open access journal—are welcome. We understand there are no foodborne illness-free zones in the world. Therefore, a proper understanding of foodborne pathogens and the factors that impact their growth, survival and pathogenesis would equip us with tools to ensure global food safety. This Special Issue publishes articles on different aspects of food microbiology and safety.

Governance of global organic agro-food networks from Africa

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Glin, L.C.

2014-01-01

The increasing global concerns with regard to agro-food risks and the subsequent consumerist turn in the global food economy challenges the conventional chemical-intensive agricultural production. In fact, the post-war dominant agro-industrial development fostered the intensive use of chemical

Food Safety as a contributor to Food Security: global policy concerns & challenges

OpenAIRE

Vijay Kumar Chattu

2015-01-01

The theme for World Health Day campaign for this year 2015 is “Food safety: from farm to plate, make food safe”. The day focuses on demonstrating the importance of food safety along the whole length of the food chain in a globalized world, from production and transport, to preparation and consumption (1). Everyone needs food and needs it every day either plant sources or animal sources or both. The food we eat must be nutritious and safe but we often ignore or overlook the issue of food safet...

Rising food costs & global food security: Key issues & relevance for India

Science.gov (United States)

Gustafson, Daniel J.

2013-01-01

Rising food costs can have major impact on vulnerable households, pushing those least able to cope further into poverty and hunger. On the other hand, provided appropriate policies and infrastructure are in place, higher agricultural prices can also raise farmers’ incomes and rural wages, improve rural economies and stimulate investment for longer-term economic growth. High food prices since 2007 have had both short-term impacts and long-term consequences, both good and bad. This article reviews the evidence of how rising costs have affected global food security since the food price crisis of 2007-2008, and their impact on different categories of households and countries. In light of recent studies, we know more about how households, and countries, cope or not with food price shocks but a number of contentious issues remain. These include the adequacy of current estimates and the interpretation of national and household food and nutrition security indicators. India is a particularly important country in this regard, given the high number of food insecure, the relative weight of India in global estimates of food and nutrition insecurity, and the puzzles that remain concerning the country's reported declining per capita calorie consumption. Competing explanations for what is behind it are not in agreement, but these all point to the importance of policy and programme innovation and greater investment necessary to reach the achievable goal of food and nutrition security for all. PMID:24135190

Rising food costs & global food security: Key issues & relevance for India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel J Gustafson

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Rising food costs can have major impact on vulnerable households, pushing those least able to cope further into poverty and hunger. On the other hand, provided appropriate policies and infrastructure are in place, higher agricultural prices can also raise farmers′ incomes and rural wages, improve rural economies and stimulate investment for longer-term economic growth. High food prices since 2007 have had both short-term impacts and long-term consequences, both good and bad. This article reviews the evidence of how rising costs have affected global food security since the food price crisis of 2007-2008, and their impact on different categories of households and countries. In light of recent studies, we know more about how households, and countries, cope or not with food price shocks but a number of contentious issues remain. These include the adequacy of current estimates and the interpretation of national and household food and nutrition security indicators. India is a particularly important country in this regard, given the high number of food insecure, the relative weight of India in global estimates of food and nutrition insecurity, and the puzzles that remain concerning the country′s reported declining per capita calorie consumption. Competing explanations for what is behind it are not in agreement, but these all point to the importance of policy and programme innovation and greater investment necessary to reach the achievable goal of food and nutrition security for all.

Rising food costs & global food security: key issues & relevance for India.

Science.gov (United States)

Gustafson, Daniel J

2013-09-01

Rising food costs can have major impact on vulnerable households, pushing those least able to cope further into poverty and hunger. On the other hand, provided appropriate policies and infrastructure are in place, higher agricultural prices can also raise farmers' incomes and rural wages, improve rural economies and stimulate investment for longer-term economic growth. High food prices since 2007 have had both short-term impacts and long-term consequences, both good and bad. This article reviews the evidence of how rising costs have affected global food security since the food price crisis of 2007-2008, and their impact on different categories of households and countries. In light of recent studies, we know more about how households, and countries, cope or not with food price shocks but a number of contentious issues remain. These include the adequacy of current estimates and the interpretation of national and household food and nutrition security indicators. India is a particularly important country in this regard, given the high number of food insecure, the relative weight of India in global estimates of food and nutrition insecurity, and the puzzles that remain concerning the country's reported declining per capita calorie consumption. Competing explanations for what is behind it are not in agreement, but these all point to the importance of policy and programme innovation and greater investment necessary to reach the achievable goal of food and nutrition security for all.

Can our global food system meet food demand within planetary boundaries?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Conijn, J.G.; Bindraban, P.S.; Schröder, J.J.; Jongschaap, R.E.E.

2018-01-01

Global food demand is expected to increase, affecting required land, nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) inputs along with unintended emissions of greenhouse gasses (GHG) and losses of N and P. To quantify these input requirements and associated emissions/losses as a function of food demand, we built a

Genetically modified foods as global public goods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Susana Herrero Olarte

2014-07-01

Full Text Available "Genetically modified (GM food has become very important in the field of research, as a result of its expansion in recent decades. As the right to food is a human right, it cannot be left in the hands of private sector developments exclusively, due to the capacity of the public sector to limit or drive it, and in any case, contributing to food safety. To achieve this, and for its cross-border development, GM needs to be treated as Global Public Goods (GPG, defined as pure or impure public goods that cannot be provided or regulated from a national or regional level, but from a global perspective. Its definition as GPG, and the fact of being public goods, assumes greater involvement by the public sector for its supply or regulation. It is therefore necessary to analyze the positive and negative externalities generated by transgenic foods becoming public goods, but from a global perspective. The difficulty is, that according to the author, GMs are positive or negative, so that there is no consensus to restrict and even prevent them or encourage them. But, there is a consensus on some key issues of GM food, such as improving productivity, contributing to the reduction of the species, the dependence of farmers, or monopoly companies with the patent. Identifying these issues can serve to initiate the appropriate regulation."

Global nuclear renaissance - today's issues, challenges and differences relative to the first wave of nuclear plant projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gardner, William N.

2010-01-01

The development and negotiation of an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract is a multi-disciplined and time consuming process. Relative to the first wave on new nuclear build projects of the 1950's - 1970's, today's EPC contracts are more complex for a variety of reasons including more demanding regulatory and environmental requirements, global supply chain versus localization issues and different world wide economic considerations. This paper discusses the impacts of some of these challenges on developing an EPC contract in today's Nuclear Renaissance. (authors)

Peak Oil, Food Systems, and Public Health

Science.gov (United States)

Parker, Cindy L.; Kirschenmann, Frederick L.; Tinch, Jennifer; Lawrence, Robert S.

2011-01-01

Peak oil is the phenomenon whereby global oil supplies will peak, then decline, with extraction growing increasingly costly. Today's globalized industrial food system depends on oil for fueling farm machinery, producing pesticides, and transporting goods. Biofuels production links oil prices to food prices. We examined food system vulnerability to rising oil prices and the public health consequences. In the short term, high food prices harm food security and equity. Over time, high prices will force the entire food system to adapt. Strong preparation and advance investment may mitigate the extent of dislocation and hunger. Certain social and policy changes could smooth adaptation; public health has an essential role in promoting a proactive, smart, and equitable transition that increases resilience and enables adequate food for all. PMID:21778492

Benchmarking Global Food Safety Performances: The Era of Risk Intelligence.

Science.gov (United States)

Valleé, Jean-Charles Le; Charlebois, Sylvain

2015-10-01

Food safety data segmentation and limitations hamper the world's ability to select, build up, monitor, and evaluate food safety performance. Currently, there is no metric that captures the entire food safety system, and performance data are not collected strategically on a global scale. Therefore, food safety benchmarking is essential not only to help monitor ongoing performance but also to inform continued food safety system design, adoption, and implementation toward more efficient and effective food safety preparedness, responsiveness, and accountability. This comparative study identifies and evaluates common elements among global food safety systems. It provides an overall world ranking of food safety performance for 17 Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) countries, illustrated by 10 indicators organized across three food safety risk governance domains: risk assessment (chemical risks, microbial risks, and national reporting on food consumption), risk management (national food safety capacities, food recalls, food traceability, and radionuclides standards), and risk communication (allergenic risks, labeling, and public trust). Results show all countries have very high food safety standards, but Canada and Ireland, followed by France, earned excellent grades relative to their peers. However, any subsequent global ranking study should consider the development of survey instruments to gather adequate and comparable national evidence on food safety.

Food supply and bioenergy production within the global cropland planetary boundary.

Science.gov (United States)

Henry, R C; Engström, K; Olin, S; Alexander, P; Arneth, A; Rounsevell, M D A

2018-01-01

Supplying food for the anticipated global population of over 9 billion in 2050 under changing climate conditions is one of the major challenges of the 21st century. Agricultural expansion and intensification contributes to global environmental change and risks the long-term sustainability of the planet. It has been proposed that no more than 15% of the global ice-free land surface should be converted to cropland. Bioenergy production for land-based climate mitigation places additional pressure on limited land resources. Here we test normative targets of food supply and bioenergy production within the cropland planetary boundary using a global land-use model. The results suggest supplying the global population with adequate food is possible without cropland expansion exceeding the planetary boundary. Yet this requires an increase in food production, especially in developing countries, as well as a decrease in global crop yield gaps. However, under current assumptions of future food requirements, it was not possible to also produce significant amounts of first generation bioenergy without cropland expansion. These results suggest that meeting food and bioenergy demands within the planetary boundaries would need a shift away from current trends, for example, requiring major change in the demand-side of the food system or advancing biotechnologies.

Development of food safety capability in Ghana to enhance access to the Global Food Manufacturing Value Chain (GFMVC)

OpenAIRE

Mensah, L. D.

2011-01-01

Demonstrating compliance with food safety requirements of the global economy is a prerequisite for access. As tariff barriers diminish, developing countries are exposed to greater opportunities for repositioning their food manufacturing sectors in global value chains (GVCs). At the same time, the measures for the protection of public health and safety are becoming more stringent because of the series of food safety crises that characterised the global food value chain in the 19...

Food irradiation: an alternative technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Loaharanu, P

1986-12-31

History has shown that man has continued to search for methods to protect his food from various spoilage agents. Traditional methods of food preservation such as drying, salting, fermentation, have been known for centuries and are being practised even today. Within the past century, modern technologies such as canning, freezing, refrigeration, the use of preservatives and pesticides, have further equipped man with an arsenal of methods to combat food losses and to increase the quantity, quality and safety of our food supplies. The most recent technology, irradiation, has gone through a great deal of research and development in the past 40 years and has shown a strong potential as another method for food preservation. As irradiation is still not familiar to the public at large, this paper attempts to inform scientists, officials, representatives of the food industry, and consumers of the global situation of the safety, benefits and applications of food irradiation by answering common questions often asked about the technology today. Special emphasis will be placed on the possible contribution of food irradiation to ASEAN

Food irradiation: an alternative technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loaharanu, P.

1985-01-01

History has shown that man has continued to search for methods to protect his food from various spoilage agents. Traditional methods of food preservation such as drying, salting, fermentation, have been known for centuries and are being practised even today. Within the past century, modern technologies such as canning, freezing, refrigeration, the use of preservatives and pesticides, have further equipped man with an arsenal of methods to combat food losses and to increase the quantity, quality and safety of our food supplies. The most recent technology, irradiation, has gone through a great deal of research and development in the past 40 years and has shown a strong potential as another method for food preservation. As irradiation is still not familiar to the public at large, this paper attempts to inform scientists, officials, representatives of the food industry, and consumers of the global situation of the safety, benefits and applications of food irradiation by answering common questions often asked about the technology today. Special emphasis will be placed on the possible contribution of food irradiation to ASEAN

Globalization vs. localization: global food challenges and local sollutions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Quaye, W.; Jongerden, J.P.; Essegbey, G.; Ruivenkamp, G.T.P.

2010-01-01

The objective of this study was to examine the effect of global-local interactions on food production and consumption in Ghana, and identify possible local solutions. Primary data were collected using a combination of quantitative-qualitative methods, which included focus group discussions and

Globalization and Food Prestige among Indian Adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Maxfield, Amanda; Patil, Shailaja; Cunningham, Solveig A

2016-01-01

This study provides a foundation for understanding how globalization and changing food environments are linked to cultural models of food prestige in adolescents. We used methods from cognitive anthropology, including free lists, pile sorts, and consensus modeling, to explore the meanings that Indian adolescents attribute to foods. Adolescents (n = 29) were asked to free list foods eaten outside and inside the home. Different adolescents (n = 65) were asked to pile sort and rank 30 foods identified during the free lists according to which foods are the most prestigious, traditional, routine, and advertised on television. We found that adolescents overwhelmingly believed nontraditional foods to be the most prestigious. Nonlocal foods, both from foreign countries and other regions of India, as well as foods eaten outside the home, were also considered prestigious.

Increasing homogeneity in global food supplies and the implications for food security

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Khoury, C.K.; Bjorkman, A.D.; Dempewolf, H.; Ramirez-Villegas, J.; Guarino, L.; Jarvis, A.; Rieseberg, L.H.; Struik, P.C.

2014-01-01

The narrowing of diversity in crop species contributing to the world’s food supplies has been considered a potential threat to food security. However, changes in this diversity have not been quantified globally. We assess trends over the past 50 y in the richness, abundance, and composition of crop

Food sovereignty as multiple resistances: the Honduran movement in global context

OpenAIRE

Gies, Heather Marie

2014-01-01

Food sovereignty reconciles the local and global in its creative political imaginary of the meaning of sovereignty that justifies “multiple resistances.” This research explores this reconciliation of local and global through the case study of the food sovereignty project being advanced by campesino organizations in the Aguán Valley, Honduras, as situated within the dynamic nexus of local and global discourses, movements, and material realities. I argue that food sovereignty reconceives sovere...

Information services today an introduction

CERN Document Server

Hirsh, Sandra

2015-01-01

This essential overview of what it means to be a library and information professional today provides a broad overview of the transformation of libraries as information organizations, why these organizations are more important today than ever before, the technological influence on how we provide information resources and services in today's digital and global environment, and the various career opportunities available for information professionals. The book begins with a historical overview of libraries and their transformation as information and technology

Lost food, wasted resources: global food supply chain losses and their impacts on freshwater, cropland, and fertiliser use.

Science.gov (United States)

Kummu, M; de Moel, H; Porkka, M; Siebert, S; Varis, O; Ward, P J

2012-11-01

Reducing food losses and waste is considered to be one of the most promising measures to improve food security in the coming decades. Food losses also affect our use of resources, such as freshwater, cropland, and fertilisers. In this paper we estimate the global food supply losses due to lost and wasted food crops, and the resources used to produce them. We also quantify the potential food supply and resource savings that could be made by reducing food losses and waste. We used publically available global databases to conduct the study at the country level. We found that around one quarter of the produced food supply (614 kcal/cap/day) is lost within the food supply chain (FSC). The production of these lost and wasted food crops accounts for 24% of total freshwater resources used in food crop production (27 m(3)/cap/yr), 23% of total global cropland area (31 × 10(-3)ha/cap/yr), and 23% of total global fertiliser use (4.3 kg/cap/yr). The per capita use of resources for food losses is largest in North Africa & West-Central Asia (freshwater and cropland) and North America & Oceania (fertilisers). The smallest per capita use of resources for food losses is found in Sub-Saharan Africa (freshwater and fertilisers) and in Industrialised Asia (cropland). Relative to total food production, the smallest food supply and resource losses occur in South & Southeast Asia. If the lowest loss and waste percentages achieved in any region in each step of the FSC could be reached globally, food supply losses could be halved. By doing this, there would be enough food for approximately one billion extra people. Reducing the food losses and waste would thus be an important step towards increased food security, and would also increase the efficiency of resource use in food production. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Globalization of Food Systems: A Conceptual Framework and Empirical Patterns

OpenAIRE

Senauer, Benjamin; Venturini, Luciano

2005-01-01

This paper discusses a number of stylized facts and empirical patterns regarding agri-food trade flows as well as foreign direct investments in food processing and retailing. This evidence supports the hypothesis of an increasingly global food system. We identify the main factors at work such as push/supply side, pull/demand-side, and enabling/external factors. We show how the shift from national to global retailing is a recent phenomenon whose relevance for the globalization of upstream sect...

Transforming Gender and Food Security in the Global South | CRDI ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Transforming Gender and Food Security in the Global South. Page couverture du livre: Transforming Gender and Food Security in the Global South. Directeur(s):. Jemimah Njuki, John R. Parkins et Amy Kaler. Maison(s) d'édition: Routledge, CRDI. 29 septembre 2016. ISBN : 9781138680418. 312 pages. e-ISBN :.

Role of water management for global food production and poverty alleviation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schultz, E.; Tardieu, H.; Vidal, A.

2009-01-01

In the coming 25-30 years global food production will have to be doubled in order to maintain food security at the global level. With respect to this to a certain extent the advantage is that food prices have increased over the past seven to eight years, and especially during the past two years.

Food Safety as a contributor to Food Security: global policy concerns & challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vijay Kumar Chattu

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The theme for World Health Day campaign for this year 2015 is “Food safety: from farm to plate, make food safe”. The day focuses on demonstrating the importance of food safety along the whole length of the food chain in a globalized world, from production and transport, to preparation and consumption (1. Everyone needs food and needs it every day either plant sources or animal sources or both. The food we eat must be nutritious and safe but we often ignore or overlook the issue of food safety. Many cases of food borne diseases either acute poisoning or chronic exposure are largely under reported. In this globalized world, though the food chain extends over thousands of miles from different continents, an error or contamination in one country can affect the health of consumers on the other part of the world. To ensure full impact, these actions must build on principles of government stewardship, engagement of civil society, (2.According to UN, access to a safe and secure food supply is a basic human right. Food safety and food security are interrelated concepts which have an impact on the health outcomes and quality of human lives. As per Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO, Food security is a situation that exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life, (3. Based on the definition of Food security, four food security dimensions can be identified: food availability, economic and physical access to food, food utilization and stability over time. Apart from that food security is also affected by Poverty and Climate change.Food safety is an umbrella term that encompasses many aspects like food items handling, preparation and storage of food to prevent illness and injury. The other important issues are chemical, microphysical and microbiological aspects of food safety, (4. Control of

On robustness in food supply chain networks

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vlajic, J.V.; Vorst, van der J.G.A.J.; Hendrix, E.M.T.

2010-01-01

Purpose: Today's business environment is characterized by challenges of strong global competition where companies tend to achieve leanness and maximum responsiveness to customer demand. Lean supply chain networks are vulnerable to all kind of disruptions. For food supply chain networks (FSCNs), due

Global Warming and Food Insecurity in Rural Latin America

Science.gov (United States)

Byrne, T. R.; Byrne, J. M.; McDaniel, S.

2012-12-01

Food insecurity is one of the most important challenges facing humanity in the 21st century - a challenge that will be further exacerbated by the changing climate. The effects of human induced climate change will be most disproportionate and severe in the developing world, where a stable food supply, decreased purchasing power, and adequate nutrition are often already a daily struggle. This study will build on work done by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN), and will assess how vulnerability to household food insecurity will be affected by global warming in various rural parts of Latin America. Temperature data from downscaled Global Circulation Models (GCM) will be used in conjunction with the results of national household surveys to generate information on each rural farming household's probability of falling below a food poverty threshold in the near future. The results of the study will allow us to distinguish between households that are likely to experience chronic food insecurity and those that are likely to experience transitory food insecurity, permitting for improved targeting of policy responses.

The First International Conference on Global Food Security – A Synthesis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ittersum, van M.K.; Giller, K.E.

2014-01-01

Improving food security is difficult. There are many reasons why hunger and malnutrition persist, not least because deep social inequities and conflicts often dominate. Equally many approaches are needed to deal with this global problem. In the case of global food security, improvements can depend

Global effects of local food-production crises: a virtual water perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Tamea, Stefania; Laio, Francesco; Ridolfi, Luca

2016-01-25

By importing food and agricultural goods, countries cope with the heterogeneous global water distribution and often rely on water resources available abroad. The virtual displacement of the water used to produce such goods (known as virtual water) connects together, in a global water system, all countries participating to the international trade network. Local food-production crises, having social, economic or environmental origin, propagate in this network, modifying the virtual water trade and perturbing local and global food availability, quantified in terms of virtual water. We analyze here the possible effects of local crises by developing a new propagation model, parsimonious but grounded on data-based and statistically-verified assumptions, whose effectiveness is proved on the Argentinean crisis in 2008-09. The model serves as the basis to propose indicators of crisis impact and country vulnerability to external food-production crises, which highlight that countries with largest water resources have the highest impact on the international trade, and that not only water-scarce but also wealthy and globalized countries are among the most vulnerable to external crises. The temporal analysis reveals that global average vulnerability has increased over time and that stronger effects of crises are now found in countries with low food (and water) availability.

Climate Change, Global Food Markets, and Urban Unrest

Science.gov (United States)

2013-02-01

Francis Gavin 512-471-6267 3. DATES COVERED (From - To) Standard Form 298 (Rev 8/98) Prescribed by ANSI Std. Z39.18 - Climate Change, Global Food...Russia led then-President Dmitry Medvedev to impose export restrictions on wheat, barley, and rye . Food security is fundamental to human security. Prior...how much food is grown and where it is grown. Second, climate change will increase the frequency of localized crop failures due to more frequent

The global potential of local peri-urban food production

Science.gov (United States)

Kriewald, Steffen; Garcia Cantu Ros, Anselmo; Sterzel, Till; Kropp, Jürgen P.

2013-04-01

One big challenge for the rest of the 21st century will be the massive urbanisation. It is expected that more than 7 out of 10 persons will live in a city by the year 2050. Crucial developments towards a sustainable future will therefore take place in cities. One important approach for a sustainable city development is to re-localize food production and to close urban nutrient cycles through better waste management. The re-location of food production avoids CO2 emissions from transportation of food to cities and can also generate income for inhabitants. Cities are by definition locations where fertility accumulates. As cities are often built along rivers, their soils are often fertile. Furthermore, labour force and the possibility of producing fertilizer from human fecal matter within the city promises sustainable nutrients cycles. Although urban and peri-urban agriculture can be found in many cities worldwide and already have a substantial contribution to food supply, it has not jet been comprehensibly structured by research. We combine several worldwide data sets to determine the supply of cities with regional food production, where regional is defined as a production that occurs very close to the consumption within the peri-urban area. Therefore, urban areas are not defined by administrative boundaries but by connected built-up urban areas, and peri-urban area by the surrounding area with the same size multiplied with a scaling parameter. Both together accumulate to an urban-bio-region (UBR). With regard to national food consumption, a linear program achieves the best possible yield on agricultural areas and allows the computation of the fraction of population, which can be nourished. Additionally, several climate scenarios and different dietary patterns were considered. To close the gap between single case studies and to provide a quantitative overview of the global potential of peri-urban food production we used high resolution land-use data Global Land Cover

Global Food Security Governance: Civil Society Engagement in the Reformed Committee on World Food Security

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Duncan, J.A.B.

2015-01-01

In 2007/8 world food prices spiked and global economic crisis set in, leaving hundreds of millions of people unable to access adequate food. The international reaction was swift. In a bid for leadership, the 123 member countries of the United Nations’ Committee on World Food Security (CFS) adopted a

Mexico and the food self-sufficiency (six-year period 2006 -2012)

OpenAIRE

Alba Rosa Rivera de la Rosa; Rafael Ortiz Pech; Luis Alberto Araújo Andrade; Jesús Amílcar Heredia

2014-01-01

Today, Mexico challenges a globalization trend where richer countries export basic products to developing countries, generating a food crisis that negatively affect the medium-small producers. For this reason, it is important to study the behavior of the food market (exports and imports), since the current Mexican development model does not achieve that food security be a national policy guaranteeing the provision of food for the entire popu...

Epilogue: global food security, rhetoric, and the sustainable intensification debate

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kuijper, T.W.M.; Struik, P.C.

2014-01-01

The need to feed nine billion people in 2050 has given rise to widespread debate in science and policy circles. The debate is largely framed in neo-Malthusian terms, and elements of global food security (resilience of the food system, food quantity and quality, right to and access to food) demand

Global Food Security Support Analysis Data (GFSAD) Crop Mask 2010 Global 1 km V001

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The NASA Making Earth System Data Records for Use in Research Environments (MEaSUREs) Global Food Security Support Analysis Data (GFSAD) Crop Mask Global 1 kilometer...

Food Security: Selected Global and U.S. Resources

Science.gov (United States)

Kocher, Megan

2015-01-01

Food security is researched and dealt with on local, regional, national, and global levels with solutions ranging from local farmers' market initiatives to increasing crop yields through genetically modified plants to streamlining global supply chains. Because of its broad, interdisciplinary nature, it is necessary to narrow the focus of this…

Climate change impacts on global food security.

Science.gov (United States)

Wheeler, Tim; von Braun, Joachim

2013-08-02

Climate change could potentially interrupt progress toward a world without hunger. A robust and coherent global pattern is discernible of the impacts of climate change on crop productivity that could have consequences for food availability. The stability of whole food systems may be at risk under climate change because of short-term variability in supply. However, the potential impact is less clear at regional scales, but it is likely that climate variability and change will exacerbate food insecurity in areas currently vulnerable to hunger and undernutrition. Likewise, it can be anticipated that food access and utilization will be affected indirectly via collateral effects on household and individual incomes, and food utilization could be impaired by loss of access to drinking water and damage to health. The evidence supports the need for considerable investment in adaptation and mitigation actions toward a "climate-smart food system" that is more resilient to climate change influences on food security.

Tracing the Slow Food Movement: local foodscapes and global networks

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hendrikx, B.; Dormans, S.E.M.; Lagendijk, A.

2012-01-01

Over the last two decades alternative food practices have mushroomed across the globe. This proliferation has changed local food scapes, infusing localities with new ideas and ways of food production, circulation and consumption. It has also created global networks of innovation and

Global food supply and the impacts of increased use of biofuels

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nonhebel, Sanderine

In recent years prices on global food markets showed large fluctuations. The use of biomass as energy source (biofuel) in the developed world is frequently mentioned as one of the reasons for this instability. This paper compares the need for biofuel and needs for food and feed on global scale. A

A Data Analysis Toolbox for Modeling the Global Food-Energy-Water Nexus

Science.gov (United States)

AghaKouchak, A.; Sadegh, M.; Mallakpour, I.

2017-12-01

Water, Food and energy systems are highly interconnected. More than seventy percent of global water resource is used for food production. Water withdrawal, purification, and transfer systems are energy intensive. Furthermore, energy generation strongly depends on water availability. Therefore, considering the interactions in the nexus of water, food and energy is crucial for sustainable management of available resources. In this presentation, we introduce a user-friendly data analysis toolbox that mines the available global data on food, energy and water, and analyzes their interactions. This toolbox provides estimates of water footprint for a wide range of food types in different countries and also approximates the required energy and water resources. The toolbox also provides estimates of the corresponding emissions and biofuel production of different crops. In summary, this toolbox allows evaluating dependencies of the food, energy, and water systems at the country scale. We present global analysis of the interactions between water, food and energy from different perspectives including efficiency and diversity of resources use.

Climate resilient crops for improving global food security and safety.

Science.gov (United States)

Dhankher, Om Parkash; Foyer, Christine H

2018-05-01

Food security and the protection of the environment are urgent issues for global society, particularly with the uncertainties of climate change. Changing climate is predicted to have a wide range of negative impacts on plant physiology metabolism, soil fertility and carbon sequestration, microbial activity and diversity that will limit plant growth and productivity, and ultimately food production. Ensuring global food security and food safety will require an intensive research effort across the food chain, starting with crop production and the nutritional quality of the food products. Much uncertainty remains concerning the resilience of plants, soils, and associated microbes to climate change. Intensive efforts are currently underway to improve crop yields with lower input requirements and enhance the sustainability of yield through improved biotic and abiotic stress tolerance traits. In addition, significant efforts are focused on gaining a better understanding of the root/soil interface and associated microbiomes, as well as enhancing soil properties. © 2018 The Authors Plant, Cell & Environment Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

TODAY THE GLOBAL LABOR MARKET

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. G. Shchipanova

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The international movement of labor, including temporary impacts on the socio-economic development of the donor and recipient countries the labor force. In this regard, it is relevant and legitimate problems of the evolution of the global labor market, the need to examine the issues of labor mobility, the problems of international labor migration and its impact on the national markets of skilled labor in the context of globalization. Distribution and use of human resources becomes cross-border nature, and so an international study of the labor market.

Global change in the trophic functioning of marine food webs.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aurore Maureaud

Full Text Available The development of fisheries in the oceans, and other human drivers such as climate warming, have led to changes in species abundance, assemblages, trophic interactions, and ultimately in the functioning of marine food webs. Here, using a trophodynamic approach and global databases of catches and life history traits of marine species, we tested the hypothesis that anthropogenic ecological impacts may have led to changes in the global parameters defining the transfers of biomass within the food web. First, we developed two indicators to assess such changes: the Time Cumulated Indicator (TCI measuring the residence time of biomass within the food web, and the Efficiency Cumulated Indicator (ECI quantifying the fraction of secondary production reaching the top of the trophic chain. Then, we assessed, at the large marine ecosystem scale, the worldwide change of these two indicators over the 1950-2010 time-periods. Global trends were identified and cluster analyses were used to characterize the variability of trends between ecosystems. Results showed that the most common pattern over the study period is a global decrease in TCI, while the ECI indicator tends to increase. Thus, changes in species assemblages would induce faster and apparently more efficient biomass transfers in marine food webs. Results also suggested that the main driver of change over that period had been the large increase in fishing pressure. The largest changes occurred in ecosystems where 'fishing down the marine food web' are most intensive.

Contextualizing Embodied Resources in Global Food Trade

Science.gov (United States)

MacDonald, G. K.; Brauman, K. A.; Sun, S.; West, P. C.; Carlson, K. M.; Cassidy, E. S.; Gerber, J. S.; Ray, D. K.

2014-12-01

Trade in agricultural commodities has created increasingly complex linkages between resource use and food supplies across national borders. Understanding the degree to which food production and consumption relies on trade is vital to understanding how to sustainably meet growing food demands across scales. We use detailed bilateral trade statistics and data on agricultural management to examine the land use and water consumption embodied in agricultural trade, which we relate to basic nutritional indicators to show how trade contributes to food availability worldwide. Agricultural trade carries enough calories to provide >1.7 billion people a basic diet each year. We identify key commodities and producer-consumer relationships that disproportionately contribute to embodied resource use and flows of food nutrition at the global scale. For example, just 15 disproportionately large soybean trades comprised ~10% the total harvested area embodied in export production. We conclude by framing these results in terms of the fraction of each country's food production and consumption that is linked to international trade. These findings help to characterize how countries allocate resources to domestic versus foreign food demand.

Global aromatics supply. Today and tomorrow

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bender, M. [BASF SE, Ludwigshafen (Germany)

2013-11-01

Aromatics are the essential building blocks for some of the largest petrochemical products in today's use. To the vast majority they are consumed to produce intermediates for polymer products and, hence, contribute to our modern lifestyle. Their growth rates are expected to be in line with GDP growth in future. This contrasts the significantly lower growth rates of the primary sources for aromatics - fuel processing and steam cracking of naphtha fractions. A supply gap can be expected to open up in future for which creative solutions will be required. (orig.)

Arsenic contamination in food chain: Thread to global food security

Science.gov (United States)

Kashyap, C. A.

2016-12-01

The supply of good quality food is a necessity for economic and social health of urban and rural population. Over the last several decades groundwater contamination in developing countries has assumed dangerous levels as a result millions of people are at risk. This is so particularly with respect to arsenic that has registered high concentration in groundwater in countries like India and Bangladesh. The arsenic content in groundwater varies from 10 to 780 µg/L, which is far above the levels for drinking water standards prescribed by World Health Organization (WHO). Currently arsenic has entered in food chain due to irrigation with arsenic contaminated water. In the present study reports the arsenic contamination in groundwater that is being used for irrigating paddy in Manipur and West Bengal. The arsenic content in irrigation water is 475 µg/L and 780 µg/L in Manipur and West Bengal, respectively. In order to assess the effect of such waters on the rice crop, we collected rice plant from Manipur and determined the arsenic content in roots, stem, and grain. The arsenic content in grain varies from 110 to 190 mg/kg while the limit of arsenic intake by humans is 10 mg/kg (WHO). This problem is not confine to the area, it spread global level, and rice being cultivated in these regions is export to the other countries like USA, Middle East and Europe and will be thread to global food security.

Food, Populations and Health — global Patterns and Challenges

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2016-01-01

The present volume is based on presentations at a symposium at the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters in September 2014 with the title Food, Population and Health – global Patterns and Challenges. Food has played a fundamental role in the history of all societies over the World. Availab...

Losses, inefficiencies and waste in the global food system.

Science.gov (United States)

Alexander, Peter; Brown, Calum; Arneth, Almut; Finnigan, John; Moran, Dominic; Rounsevell, Mark D A

2017-05-01

Losses at every stage in the food system influence the extent to which nutritional requirements of a growing global population can be sustainably met. Inefficiencies and losses in agricultural production and consumer behaviour all play a role. This paper aims to understand better the magnitude of different losses and to provide insights into how these influence overall food system efficiency. We take a systems view from primary production of agricultural biomass through to human food requirements and consumption. Quantities and losses over ten stages are calculated and compared in terms of dry mass, wet mass, protein and energy. The comparison reveals significant differences between these measurements, and the potential for wet mass figures used in previous studies to be misleading. The results suggest that due to cumulative losses, the proportion of global agricultural dry biomass consumed as food is just 6% (9.0% for energy and 7.6% for protein), and 24.8% of harvest biomass (31.9% for energy and 27.8% for protein). The highest rates of loss are associated with livestock production, although the largest absolute losses of biomass occur prior to harvest. Losses of harvested crops were also found to be substantial, with 44.0% of crop dry matter (36.9% of energy and 50.1% of protein) lost prior to human consumption. If human over-consumption, defined as food consumption in excess of nutritional requirements, is included as an additional inefficiency, 48.4% of harvested crops were found to be lost (53.2% of energy and 42.3% of protein). Over-eating was found to be at least as large a contributor to food system losses as consumer food waste. The findings suggest that influencing consumer behaviour, e.g. to eat less animal products, or to reduce per capita consumption closer to nutrient requirements, offer substantial potential to improve food security for the rising global population in a sustainable manner.

Declining Global Per Capita Agricultural Production and Warming Oceans Threaten Food Security

Science.gov (United States)

Funk, Chris C.; Brown, Molly E.

2009-01-01

Despite accelerating globalization, most people still eat food that was grown locally. Developing countries with weak purchasing power tend to import as little food as possible from global markets, suffering consumption deficits during times of high prices or production declines. Local agricultural production, therefore, is critical to both food security and economic development among the rural poor. The level of local agricultural production, in turn, will be controlled by the amount and quality of arable land, the amount and quality of agricultural inputs (fertilizer, seeds, pesticides, etc.), as well as farm-related technology, practices, and policies. In this paper we discuss several emerging threats to global and regional food security, including declining yield gains that are failing to keep up with population increases, and warming in the tropical Indian Ocean and its impact on rainfall. If yields continue to grow more slowly than per capita harvested area, parts of Africa, Asia, and Central and Southern America will experience substantial declines in per capita cereal production. Global per capita cereal production will potentially decline by 14 percent between 2008 and 2030. Climate change is likely to further affect food production, particularly in regions that have very low yields due to lack of technology. Drought, caused by anthropogenic warming in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, may also reduce 21 st century food availability by disrupting Indian Ocean moisture transports and tilting the 21 st century climate toward a more El Nino-like state. The impacts of these circulation changes over Asia remain uncertain. For Africa, however, Indian Ocean warming appears to have already reduced main growing season rainfall along the eastern edge of tropical Africa, from southern Somalia to northern parts of the Republic of South Africa. Through a combination of quantitative modeling of food balances and an examination of climate change, we present an analysis of

Declining global per capita agricultural production and warming oceans threaten food security

Science.gov (United States)

Funk, Christopher C.; Brown, Molly E.

2009-01-01

Despite accelerating globalization, most people still eat food that is grown locally. Developing countries with weak purchasing power tend to import as little food as possible from global markets, suffering consumption deficits during times of high prices or production declines. Local agricultural production, therefore, is critical to both food security and economic development among the rural poor. The level of local agricultural production, in turn, will be determined by the amount and quality of arable land, the amount and quality of agricultural inputs (fertilizer, seeds, pesticides, etc.), as well as farm-related technology, practices and policies. This paper discusses several emerging threats to global and regional food security, including declining yield gains that are failing to keep up with population increases, and warming in the tropical Indian Ocean and its impact on rainfall. If yields continue to grow more slowly than per capita harvested area, parts of Africa, Asia and Central and Southern America will experience substantial declines in per capita cereal production. Global per capita cereal production will potentially decline by 14% between 2008 and 2030. Climate change is likely to further affect food production, particularly in regions that have very low yields due to lack of technology. Drought, caused by anthropogenic warming in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, may also reduce 21st century food availability in some countries by disrupting moisture transports and bringing down dry air over crop growing areas. The impacts of these circulation changes over Asia remain uncertain. For Africa, however, Indian Ocean warming appears to have already reduced rainfall during the main growing season along the eastern edge of tropical Africa, from southern Somalia to northern parts of the Republic of South Africa. Through a combination of quantitative modeling of food balances and an examination of climate change, this study presents an analysis of emerging

Role of Global Food Security in the Common Agrarian Policy of the European Union

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Igor N. Shcherbak

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The author devoted his research to the role of the global food security in the priorities of the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union (CAP. The research sheds light on the parameters of the Common Agricultural Policy and the basic steps on the path of its reform. The research demonstrates that the priorities of the EC are mainly concentrated on achieving food security for the member-states of the EC, its population and the interests of the agricultural sector. The modern challenges to the Global Food Security (global food crises of 2007-2009, acute food shortages and hunger in crises regions of Africa and chronic malnutrition are placed high on the agenda of the CAP. In this situation, the EU is trying in the interests of stabilization of the world agricultural market to solve simultaneously the tasks of providing assistance for development and mitigation of the threats to the Global Food security. The deepening rift between the strategy of the CAP oriented towards promotion of agricultural export and real contribution of the EC to the Global Food Security and assistance for development is becoming more and more the most «vulnerable» place of the CAP.

Shedding light on food fraud: spectrophotometric and spectroscopic methods as a tool against economically motivated adulteration of food

Science.gov (United States)

Petronijević, R. B.; Velebit, B.; Baltić, T.

2017-09-01

Intentional modification of food or substitution of food ingredients with the aim of gaining profit is food fraud or economically motivated adulteration (EMA). EMA appeared in the food supply chain, and following the global expansion of the food market, has become a world-scale problem for the global economy. Food frauds have involved oils, milk and meat products, infant formula, honey, juices, spices, etc. New legislation was enacted in the last decade in order to fight EMA. Effective analytical methods for food fraud detection are few and still in development. The majority of the methods in common use today for EMA detection are time consuming and inappropriate for use on the production line or out of the laboratory. The next step in the evolution of analytical techniques to combat food fraud is development of fast, accurate methods applicable using portable or handheld devices. Spectrophotometric and spectroscopic methods combined with chemometric analysis, and perhaps in combination with other rapid physico-chemical techniques, could be the answer. This review discusses some analytical techniques based on spectrophotometry and spectroscopy, which are used to reveal food fraud and EMA.

The global food crisis : supply and demand revisited

OpenAIRE

Sammut, Vince

2015-01-01

This study aims to show that the volatility in food prices between 2008 and 2011 cannot be explained merely by the market fundamentals of demand and supply. While global changes in demand and supply are bringing about radical changes to the food equation, evidence shows that market failure in the world grain market aggravated the problem. Excess liquidity, brought about by monetary growth policies after the subprime crises and financial meltdown in 2008, has stimulated speculation and hoar...

Food security for Africa: an urgent global challenge

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sasson Albert

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract In 2012, food insecurity is still a major global concern as 1 billion people are suffering from starvation, under-, and malnutrition, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO has concluded that we are still far from reaching millennium development goal (MDG number 1: to halve extreme poverty and hunger by 2015. In sub-Saharan Africa, the number of people suffering from hunger is estimated at 239 million, and this figure could increase in the near future. There are many examples of food insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa, some of them having reached catastrophic dimensions, for example, in the Horn of Africa or southern Madagascar. Food insecurity is not just about insufficient food production, availability, and intake, it is also about the poor quality or nutritional value of the food. The detrimental situation of women and children is particularly serious, as well as the situation among female teenagers, who receive less food than their male counterparts in the same households. Soaring food prices and food riots are among the many symptoms of the prevailing food crisis and insecurity. Climate change and weather vagaries, present and forecast, are generally compounding food insecurity and drastically changing farming activities, as diagnosed by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR in June 2011. The key cause of food insecurity is inadequate food production. Since the global food crisis of 2007–2008, there has been an increasing awareness throughout the world that we must produce more and better food; and we should not be derailed from this goal, despite some relief brought by the good cereal harvests in 2011–2012. This is particularly true in sub-Saharan Africa, which needs and wants to make its own green revolution. The African challenge indeed is key to mitigating food insecurity in the world. Commitments were made by the heads of states and governments of the African Union

Food Consumption and its impact on Cardiovascular Disease: Importance of Solutions focused on the globalized food system

Science.gov (United States)

Anand, Sonia S.; Hawkes, Corinna; de Souza, Russell J.; Mente, Andrew; Dehghan, Mahshid; Nugent, Rachel; Zulyniak, Michael A.; Weis, Tony; Bernstein, Adam M.; Krauss, Ronald; Kromhout, Daan; Jenkins, David J.A.; Malik, Vasanti; Martinez-Gonzalez, Miguel A.; Mozafarrian, Dariush; Yusuf, Salim; Willett, Walter C.; Popkin, Barry M

2015-01-01

Major scholars in the field, based on a 3-day consensus, created an in-depth review of current knowledge on the role of diet in CVD, the changing global food system and global dietary patterns, and potential policy solutions. Evidence from different countries, age/race/ethnicity/socioeconomic groups suggest the health effects studies of foods, macronutrients, and dietary patterns on CVD appear to be far more consistent though regional knowledge gaps are highlighted. There are large gaps in knowledge about the association of macronutrients to CVD in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), particularly linked with dietary patterns are reviewed. Our understanding of foods and macronutrients in relationship to CVD is broadly clear; however major gaps exist both in dietary pattern research and ways to change diets and food systems. Based on the current evidence, the traditional Mediterranean-type diet, including plant foods/emphasizing plant protein sources, provides a well-tested healthy dietary pattern to reduce CVD. PMID:26429085

Global Food Security in a Changing Climate: Considerations and Projections

Science.gov (United States)

Walsh, M. K.; Brown, M. E.; Backlund, P. W.; Antle, J. M.; Carr, E. R.; Easterling, W. E.; Funk, C. C.; Murray, A.; Ngugi, M.; Barrett, C. B.; Ingram, J. S. I.; Dancheck, V.; O'Neill, B. C.; Tebaldi, C.; Mata, T.; Ojima, D. S.; Grace, K.; Jiang, H.; Bellemare, M.; Attavanich, W.; Ammann, C. M.; Maletta, H.

2015-12-01

Global food security is an elusive challenge and important policy focus from the community to the globe. Food is provisioned through food systems that may be simple or labyrinthine, yet each has vulnerabilities to climate change through its effects on food production, transportation, storage, and other integral food system activities. At the same time, the future of food systems is sensitive to socioeconomic trajectories determined by choices made outside of the food system, itself. Constrictions for any reason can lead to decreased food availability, access, utilization, or stability - that is, to diminished food security. Possible changes in trade and other U.S. relationships to the rest of the world under changing conditions to the end of the century are considered through integrated assessment modelling under a range of emissions scenarios. Climate change is likely to diminish continued progress on global food security through production disruptions leading to local availability limitations and price increases, interrupted transport conduits, and diminished food safety, among other causes. In the near term, some high-latitude production export regions may benefit from changes in climate. The types and price of food imports is likely to change, as are export demands, affecting U.S. consumers and producers. Demands placed on foreign assistance programs may increase, as may demand for advanced technologies. Adaptation across the food system has great potential to manage climate change effects on food security, and the complexity of the food system offers multiple potential points of intervention for decision makers at every level. However, effective adaptation is subject to highly localized conditions and socioeconomic factors, and the technical feasibility of an adaptive intervention is not necessarily a guarantee of its application if it is unaffordable or does not provide benefits within a relatively short time frame.

Susceptibility of South Korea to Extremes Affecting the Global Food System

Science.gov (United States)

Chon, So Young; Puma, Michael J.

2015-01-01

Food security in South Korea is tightly linked to the global food system. The country's production of major grains declined from 5.8 million metric tons (mmt) in 1998 to 4.8 mmt in 2014, which caused the country's grain self suciency to decline from 31.4% to 24%. This decline is a consequence of several factors including reductions in domestic agricultural land, governmental policies supporting industry over agriculture, and a push towards trade liberalization. South Korea's self suciency is now one of the lowest among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, leaving it vulnerable to disruptions in the global food system.

Is the available cropland and water enough for food demand? A global perspective of the Land-Water-Food nexus

Science.gov (United States)

Ibarrola-Rivas, M. J.; Granados-Ramírez, R.; Nonhebel, S.

2017-12-01

Land and water are essential local resources for food production but are limited. The main drivers of increasing food demand are population growth and dietary changes, which depend on the socioeconomic situation of the population. These two factors affect the availability of local resources: population growth reduces the land and water per person; and adoption of affluent diets increases the demand for land and water per person. This study shows potentials of global food supply by linking food demand drivers with national land and water availability. Whether the available land and water is enough to meet national food demand was calculated for 187 countries. The calculations were performed for the past situation (1960 and 2010) and to assess four future scenarios (2050) to discuss different paths of diets, population numbers and agricultural expansion. Inclusion of the demand perspective in the analysis has shown stronger challenges for future global food supply than have other studies. The results show that with the "business as usual" scenario, 40% of the global population in 2050 will live in countries with not enough land nor water to meet the demands of their population. Restriction to basic diets will be the most effective in lowering both land and water constraints. Our results identify both food production and food demand factors, and the regions that may experience the strongest challenges in 2050.

PERSPECTIVE: Climate change, biofuels, and global food security

Science.gov (United States)

Cassman, Kenneth G.

2007-03-01

There is a new urgency to improve the accuracy of predicting climate change impact on crop yields because the balance between food supply and demand is shifting abruptly from surplus to deficit. This reversal is being driven by a rapid rise in petroleum prices and, in response, a massive global expansion of biofuel production from maize, oilseed, and sugar crops. Soon the price of these commodities will be determined by their value as feedstock for biofuel rather than their importance as human food or livestock feed [1]. The expectation that petroleum prices will remain high and supportive government policies in several major crop producing countries are providing strong momentum for continued expansion of biofuel production capacity and the associated pressures on global food supply. Farmers in countries that account for a majority of the world's biofuel crop production will enjoy the promise of markedly higher commodity prices and incomesNote1. In contrast, urban and rural poor in food-importing countries will pay much higher prices for basic food staples and there will be less grain available for humanitarian aid. For example, the developing countries of Africa import about 10 MMt of maize each year; another 3 5 MMt of cereal grains are provided as humanitarian aid (figure 1). In a world where more than 800 million are already undernourished and the demand for crop commodities may soon exceed supply, alleviating hunger will no longer be solely a matter of poverty alleviation and more equitable food distribution, which has been the situation for the past thirty years. Instead, food security will also depend on accelerating the rate of gain in crop yields and food production capacity at both local and global scales. Maize imports and cereal donations as humanitarian aid to the developing countries of Africa Figure 1. Maize imports (yellow bar) and cereal donations as humanitarian aid to the developing countries of Africa, 2001 2003. MMT = million metric tons. Data

The Canadian launch of the 2018 Global Food Policy Report | IDRC ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

2018-05-01

May 1, 2018 ... Delta Hotels Marriott Ottawa City Centre ... specialists will explore some of the pressing issues and potential impacts on global food systems — including the role ... Senior Program Officer, Agriculture and Food Security, IDRC.

Major multinational food and beverage companies and informal sector contributions to global food consumption: implications for nutrition policy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yach Derek

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In recent years, 10 major multinational food and beverage companies have worked together within the International Food and Beverage Alliance (IFBA to increase their commitments to public health. Current IFBA commitments include initiatives to improve the nutrition quality of products and how these products are advertised to children. The impact and magnitude of IFBA member contributions to the total market share of packaged foods and beverages consumed remain incompletely understood, however. Methods In order to evaluate this impact, we examined packaged food and soft drink company shares provided by Euromonitor, an international independent market analysis company. Packaged foods include baby food, bakery, canned/preserved food, chilled/processed food, confectionery, dairy, dried processed food, frozen processed food, ice cream, meal replacement, noodles, oils and fats, pasta, ready meals, sauces, dressings and condiments, snack bars, soup, spreads, and sweet and savoury snacks. Soft drinks include carbonates, packaged fruit/vegetable juice, bottled water, functional drinks, concentrates, ready-to-drink tea, ready-to-drink coffee and Asian specialty drinks. We calculated the market shares for IFBA companies, globally and within nine countries--the US, China, India, Egypt, South Africa, Brazil, Mexico, Turkey and the UK. Results Worldwide, the top ten packaged food companies account for 15.2% of sales, with each individual company contributing less than 3.3%. The top ten soft drink companies account for 52.3% of sales worldwide; Coca-Cola and PepsiCo lead with 25.9% and 11.5% of sales, respectively. Conclusions Although the top ten soft drink companies account for half of global sales, the top ten packaged food companies account for only a small proportion of market share with most individual companies contributing less than 3.3% each. Major multinational companies need to be joined by the myriad of small- and medium

Major multinational food and beverage companies and informal sector contributions to global food consumption: implications for nutrition policy

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

Background In recent years, 10 major multinational food and beverage companies have worked together within the International Food and Beverage Alliance (IFBA) to increase their commitments to public health. Current IFBA commitments include initiatives to improve the nutrition quality of products and how these products are advertised to children. The impact and magnitude of IFBA member contributions to the total market share of packaged foods and beverages consumed remain incompletely understood, however. Methods In order to evaluate this impact, we examined packaged food and soft drink company shares provided by Euromonitor, an international independent market analysis company. Packaged foods include baby food, bakery, canned/preserved food, chilled/processed food, confectionery, dairy, dried processed food, frozen processed food, ice cream, meal replacement, noodles, oils and fats, pasta, ready meals, sauces, dressings and condiments, snack bars, soup, spreads, and sweet and savoury snacks. Soft drinks include carbonates, packaged fruit/vegetable juice, bottled water, functional drinks, concentrates, ready-to-drink tea, ready-to-drink coffee and Asian specialty drinks. We calculated the market shares for IFBA companies, globally and within nine countries--the US, China, India, Egypt, South Africa, Brazil, Mexico, Turkey and the UK. Results Worldwide, the top ten packaged food companies account for 15.2% of sales, with each individual company contributing less than 3.3%. The top ten soft drink companies account for 52.3% of sales worldwide; Coca-Cola and PepsiCo lead with 25.9% and 11.5% of sales, respectively. Conclusions Although the top ten soft drink companies account for half of global sales, the top ten packaged food companies account for only a small proportion of market share with most individual companies contributing less than 3.3% each. Major multinational companies need to be joined by the myriad of small- and medium-sized enterprises in developing and

Major multinational food and beverage companies and informal sector contributions to global food consumption: implications for nutrition policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Alexander, Eleanore; Yach, Derek; Mensah, George A

2011-08-01

In recent years, 10 major multinational food and beverage companies have worked together within the International Food and Beverage Alliance (IFBA) to increase their commitments to public health. Current IFBA commitments include initiatives to improve the nutrition quality of products and how these products are advertised to children. The impact and magnitude of IFBA member contributions to the total market share of packaged foods and beverages consumed remain incompletely understood, however. In order to evaluate this impact, we examined packaged food and soft drink company shares provided by Euromonitor, an international independent market analysis company. Packaged foods include baby food, bakery, canned/preserved food, chilled/processed food, confectionery, dairy, dried processed food, frozen processed food, ice cream, meal replacement, noodles, oils and fats, pasta, ready meals, sauces, dressings and condiments, snack bars, soup, spreads, and sweet and savoury snacks. Soft drinks include carbonates, packaged fruit/vegetable juice, bottled water, functional drinks, concentrates, ready-to-drink tea, ready-to-drink coffee and Asian specialty drinks. We calculated the market shares for IFBA companies, globally and within nine countries--the US, China, India, Egypt, South Africa, Brazil, Mexico, Turkey and the UK. Worldwide, the top ten packaged food companies account for 15.2% of sales, with each individual company contributing less than 3.3%. The top ten soft drink companies account for 52.3% of sales worldwide; Coca-Cola and PepsiCo lead with 25.9% and 11.5% of sales, respectively. Although the top ten soft drink companies account for half of global sales, the top ten packaged food companies account for only a small proportion of market share with most individual companies contributing less than 3.3% each. Major multinational companies need to be joined by the myriad of small- and medium-sized enterprises in developing and implementing programs to improve the

Impact of the Global Food Safety Initiative on Food Safety Worldwide: Statistical Analysis of a Survey of International Food Processors.

Science.gov (United States)

Crandall, Philip G; Mauromoustakos, Andy; O'Bryan, Corliss A; Thompson, Kevin C; Yiannas, Frank; Bridges, Kerry; Francois, Catherine

2017-10-01

In 2000, the Consumer Goods Forum established the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) to increase the safety of the world's food supply and to harmonize food safety regulations worldwide. In 2013, a university research team in conjunction with Diversey Consulting (Sealed Air), the Consumer Goods Forum, and officers of GFSI solicited input from more than 15,000 GFSI-certified food producers worldwide to determine whether GFSI certification had lived up to these expectations. A total of 828 usable questionnaires were analyzed, representing about 2,300 food manufacturing facilities and food suppliers in 21 countries, mainly across Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and North America. Nearly 90% of these certified suppliers perceived GFSI as being beneficial for addressing their food safety concerns, and respondents were eight times more likely to repeat the certification process knowing what it entailed. Nearly three-quarters (74%) of these food manufacturers would choose to go through the certification process again even if certification were not required by one of their current retail customers. Important drivers for becoming GFSI certified included continuing to do business with an existing customer, starting to do business with new customer, reducing the number of third-party food safety audits, and continuing improvement of their food safety program. Although 50% or fewer respondents stated that they saw actual increases in sales, customers, suppliers, or employees, significantly more companies agreed than disagreed that there was an increase in these key performance indicators in the year following GFSI certification. A majority of respondents (81%) agreed that there was a substantial investment in staff time since certification, and 50% agreed there was a significant capital investment. This survey is the largest and most representative of global food manufacturers conducted to date.

Global challenges and perspectives of marketing of healthy food products

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mitić Sanja

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with global trends of healthy food market growth, Serbian export potential as well as with the importance and role of positioning and other marketing strategies in this field. Secondary data will be used for identifying characteristics and range of healthy food market on a global level and key segments. In that context, the economic importance and export potential of this sector in Serbia will be discussed. Food sector accounts for high percentage of total Serbian export. Yet, those products are of low added value, neither branded nor packed. In order to position producers of healthy food on an international market successfully, strength and weaknesses of domestic production and export will be identified as well as measures for its promotion. In this paper, literature review in field of food positioning and marketing will be presented. Various positioning strategies of healthy food will be discussed from the aspect of branding, country of origin image, marketing mix instruments, with special emphasis on promotion and product labelling. Special part of paper will be dedicated to specific aspects of buying and food consumption behaviour. This behaviour is under the influence of numerous factors, both personal and sociodemographic, which will be analyzed in order to identify adequate positioning strategies. At the end, recommendations for successfully healthy food positioning on an international market will be given. We will present ways of improving marketing strategies regarding exploiting identified chances on an international market.

Food price volatility and hunger alleviation – can Cannes work?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hajkowicz Stefan

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Recent years have seen global food prices rise and become more volatile. Price surges in 2008 and 2011 held devastating consequences for hundreds of millions of people and negatively impacted many more. Today one billion people are hungry. The issue is a high priority for many international agencies and national governments. At the Cannes Summit in November 2011, the G20 leaders agreed to implement five objectives aiming to mitigate food price volatility and protect vulnerable persons. To succeed, the global community must now translate these high level policy objectives into practical actions. In this paper, we describe challenges and unresolved dilemmas before the global community in implementing these five objectives. The paper describes recent food price volatility trends and an evaluation of possible causes. Special attention is given to climate change and water scarcity, which have the potential to impact food prices to a much greater extent in coming decades. We conclude the world needs an improved knowledge base and new analytical capabilities, developed in parallel with the implementation of practical policy actions, to manage food price volatility and reduce hunger and malnutrition. This requires major innovations and paradigm shifts by the global community.

Prediction of seasonal climate-induced variations in global food production

Science.gov (United States)

Iizumi, Toshichika; Sakuma, Hirofumi; Yokozawa, Masayuki; Luo, Jing-Jia; Challinor, Andrew J.; Brown, Molly E.; Sakurai, Gen; Yamagata, Toshio

2013-10-01

Consumers, including the poor in many countries, are increasingly dependent on food imports and are thus exposed to variations in yields, production and export prices in the major food-producing regions of the world. National governments and commercial entities are therefore paying increased attention to the cropping forecasts of important food-exporting countries as well as to their own domestic food production. Given the increased volatility of food markets and the rising incidence of climatic extremes affecting food production, food price spikes may increase in prevalence in future years. Here we present a global assessment of the reliability of crop failure hindcasts for major crops at two lead times derived by linking ensemble seasonal climatic forecasts with statistical crop models. We found that moderate-to-marked yield loss over a substantial percentage (26-33%) of the harvested area of these crops is reliably predictable if climatic forecasts are near perfect. However, only rice and wheat production are reliably predictable at three months before the harvest using within-season hindcasts. The reliabilities of estimates varied substantially by crop--rice and wheat yields were the most predictable, followed by soybean and maize. The reasons for variation in the reliability of the estimates included the differences in crop sensitivity to the climate and the technology used by the crop-producing regions. Our findings reveal that the use of seasonal climatic forecasts to predict crop failures will be useful for monitoring global food production and will encourage the adaptation of food systems toclimatic extremes.

Global change in the trophic functioning of marine food webs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Maureaud, Aurore; Gascuel, Didier; Colléter, Mathieu

2017-01-01

and life history traits of marine species, we tested the hypothesis that anthropogenic ecological impacts may have led to changes in the global parameters defining the transfers of biomass within the food web. First, we developed two indicators to assess such changes: the Time Cumulated Indicator (TCI......The development of fisheries in the oceans, and other human drivers such as climate warming, have led to changes in species abundance, assemblages, trophic interactions, and ultimately in the functioning of marine food webs. Here, using a trophodynamic approach and global databases of catches......) measuring the residence time of biomass within the food web, and the Efficiency Cumulated Indicator (ECI) quantifying the fraction of secondary production reaching the top of the trophic chain. Then, we assessed, at the large marine ecosystem scale, the worldwide change of these two indicators over the 1950...

75 FR 22412 - Food and Drug Administration/Xavier University Global Outsourcing Conference

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-28

... Selection Process--the criteria a contract organization should use to consider saying no to a contract... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Food and Drug Administration [Docket No. FDA-2010-N-0001] Food and Drug Administration/Xavier University Global Outsourcing Conference AGENCY: Food and Drug...

Renewal through Participation in Global Food Security Governance: Implementing the International Food Security and Nutrition Civil Society Mechanism to the Committee on World Food Security

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Duncan, J.A.B.; Barling, D.

2012-01-01

The food commodity price rises from 2006 to 2008 engendered a period
of political renewal and reform in the governance of global food security. The
Committee on World Food Security (CFS) was designated as the main international forum dealing with food security and nutrition in 2009 as part

Global Hotspots of Conflict Risk between Food Security and Biodiversity Conservation

OpenAIRE

Molotoks, Amy; Dawson, Terence Peter

2017-01-01

The global challenges of food security and biodiversity are rarely addressed together, though recently there has been an increasing awareness that the two issues are closely related. The majority of land available for agriculture is already used for food production, but despite the productivity gains, one in nine people worldwide are classified as food insecure. There is an increasing risk that addressing food insecurity through methods such as agricultural expansion orintensification could l...

Global Food Crisis and the Millennium Development Goals in Africa ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

hunger/poverty, food security in the world has been deteriorating, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. Amidst the slow pace of meeting the millennium goal of reducing poverty/hunger arises a serious challenging threat - the food crisis in the midst of the MDGs' efforts. It is on this premise that this paper examines the global ...

Mitigation potential and global health impacts from emissions pricing of food commodities

Science.gov (United States)

Springmann, Marco; Mason-D'Croz, Daniel; Robinson, Sherman; Wiebe, Keith; Godfray, H. Charles J.; Rayner, Mike; Scarborough, Peter

2017-01-01

The projected rise in food-related greenhouse gas emissions could seriously impede efforts to limit global warming to acceptable levels. Despite that, food production and consumption have long been excluded from climate policies, in part due to concerns about the potential impact on food security. Using a coupled agriculture and health modelling framework, we show that the global climate change mitigation potential of emissions pricing of food commodities could be substantial, and that levying greenhouse gas taxes on food commodities could, if appropriately designed, be a health-promoting climate policy in high-income countries, as well as in most low- and middle-income countries. Sparing food groups known to be beneficial for health from taxation, selectively compensating for income losses associated with tax-related price increases, and using a portion of tax revenues for health promotion are potential policy options that could help avert most of the negative health impacts experienced by vulnerable groups, whilst still promoting changes towards diets which are more environmentally sustainable.

75 FR 15439 - Food and Drug Administration/Xavier University Global Medical Device Conference

Science.gov (United States)

2010-03-29

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Food and Drug Administration [Docket No. FDA-2010-N-0001] Food and Drug Administration/Xavier University Global Medical Device Conference AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS. ACTION: Notice of public conference. SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA...

78 FR 15957 - Food and Drug Administration/Xavier University Global Medical Device Conference

Science.gov (United States)

2013-03-13

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Food and Drug Administration [Docket No. FDA-2013-N-0001] Food and Drug Administration/Xavier University Global Medical Device Conference AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS. ACTION: Notice of public conference. SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA...

77 FR 10537 - Food and Drug Administration/Xavier University Global Medical Device Conference

Science.gov (United States)

2012-02-22

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Food and Drug Administration [Docket No. FDA-2012-N-0001] Food and Drug Administration/Xavier University Global Medical Device Conference AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS. ACTION: Notice of public conference. SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA...

Fair Trade: Social Regulation in Global Food Markets

Science.gov (United States)

Raynolds, Laura T.

2012-01-01

This article analyzes the theoretical and empirical parameters of social regulation in contemporary global food markets, focusing on the rapidly expanding Fair Trade initiative. Fair Trade seeks to transform North/South relations by fostering ethical consumption, producer empowerment, and certified commodity sales. This initiative joins an array…

Supplement: Why Colour Foods? Colouring Food Products with ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Today, the food industry is the kitchen of the world. It has revolutionised nutrition. Never before have standards of purity, stability, and physiological harmlessness been as high as they are today. New raw materials and new methods of refining and preserving, however, often alter the natural appearance of fresh foods.

Importing food damages domestic environment: Evidence from global soybean trade.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Jing; Mooney, Harold; Wu, Wenbin; Tang, Huajun; Tong, Yuxin; Xu, Zhenci; Huang, Baorong; Cheng, Yeqing; Yang, Xinjun; Wei, Dan; Zhang, Fusuo; Liu, Jianguo

2018-05-22

Protecting the environment and enhancing food security are among the world's Sustainable Development Goals and greatest challenges. International food trade is an important mechanism to enhance food security worldwide. Nonetheless, it is widely concluded that in international food trade importing countries gain environmental benefits, while exporting countries suffer environmental problems by using land and other resources to produce food for exports. Our study shows that international food trade can also lead to environmental pollution in importing countries. At the global level, our metaanalysis indicates that there was increased nitrogen (N) pollution after much farmland for domestically cultivated N-fixing soybeans in importing countries was converted to grow high N-demanding crops (wheat, corn, rice, and vegetables). The findings were further verified by an intensive study at the regional level in China, the largest soybean-importing country, where the conversion of soybean lands to corn fields and rice paddies has also led to N pollution. Our study provides a sharp contrast to the conventional wisdom that only exports contribute substantially to environmental woes. Our results suggest the need to evaluate environmental consequences of international trade of all other major goods and products in all importing countries, which have significant implications for fundamental rethinking in global policy-making and debates on environmental responsibilities among consumers, producers, and traders across the world.

Global Food Demand Scenarios for the 21st Century

Science.gov (United States)

Biewald, Anne; Weindl, Isabelle; Popp, Alexander; Lotze-Campen, Hermann

2015-01-01

Long-term food demand scenarios are an important tool for studying global food security and for analysing the environmental impacts of agriculture. We provide a simple and transparent method to create scenarios for future plant-based and animal-based calorie demand, using time-dependent regression models between calorie demand and income. The scenarios can be customized to a specific storyline by using different input data for gross domestic product (GDP) and population projections and by assuming different functional forms of the regressions. Our results confirm that total calorie demand increases with income, but we also found a non-income related positive time-trend. The share of animal-based calories is estimated to rise strongly with income for low-income groups. For high income groups, two ambiguous relations between income and the share of animal-based products are consistent with historical data: First, a positive relation with a strong negative time-trend and second a negative relation with a slight negative time-trend. The fits of our regressions are highly significant and our results compare well to other food demand estimates. The method is exemplarily used to construct four food demand scenarios until the year 2100 based on the storylines of the IPCC Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES). We find in all scenarios a strong increase of global food demand until 2050 with an increasing share of animal-based products, especially in developing countries. PMID:26536124

The role of Latin America's land and water resources for global food security: environmental trade-offs of future food production pathways.

Science.gov (United States)

Flachsbarth, Insa; Willaarts, Bárbara; Xie, Hua; Pitois, Gauthier; Mueller, Nathaniel D; Ringler, Claudia; Garrido, Alberto

2015-01-01

One of humanity's major challenges of the 21st century will be meeting future food demands on an increasingly resource constrained-planet. Global food production will have to rise by 70 percent between 2000 and 2050 to meet effective demand which poses major challenges to food production systems. Doing so without compromising environmental integrity is an even greater challenge. This study looks at the interdependencies between land and water resources, agricultural production and environmental outcomes in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), an area of growing importance in international agricultural markets. Special emphasis is given to the role of LAC's agriculture for (a) global food security and (b) environmental sustainability. We use the International Model for Policy Analysis of Agricultural Commodities and Trade (IMPACT)-a global dynamic partial equilibrium model of the agricultural sector-to run different future production scenarios, and agricultural trade regimes out to 2050, and assess changes in related environmental indicators. Results indicate that further trade liberalization is crucial for improving food security globally, but that it would also lead to more environmental pressures in some regions across Latin America. Contrasting land expansion versus more intensified agriculture shows that productivity improvements are generally superior to agricultural land expansion, from an economic and environmental point of view. Finally, our analysis shows that there are trade-offs between environmental and food security goals for all agricultural development paths.

Irradiated foodstuff: atom, junk-food and globalization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Azam, Genevieve; Berlan, Jean-Pierre; Desbordes, Roland; Dufour, Francois; Fievet, Yann; Folliard, Thierry; Gallais, Veronique; Hauter, Wenonah; Jacquiau, Christian; Kastler, Guy; Lannoye, Paul; Le Goff, Lylian; Le Rohellec, Catherine; Louchard, Olivier; Marechal, Gilles; Nicolas, Yveline; Remesy, Christian; Trouve, Aurelie; Veillerette, Francois

2008-01-01

Food irradiation is officially presented as an ideal technology at the service of worldwide health safety and as an alternative to chemical processing of foodstuff. It is first of all a multi-usage technology for the preservation, disinfestation, ripening slowing down, and germination inhibition of products which serves the interests of multinational companies of the agriculture and food industry. According to the authors, it is also an instrument for the globalization of foodstuff trade encouraged by the international institutions and by some governments. The book stresses on the health, socio-economic and environmental risks of this technology: vitamins loss, carcinogenesis, mutagenesis, impact on local employment and economy, risks linked with the use of irradiation devices etc

Water resources conservation and nitrogen pollution reduction under global food trade and agricultural intensification

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Liu, Wenfeng; Yang, Hong; Liu, Yu; Kummu, Matti; Hoekstra, Arjen Y.; Liu, Junguo; Schulin, Rainer

2018-01-01

Global food trade entails virtual flows of agricultural resources and pollution across countries. Here we performed a global-scale assessment of impacts of international food trade on blue water use, total water use, and nitrogen (N) inputs and on N losses in maize, rice, and wheat production. We

Food Consumption and its Impact on Cardiovascular Disease: Importance of Solutions Focused on the Globalized Food System

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Anand, Sonia S.; Hawkes, Corinna; Souza, De Russell J.; Mente, Andrew; Dehghan, Mahshid; Nugent, Rachel; Zulyniak, Michael A.; Weis, Tony; Bernstein, Adam M.; Krauss, Ronald M.; Kromhout, Daan; Jenkins, David J.A.; Malik, Vasanti; Martinez-Gonzalez, Miguel A.; Mozaffarian, Dariush; Yusuf, Salim; Willett, Walter C.; Popkin, Barry M.

2015-01-01

Major scholars in the field, on the basis of a 3-day consensus, created an in-depth review of current knowledge on the role of diet in cardiovascular disease (CVD), the changing global food system and global dietary patterns, and potential policy solutions. Evidence from different countries and

Food for the Future. Summary of the IAEA Scientific Forum, 18-19 September 2012

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2012-01-01

The global population is expected to rise in the coming decades. Food production will need to expand dramatically to meet increasing demand. Yet the challenge to ensure food security today has never been greater: fresh water is dwindling and arable land is shrinking. Resources are overexploited. Urbanization and pollution reduce farmland and agricultural productivity. Biofuels compete with food crops for natural resources. Harsher climatic conditions cut food output and threaten ecosystems. With local and global food security at risk, it has never been more important for the world to use agricultural technology effectively to reduce hunger and poverty in an equitable and sustainable manner. The IAEA assists Member States in using nuclear techniques to develop and improve strategies for sustainable food security. Nuclear techniques are used around the world to increase food production and food safety while conserving plant and animal diversity, as well as natural resources

Target salt 2025: a global overview of national programs to encourage the food industry to reduce salt in foods.

Science.gov (United States)

Webster, Jacqui; Trieu, Kathy; Dunford, Elizabeth; Hawkes, Corinna

2014-08-21

Reducing population salt intake has been identified as a priority intervention to reduce non-communicable diseases. Member States of the World Health Organization have agreed to a global target of a 30% reduction in salt intake by 2025. In countries where most salt consumed is from processed foods, programs to engage the food industry to reduce salt in products are being developed. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of national initiatives to encourage the food industry to reduce salt. A systematic review of the literature was supplemented by key informant questionnaires to inform categorization of the initiatives. Fifty nine food industry salt reduction programs were identified. Thirty eight countries had targets for salt levels in foods and nine countries had introduced legislation for some products. South Africa and Argentina have both introduced legislation limiting salt levels across a broad range of foods. Seventeen countries reported reductions in salt levels in foods-the majority in bread. While these trends represent progress, many countries have yet to initiate work in this area, others are at early stages of implementation and further monitoring is required to assess progress towards achieving the global target.

Ultra-processed products are becoming dominant in the global food system.

Science.gov (United States)

Monteiro, C A; Moubarac, J-C; Cannon, G; Ng, S W; Popkin, B

2013-11-01

The relationship between the global food system and the worldwide rapid increase of obesity and related diseases is not yet well understood. A reason is that the full impact of industrialized food processing on dietary patterns, including the environments of eating and drinking, remains overlooked and underestimated. Many forms of food processing are beneficial. But what is identified and defined here as ultra-processing, a type of process that has become increasingly dominant, at first in high-income countries, and now in middle-income countries, creates attractive, hyper-palatable, cheap, ready-to-consume food products that are characteristically energy-dense, fatty, sugary or salty and generally obesogenic. In this study, the scale of change in purchase and sales of ultra-processed products is examined and the context and implications are discussed. Data come from 79 high- and middle-income countries, with special attention to Canada and Brazil. Results show that ultra-processed products dominate the food supplies of high-income countries, and that their consumption is now rapidly increasing in middle-income countries. It is proposed here that the main driving force now shaping the global food system is transnational food manufacturing, retailing and fast food service corporations whose businesses are based on very profitable, heavily promoted ultra-processed products, many in snack form. © 2013 The Authors. Obesity Reviews published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of the International Association for the Study of Obesity.

The role of GLOBAL G.A.P.: In improving competitiveness of agro-food industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bešić Cariša

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The issues of food safety, standards and food quality represent a challenge for every food company which has to cope with in order to survive. The change in consumers attitudes has considerably been influenced by certain incidents related to food safety which clearly showed that more attention should be paid to food safety. Different actors should work together on this issue, from food producers (primary and final, consumer associations, international organizations, big retailers to the state. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the current situation in implementation of certification schemes for agro-food industry in which GLOBAL G.A.P. has been recognized as a perspective one. A special attention is paid to two directions: (1 Comparison of implementing GLOBAL G.A.P. standard and other Certification schemes and (2 Overview and opportunities for Serbia and neighboring countries, in relation to its EU food law and food safety certification schemes harmonization efforts.

Exploring the impact of the 2008 global food crisis on food security among vulnerable households in rural South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Nawrotzki, Raphael J; Robson, Kristin; Gutilla, Margaret J; Hunter, Lori M; Twine, Wayne; Norlund, Petra

2014-04-01

Recurring food crises endanger the livelihoods of millions of households in developing countries around the globe. Owing to the importance of this issue, we explore recent changes in food security between the years 2004 and 2010 in a rural district in Northeastern South Africa. Our study window spans the time of the 2008 global food crises and allows the investigation of its impacts on rural South African populations. Grounded in the sustainable livelihood framework, we examine differences in food security trajectories among vulnerable sub populations. A unique panel data set of 8,147 households, provided by the Agincourt Health and Demographic Surveillance System (Agincourt HDSS), allows us to employ a longitudinal multilevel modeling approach to estimate adjusted growth curves for the differential change in food security across time. We observe an overall improvement in food security that leveled off after 2008, most likely resulting from the global food crisis. In addition, we discover significant differences in food security trajectories for various sub populations. For example, female-headed households and those living in areas with better access to natural resources differentially improved their food security situation, compared to male-headed households and those households with lower levels of natural resource access. However, former Mozambican refugees witnessed a decline in food security. Therefore, poverty alleviation programs for the Agincourt region should work to improve the food security of vulnerable households, such as former Mozambican refugees.

Nitrogen use in the global food system: past trends and future trajectories of agronomic performance, pollution, trade, and dietary demand

Science.gov (United States)

Lassaletta, Luis; Billen, Gilles; Garnier, Josette; Bouwman, Lex; Velazquez, Eduardo; Mueller, Nathaniel D.; Gerber, James S.

2016-09-01

Nitrogen (N) limits crop and grass production, and it is an essential component of dietary proteins. However, N is mobile in the soil-plant system and can be lost to the environment. Estimates of N flows provide a critical tool for understanding and improving the sustainability and equity of the global food system. This letter describes an integrated analysis of changes in N in human diets, N use efficiency (NUE) of cropping and livestock systems, N pollution and N in traded food and feed products for 12 world regions for the period 1960-2050. The largest absolute change in consumption of animal proteins during the period 1960-2009 is seen in China, while the largest share of animal protein per capita is currently observed in North America, Europe and Oceania. Due to the substantial growth of the livestock sector, about three quarters of contemporary global crop production (expressed in protein and including fodder crops and bioenergy byproducts) is allocated to livestock. Trends and levels of NUE and N surpluses in crop production are also diverse, as some regions show soil N depletion (developing regions, e.g. Africa), improving efficiency (industrialized regions, e.g. USA and Europe) and excessive N use (e.g. China, India). Global trade between the 12 regions has increased by a factor of 7.5 for vegetable proteins and by a factor of 10 for animal proteins. The scenarios for 2050 demonstrate that it would be possible to feed the global population in 2050 with moderate animal protein consumption but with much less N pollution, and less international trade than today. In such a scenario, optimal allocation of N inputs among regions to maximize NUE would further decrease pollution, but would require increased levels of N trade comparable to those in a BAU scenario.

Does aquaculture add resilience to the global food system?

Science.gov (United States)

Troell, Max; Naylor, Rosamond L; Metian, Marc; Beveridge, Malcolm; Tyedmers, Peter H; Folke, Carl; Arrow, Kenneth J; Barrett, Scott; Crépin, Anne-Sophie; Ehrlich, Paul R; Gren, Asa; Kautsky, Nils; Levin, Simon A; Nyborg, Karine; Österblom, Henrik; Polasky, Stephen; Scheffer, Marten; Walker, Brian H; Xepapadeas, Tasos; de Zeeuw, Aart

2014-09-16

Aquaculture is the fastest growing food sector and continues to expand alongside terrestrial crop and livestock production. Using portfolio theory as a conceptual framework, we explore how current interconnections between the aquaculture, crop, livestock, and fisheries sectors act as an impediment to, or an opportunity for, enhanced resilience in the global food system given increased resource scarcity and climate change. Aquaculture can potentially enhance resilience through improved resource use efficiencies and increased diversification of farmed species, locales of production, and feeding strategies. However, aquaculture's reliance on terrestrial crops and wild fish for feeds, its dependence on freshwater and land for culture sites, and its broad array of environmental impacts diminishes its ability to add resilience. Feeds for livestock and farmed fish that are fed rely largely on the same crops, although the fraction destined for aquaculture is presently small (∼4%). As demand for high-value fed aquaculture products grows, competition for these crops will also rise, as will the demand for wild fish as feed inputs. Many of these crops and forage fish are also consumed directly by humans and provide essential nutrition for low-income households. Their rising use in aquafeeds has the potential to increase price levels and volatility, worsening food insecurity among the most vulnerable populations. Although the diversification of global food production systems that includes aquaculture offers promise for enhanced resilience, such promise will not be realized if government policies fail to provide adequate incentives for resource efficiency, equity, and environmental protection.

The Global Arena of Food Law: Emerging Contours of a Meta-Framework

NARCIS (Netherlands)

B. van der Meulen (Bernd)

2010-01-01

textabstractFood is one of the most regulated social and economic sectors. At the global level several organisations such as the UN, FAO, WHO, the Codex Alimentarius Commission and the WTO play a role in food governance through formulating and enforcing rules regarding production, manufacturing,

The Role of Latin America’s Land and Water Resources for Global Food Security: Environmental Trade-Offs of Future Food Production Pathways

Science.gov (United States)

Flachsbarth, Insa; Willaarts, Bárbara; Xie, Hua; Pitois, Gauthier; Mueller, Nathaniel D.; Ringler, Claudia; Garrido, Alberto

2015-01-01

One of humanity’s major challenges of the 21st century will be meeting future food demands on an increasingly resource constrained-planet. Global food production will have to rise by 70 percent between 2000 and 2050 to meet effective demand which poses major challenges to food production systems. Doing so without compromising environmental integrity is an even greater challenge. This study looks at the interdependencies between land and water resources, agricultural production and environmental outcomes in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), an area of growing importance in international agricultural markets. Special emphasis is given to the role of LAC’s agriculture for (a) global food security and (b) environmental sustainability. We use the International Model for Policy Analysis of Agricultural Commodities and Trade (IMPACT)—a global dynamic partial equilibrium model of the agricultural sector—to run different future production scenarios, and agricultural trade regimes out to 2050, and assess changes in related environmental indicators. Results indicate that further trade liberalization is crucial for improving food security globally, but that it would also lead to more environmental pressures in some regions across Latin America. Contrasting land expansion versus more intensified agriculture shows that productivity improvements are generally superior to agricultural land expansion, from an economic and environmental point of view. Finally, our analysis shows that there are trade-offs between environmental and food security goals for all agricultural development paths. PMID:25617621

Global Water Availability and Requirements for Future Food Production

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gerten, D.; Heinke, J.; Hoff, H.; Biemans, H.; Fader, M.; Waha, K.

2011-01-01

This study compares, spatially explicitly and at global scale, per capita water availability and water requirements for food production presently (1971-2000) and in the future given climate and population change (2070-99). A vegetation and hydrology model Lund-Potsdam-Jena managed Land (LPJmL) was

Global, regional and national consumption of major food groups in 1990 and 2010

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Micha, Renata; Khatibzadeh, Shahab; Shi, Peilin

2015-01-01

combined these data with food balance sheets available in all nations and years. A hierarchical Bayesian model estimated mean food intake and associated uncertainty for each age-sex-country-year stratum, accounting for differences in intakes versus availability, survey methods and representativeness......OBJECTIVE: To quantify global intakes of key foods related to non-communicable diseases in adults by region (n=21), country (n=187), age and sex, in 1990 and 2010. DESIGN: We searched and obtained individual-level intake data in 16 age/sex groups worldwide from 266 surveys across 113 countries. We......, and sampling and modelling uncertainty. SETTING/POPULATION: Global adult population, by age, sex, country and time. RESULTS: In 2010, global fruit intake was 81.3 g/day (95% uncertainty interval 78.9-83.7), with country-specific intakes ranging from 19.2-325.1 g/day; in only 2 countries (representing 0...

China's food economy in the early 21st Century; Development of China's food economy and its impact on global trade and on the EU

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tongeren, van F.W.; Huang, J.

2004-01-01

Development of Chinese food economy and Chinese agricultural policies. Simulations of future developments in China and in global trade with a model for the Chinese food economy and a model for global trade analysis. Simulation of developments in a 'business as usual' scenario. Assesment of impacts

Governing a Global Food Supply: How the 2010 FDA Food Safety Modernization Act Promises to Strengthen Import Safety in the US

NARCIS (Netherlands)

E. Fagotto (Elena)

2010-01-01

textabstractFood systems worldwide have experienced a significant level of integration in recent decades, creating a global and dynamic food supply. In the US, imports amount to 15% of the American diet and nearly doubled in value during the last decade, reaching $90 billion in 2008. If food imports

A half-century of production-phase greenhouse gas emissions from food loss & waste in the global food supply chain.

Science.gov (United States)

Porter, Stephen D; Reay, David S; Higgins, Peter; Bomberg, Elizabeth

2016-11-15

Research on loss & waste of food meant for human consumption (FLW) and its environmental impact typically focuses on a single or small number of commodities in a specific location and point in time. However, it is unclear how trends in global FLW and potential for climate impact have evolved. Here, by utilising the Food and Agriculture Organization's food balance sheet data, we expand upon existing literature. Firstly, we provide a differentiated (by commodity, country and supply chain stage) bottom-up approach; secondly, we conduct a 50-year longitudinal analysis of global FLW and its production-phase greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; and thirdly, we trace food wastage and its associated emissions through the entire food supply chain. Between 1961 and 2011 the annual amount of FLW by mass grew a factor of three - from 540Mt to 1.6Gt; associated production-phase (GHG) emissions more than tripled (from 680Mt to 2.2Gt CO2e). A 44% increase in global average per capita FLW emissions was also identified - from 225kg CO2e in 1961 to 323kg CO2e in 2011. The regional weighting within this global average changing markedly over time; in 1961 developed countries accounted for 48% of FLW and less than a quarter (24%) in 2011. The largest increases in FLW-associated GHG emissions were from developing economies, specifically China and Latin America - primarily from increasing losses in fruit and vegetables. Over the period examined, cumulatively such emissions added almost 68Gt CO2e to the atmospheric GHG stock; an amount the rough equivalent of two years of emissions from all anthropogenic sources at present rates. Building up from the most granular data available, this study highlights the growth in the climate burden of FLW emissions, and thus the need to improve efficiency in food supply chains to mitigate future emissions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The challenges for global harmonisation of food safety norms and regulations: issues for India.

Science.gov (United States)

Prakash, Jamuna

2014-08-01

Safe and adequate food is a human right, safety being a prime quality attribute without which food is unfit for consumption. Food safety regulations are framed to exercise control over all types of food produced, processed and sold so that the customer is assured that the food consumed will not cause any harm. From the Indian perspective, global harmonisation of food regulations is needed to improve food and nutrition security, the food trade and delivery of safe ready-to-eat (RTE) foods at all places and at all times. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) put forward to transform developing societies incorporate many food safety issues. The success of the MDGs, including that of poverty reduction, will in part depend on an effective reduction of food-borne diseases, particularly among the vulnerable group, which includes women and children. Food- and water-borne illnesses can be a serious health hazard, being responsible for high incidences of morbidity and mortality across all age groups of people. Global harmonisation of food regulations would assist in facilitating food trade within and outside India through better compliance, ensuring the safety of RTE catered foods, as well as addressing issues related to the environment. At the same time, regulations need to be optimum, as overregulation may have undue negative effects on the food trade. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry.

Sustainability of Global and Local Food Value Chains: An Empirical Comparison of Peruvian and Belgian Asparagus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jana Schwarz

2016-04-01

Full Text Available The sustainability of food value chains is an increasing concern for consumers, food companies and policy-makers. Global food chains are often perceived to be less sustainable than local food chains. Yet, thorough food chain analyses and comparisons of different food chains across sustainability dimensions are rare. In this article we analyze the local Belgian and global Peruvian asparagus value chains and explore their sustainability performance. A range of indicators linked to environmental, economic and social impacts is calculated to analyze the contribution of the supply chains to economic development, resource use, labor relations, distribution of added value and governance issues. Our findings suggest that none of the two supply chains performs invariably better and that there are trade-offs among and between sustainability dimensions. Whereas the global chain uses water and other inputs more intensively and generates more employment per unit of land and higher yields, the local chain generates more revenue per unit of land.

Does aquaculture add resilience to the global food system?

Science.gov (United States)

Troell, Max; Naylor, Rosamond L.; Metian, Marc; Beveridge, Malcolm; Tyedmers, Peter H.; Folke, Carl; Arrow, Kenneth J.; Barrett, Scott; Crépin, Anne-Sophie; Ehrlich, Paul R.; Gren, Åsa; Kautsky, Nils; Levin, Simon A.; Nyborg, Karine; Österblom, Henrik; Polasky, Stephen; Scheffer, Marten; Walker, Brian H.; Xepapadeas, Tasos; de Zeeuw, Aart

2014-01-01

Aquaculture is the fastest growing food sector and continues to expand alongside terrestrial crop and livestock production. Using portfolio theory as a conceptual framework, we explore how current interconnections between the aquaculture, crop, livestock, and fisheries sectors act as an impediment to, or an opportunity for, enhanced resilience in the global food system given increased resource scarcity and climate change. Aquaculture can potentially enhance resilience through improved resource use efficiencies and increased diversification of farmed species, locales of production, and feeding strategies. However, aquaculture’s reliance on terrestrial crops and wild fish for feeds, its dependence on freshwater and land for culture sites, and its broad array of environmental impacts diminishes its ability to add resilience. Feeds for livestock and farmed fish that are fed rely largely on the same crops, although the fraction destined for aquaculture is presently small (∼4%). As demand for high-value fed aquaculture products grows, competition for these crops will also rise, as will the demand for wild fish as feed inputs. Many of these crops and forage fish are also consumed directly by humans and provide essential nutrition for low-income households. Their rising use in aquafeeds has the potential to increase price levels and volatility, worsening food insecurity among the most vulnerable populations. Although the diversification of global food production systems that includes aquaculture offers promise for enhanced resilience, such promise will not be realized if government policies fail to provide adequate incentives for resource efficiency, equity, and environmental protection. PMID:25136111

Global trends of acceptance and trade in irradiated foods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Matin, M A [Food and Environmental Protection Section, Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna (Austria)

2001-05-01

Issues as relevant to wide scale application of food irradiation are presented in this paper to provide current status of the technology. Global development on key issues such as public acceptance, public health improvement, safety and wholesomeness, regulatory aspects, potential application of the technology to ease quarantine problems in the trade of food and agricultural commodities as a viable alternative to fumigation with methyl bromide have been presented. Irradiation ensures the hygienic quality of food and extends shelf-life. Many international organizations and respected regional/national bodies agree on the merits of the technique and valuable contribution that the process can offer to safeguard the food supply worldwide. Codex General Standard for irradiated food and the associated Code of Practice for operation of the irradiation facilities used for the treatment of foods adopted in 1983 forms the regulatory basis for commercial utilization of the processing technology. More than 40 countries of the world have Standards/Regulations to process one or more food products by the irradiation process. Efforts are underway to harmonise national regulations on food irradiation to remove obstacles for international trade of irradiated products. There is a rapid development on commercial application of food irradiation in the USA and elsewhere in the past few months. There are already several existing commercial irradiators available for treating food in the USA and many more are planned to be built. Such commercial food irradiation facilities are also in different stage of development in Brazil, India, Mexico, Thailand, People's Republic of China, Republic of Korea. Roles of irradiation ensuring food safety, contributing food security and facilitating trade are more and more recognized in developed and developing countries alike. (author)

Global trends of acceptance and trade in irradiated foods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matin, M.A.

2001-01-01

Issues as relevant to wide scale application of food irradiation are presented in this paper to provide current status of the technology. Global development on key issues such as public acceptance, public health improvement, safety and wholesomeness, regulatory aspects, potential application of the technology to ease quarantine problems in the trade of food and agricultural commodities as a viable alternative to fumigation with methyl bromide have been presented. Irradiation ensures the hygienic quality of food and extends shelf-life. Many international organizations and respected regional/national bodies agree on the merits of the technique and valuable contribution that the process can offer to safeguard the food supply worldwide. Codex General Standard for irradiated food and the associated Code of Practice for operation of the irradiation facilities used for the treatment of foods adopted in 1983 forms the regulatory basis for commercial utilization of the processing technology. More than 40 countries of the world have Standards/Regulations to process one or more food products by the irradiation process. Efforts are underway to harmonise national regulations on food irradiation to remove obstacles for international trade of irradiated products. There is a rapid development on commercial application of food irradiation in the USA and elsewhere in the past few months. There are already several existing commercial irradiators available for treating food in the USA and many more are planned to be built. Such commercial food irradiation facilities are also in different stage of development in Brazil, India, Mexico, Thailand, People's Republic of China, Republic of Korea. Roles of irradiation ensuring food safety, contributing food security and facilitating trade are more and more recognized in developed and developing countries alike. (author)

Global hunger: a challenge to agricultural, food, and nutritional sciences.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Shiuan-Huei; Ho, Chi-Tang; Nah, Sui-Lin; Chau, Chi-Fai

2014-01-01

Hunger has been a concern for generations and has continued to plague hundreds of millions of people around the world. Although many efforts have been devoted to reduce hunger, challenges such as growing competitions for natural resources, emerging climate changes and natural disasters, poverty, illiteracy, and diseases are posing threats to food security and intensifying the hunger crisis. Concerted efforts of scientists to improve agricultural and food productivity, technology, nutrition, and education are imperative to facilitate appropriate strategies for defeating hunger and malnutrition. This paper provides some aspects of world hunger issues and summarizes the efforts and measures aimed to alleviate food problems from the food and nutritional sciences perspectives. The prospects and constraints of some implemented strategies for alleviating hunger and achieving sustainable food security are also discussed. This comprehensive information source could provide insights into the development of a complementary framework for dealing with the global hunger issue.

Feeding proteins to livestock: Global land use and food vs. feed competition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manceron Stéphane

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Competition between direct consumption of plant production and the feeding of livestock is key to global food availability. This is because livestock consume edible commodities that could be available for (food insecure populations but also because it diverts arable land from food production. The share of total plant production redirected towards feeding livestock is (roughly known but estimations of land surfaces virtually occupied by livestock production are scarce. In this study, following up on the Agrimonde Terra** project, we estimate areas devoted to the feeding livestock. First, we estimate the protein composition of an averaged feed basket at the global scale in 2005 and detail the evolution of the protein-source feed component during the period 1961–2009. We focus on protein-rich crops such as oil crops and show its proportion in the global livestock diets has tripled since 1960, though only accounting for about one fourth of total proteins. Then, we estimate land virtually occupied by crop feed at the global scale using a set of straightforward hypotheses. Our estimates suggest that, although livestock and feed production has continuously increased and despite uncertainties in available data, competition for land between feed and food uses has decreased over the last two decades. The share of areas cultivated for feed requirements decreased from about 50% in the 1970s to 37% nowadays. This trend is attributable to the increase of crop yields and to a decrease of the share of cereals in livestock diets to the benefit of oilseeds by-products. However, estimating the share of total areas used for feed is complicated by the significant role played by by-products.

Hierarchical Satellite-based Approach to Global Monitoring of Crop Condition and Food Production

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Y.; Wu, B.; Gommes, R.; Zhang, M.; Zhang, N.; Zeng, H.; Zou, W.; Yan, N.

2014-12-01

The assessment of global food security goes beyond the mere estimate of crop production: It needs to take into account the spatial and temporal patterns of food availability, as well as physical and economic access. Accurate and timely information is essential to both food producers and consumers. Taking advantage of multiple new remote sensing data sources, especially from Chinese satellites, such as FY-2/3A, HJ-1 CCD, CropWatch has expanded the scope of its international analyses through the development of new indicators and an upgraded operational methodology. The new monitoring approach adopts a hierarchical system covering four spatial levels of detail: global (sixty-five Monitoring and Reporting Units, MRU), seven major production zones (MPZ), thirty-one key countries (including China) and "sub- countries." The thirty-one countries encompass more that 80% of both global exports and production of four major crops (maize, rice, soybean and wheat). The methodology resorts to climatic and remote sensing indicators at different scales, using the integrated information to assess global, regional, and national (as well as sub-national) crop environmental condition, crop condition, drought, production, and agricultural trends. The climatic indicators for rainfall, temperature, photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) as well as potential biomass are first analysed at global scale to describe overall crop growing conditions. At MPZ scale, the key indicators pay more attention to crops and include Vegetation health index (VHI), Vegetation condition index (VCI), Cropped arable land fraction (CALF) as well as Cropping intensity (CI). Together, they characterise agricultural patterns, farming intensity and stress. CropWatch carries out detailed crop condition analyses for thirty one individual countries at the national scale with a comprehensive array of variables and indicators. The Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), cropped areas and crop condition are

Southern forests: Yesterday, today, and tomorrow

Science.gov (United States)

R. Neil Sampson

2004-01-01

In the 20th century, southern forests changed dramatically. Those changes pale, however, when compared to what happened to the people of the region. In addition to growing over fourfold in numbers, the South's population has urbanized, globalized, and intellectualized in 100 years. Rural and isolated in the 19th century, they are today urban and cosmopolitan. One...

The chaos and control of a food chain model supplying additional food to top-predator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sahoo, Banshidhar; Poria, Swarup

2014-01-01

Highlights: • We propose a chaotic food chain model supplying additional food to top-predator. • Local and global stability conditions are derived in presence of additional food. • Chaos is controlled only by increasing quantity of additional food. • System enters into periodic region and depicts Hopf bifurcations supplying additional food. • This an application of non-chemical methods for controlling chaos. -- Abstract: The control and management of chaotic population is one of the main objectives for constructing mathematical model in ecology today. In this paper, we apply a technique of controlling chaotic predator–prey population dynamics by supplying additional food to top-predator. We formulate a three species predator–prey model supplying additional food to top-predator. Existence conditions and local stability criteria of equilibrium points are determined analytically. Persistence conditions for the system are derived. Global stability conditions of interior equilibrium point is calculated. Theoretical results are verified through numerical simulations. Phase diagram is presented for various quality and quantity of additional food. One parameter bifurcation analysis is done with respect to quality and quantity of additional food separately keeping one of them fixed. Using MATCONT package, we derive the bifurcation scenarios when both the parameters quality and quantity of additional food vary together. We predict the existence of Hopf point (H), limit point (LP) and branch point (BP) in the model for suitable supply of additional food. We have computed the regions of different dynamical behaviour in the quantity–quality parametric plane. From our study we conclude that chaotic population dynamics of predator prey system can be controlled to obtain regular population dynamics only by supplying additional food to top predator. This study is aimed to introduce a new non-chemical chaos control mechanism in a predator–prey system with the

[Global trends in food consumption and nutrition].

Science.gov (United States)

Holmboe-Ottesen, G

2000-01-10

Obesity and lifestyle diseases increase all over the world, especially in developing countries. One reason is the change in diet. This nutrition transition is characterised by improvement in dietary variation, but also by increase in the content of fat and sugar. The transition seems to start at a lower level of income, compared to what occurred in the Western countries after the Second World War. The reason is that many foods are relatively cheaper, especially fat and sugar. The world market is presently flooded with cheap vegetable fat. Urbanisation leads to over-consumption by increasing market access to fatty and sugary foods, including fast foods. Globalization increases the consumption of sweet soda pops, biscuits and snacks produced by multinational companies. Western supermarkets and fast food franchises also promote these dietary changes (McDonaldization). It has been proposed that the population in developing countries is more vulnerable towards these dietary changes in regard to obesity and chronic diseases, due to undernutrition in early life (the Barker hypothesis). We may therefore expect an unprecedented increase in the prevalence of chronic diseases, especially diabetes type 2 in the developing countries. One may question if this increase will be a transient phenomenon, or if we can expect the same pattern as we have seen in the West, namely that the poor become the fat-test segment of the population, with the highest prevalence of chronic diseases.

Global Food Security-support data at 30 m (GFSAD30)

Science.gov (United States)

Thenkabail, P. S.

2013-12-01

Monitoring global croplands (GCs) is imperative for ensuring sustainable water and food security to the people of the world in the Twenty-first Century. However, the currently available cropland products suffer from major limitations such as: (1) Absence of precise spatial location of the cropped areas; (b) Coarse resolution nature of the map products with significant uncertainties in areas, locations, and detail; (b) Uncertainties in differentiating irrigated areas from rainfed areas; (c) Absence of crop types and cropping intensities; and (e) Absence of a dedicated webdata portal for the dissemination of cropland products. Therefore, our project aims to close these gaps through a Global Food Security-support data at 30 m (GFSAD30) with 4 distinct products: 1. Cropland extentarea, 2. Crop types with focus on 8 crops that occupy 70% of the global cropland areas, 3. Irrigated versus rainfed, and 4. Cropping intensities: single, double, triple, and continuous cropping. The above 4 products will be generated for GFSAD for nominal year 2010 (GFSAD2010) based on Landsat 30m Global Land Survey 2010 (GLS2010) fused with Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) 250m NDVI monthly maximum value composites (MVC) of 2009-2011 data, and suite of secondary data (e.g., long-term precipitation, temperature, GDEM elevation). GFSAD30 will be produced using three mature cropland mapping algorithms (CMAs): 1. Spectral matching techniques; 2. A cropland classification algorithm (ACCA) that is rule-based; and 3. Hierarchical segmentation (HSeg) algorithm. Funded by NASA MEaSUREs, GFSAD30 will make significant contributions to Earth System Data Records (ESDRs), Group on Earth Observations (GEO) Agriculture and Water Societal Beneficial Areas (GEO Ag. SBAs), GEO Global Agricultural Monitoring Initiative (GEO GLAM), and the recent 'Big Data' initiative by the White House. The project has the support of USGS Working Group on Global Croplands (https://powellcenter.usgs.gov/globalcroplandwater/).

PROCESS OF GLOBAL SHOCKS TRANSMISSION TO DOMESTIC FOOD PRICE LEVEL: CASE OF BANGLADESH

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fakir Azmal Huda

2014-04-01

Full Text Available The world experienced in dramatic price surge of food commodities since mid of 2007 to 2008. It was claimed that the crisis were being mainly for backdrop of global shocks in food and energy price. But how the shocks come to domestic market from external sources is a researchable phenomenon. Surprisingly few attempts have been made to systematically analysis of shock transmission from international to domestic market. The study analyzed the effect of global commodity market factors and domestic exchange rate development on domestic food price in Bangladesh. A bi-variants co-integration approach was applied for the analysis of shock transmission. Finally an error correction model was developed. The overall magnitudes of the pass through suggest that only 46 per cent of the total world shock pass-through in domestic economy.

The intertwine of nanotechnology with the food industry.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamad, Alshammari Fanar; Han, Jong-Hun; Kim, Byung-Chun; Rather, Irfan A

2018-01-01

The past decade has proven the competence of nanotechnology in almost all known fields. The evolution of nanotechnology today in the area of the food industry has been largely and has had a lot of contribution in the food processing, food package, and food preservation. The increasing global human population has come with growing population to be fed, and food production is not adjusted to at par with the growing population. This mismatch has shown the real essence of food preservation so that food products can reach to people on a global scale. The introduction of nanotechnology in the food industry has made it easy to transport foods to different parts of the world by extending the shelf-life of most food products. Even with this beneficial aspect of nanotechnology, it has not been proven an entire full-proof measure, and the field is still open to changing technology. It suffices to note that nanotechnology has to a big extent succeed in curbing the extent of food wastage due to food spoilage by the microbial infestation. Nanotechnology has focused on fresh foods, ensuring a healthier food by employing nano-delivery systems in the process. The delivery systems are the ones, which carries the food supplements. However, these are certain sets of regulations that must be followed to tame or control the health related risks of nanotechnology in food industries. This paper outlines the role of nanotechnology at different levels of the food industry including, packaging of food, processing of food and the various preservation techniques all aiming to increase the shelf life of the food products.

Exploring the Potential Impacts of Historic Volcanic Eruptions on the Contemporary Global Food System

Science.gov (United States)

Puma, Michael J.; Chon, S.; Wada, Y.

2015-01-01

A better understanding of volcanic impacts on crops is urgently needed, as volcanic eruptions and the associated climate anomalies can cause unanticipated shocks to food production. Such shocks are a major concern given the fragility of the global food system.

Challenging today's nuclear industry to be competitive in a changing tomorrow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Plug, B.

1996-01-01

As the millennium approaches, the future of the nuclear power generation appears desolate. Today's nuclear executives are facing challenges resulting from worldwide change and have forced utilities to reevaluate their corporation's future directions. The nuclear industry must be competitive more than ever to address today's rapid changing marketplace and pressures exerted from: regulatory reformation; increased competition; changes in technology; customer evolution; and globalization. These factors have compelled nuclear executives to address questions such as: What impact will these changes have on today's marketplace, and on my corporation? What will characterize tomorrow's successful nuclear facility? How can today's nuclear corporation compete in tomorrow's marketplace? Will my corporation survive? (author)

The new rules for global trade: certification of origin and quality for safety food

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Geni Satiko Sato

2009-03-01

Full Text Available The objective of this article was to describe and to analyze the new context of the global markets for foods, with focus in the certifications of origin and quality, used mechanisms to guarantee the safe, differentiated, traceable food and without frauds. The methodology is characterized as exploratory and descriptive and searched to deepen some excellent concepts on the economy of the quality to agriculture. The complexity of global market and the technology innovations in agriculture and food processing, make the consumer and origin of production so far. The asymmetries of information on the product had grown and increased the transaction costs and, a form to manage the chain productive was to create mechanisms of identification and reputation of the product.

Are Local Food Chains More Sustainable than Global Food Chains? Considerations for Assessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gianluca Brunori

2016-05-01

Full Text Available This paper summarizes the main findings of the GLAMUR project which starts with an apparently simple question: is “local” more sustainable than “global”? Sustainability assessment is framed within a post-normal science perspective, advocating the integration of public deliberation and scientific research. The assessment spans 39 local, intermediate and global supply chain case studies across different commodities and countries. Assessment criteria cover environmental, economic, social, health and ethical sustainability dimensions. A closer view of the food system demonstrates a highly dynamic local–global continuum where actors, while adapting to a changing environment, establish multiple relations and animate several chain configurations. The evidence suggests caution when comparing “local” and “global” chains, especially when using the outcomes of the comparison in decision-making. Supply chains are analytical constructs that necessarily—and arbitrarily—are confined by system boundaries, isolating a set of elements from an interconnected whole. Even consolidated approaches, such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA, assess only a part of sustainability attributes, and the interpretation may be controversial. Many sustainability attributes are not yet measurable and “hard” methodologies need to be complemented by “soft” methodologies which are at least able to identify critical issues and trade-offs. Aware of these limitations, our research shows that comparing local and global chains, with the necessary caution, can help overcome a priori positions that so far have characterized the debate between “localists” and “globalists”. At firm level, comparison between “local” and “global” chains could be useful to identify best practices, benchmarks, critical points, and errors to avoid. As sustainability is not a status to achieve, but a never-ending process, comparison and deliberation can be the basis of a �

Trends in Global Agricultural Land Use: Implications for Environmental Health and Food Security.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramankutty, Navin; Mehrabi, Zia; Waha, Katharina; Jarvis, Larissa; Kremen, Claire; Herrero, Mario; Rieseberg, Loren H

2018-04-29

The eighteenth-century Malthusian prediction of population growth outstripping food production has not yet come to bear. Unprecedented agricultural land expansions since 1700, and technological innovations that began in the 1930s, have enabled more calorie production per capita than was ever available before in history. This remarkable success, however, has come at a great cost. Agriculture is a major cause of global environmental degradation. Malnutrition persists among large sections of the population, and a new epidemic of obesity is on the rise. We review both the successes and failures of the global food system, addressing ongoing debates on pathways to environmental health and food security. To deal with these challenges, a new coordinated research program blending modern breeding with agro-ecological methods is needed. We call on plant biologists to lead this effort and help steer humanity toward a safe operating space for agriculture.

An obsolete dichotomy? Rethinking the rural–urban interface in terms of food security and production in the global south.

Science.gov (United States)

Lerner, Amy M; Eakin, Hallie

2011-01-01

The global food system is coming under increasing strain in the face of urban population growth. The recent spike in global food prices (2007–08) provoked consumer protests, and raised questions about food sovereignty and how and where food will be produced. Concurrently, for the first time in history the majority of the global population is urban, with the bulk of urban growth occurring in smaller-tiered cities and urban peripheries, or ‘peri-urban’ areas of the developing world. This paper discusses the new emerging spaces that incorporate a mosaic of urban and rural worlds, and reviews the implications of these spaces for livelihoods and food security. We propose a modified livelihoods framework to evaluate the contexts in which food production persists within broader processes of landscape and livelihood transformation in peri-urban locations. Where and how food production persists are central questions for the future of food security in an urbanising world. Our proposed framework provides directions for future research and highlights the role of policy and planning in reconciling food production with urban growth.

Environmental degradation, global food production, and risk for large-scale migrations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doeoes, B.R.

1994-01-01

This paper attempts to estimate to what extent global food production is affected by the ongoing environmental degradation through processes, such as soil erosion, salinization, chemical contamination, ultraviolet radiation, and biotic stress. Estimates have also been made of available opportunities to improve food production efficiency by, e.g., increased use of fertilizers, irrigation, and biotechnology, as well as improved management. Expected losses and gains of agricultural land in competition with urbanization, industrial development, and forests have been taken into account. Although estimated gains in food production deliberately have been overestimated and losses underestimated, calculations indicate that during the next 30-35 years the annual net gain in food production will be significantly lower than the rate of world population growth. An attempt has also been made to identify possible scenarios for large-scale migrations, caused mainly by rapid population growth in combination with insufficient local food production and poverty. 18 refs, 7 figs, 6 tabs

Quantifying the impact of weather extremes on global food security: A spatial bio-economic approach

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Sika Gbegbelegbe

2014-08-01

Full Text Available This study uses a spatial bio-economic modelling framework to estimate the impact of the 2012 weather extreme in the USA on food security in the developing world. The study also quantifies the potential effects of a similar weather extreme occurring in 2050 under climate change. The study results indicate that weather extremes that affect maize productivity in key grain baskets can negatively affect food security in vulnerable countries. The 2012 weather extreme which occurred in the USA reduced US and global maize production by 29% compared to trend; maize consumption in the country decreased by 5% only and this resulted in less surplus maize for exports from the largest maize exporter in the world. Global maize production decreased by 6% compared to trend. The decrease in global maize production coupled with a reduction in the volume of global maize exports worsened food insecurity in eastern Africa, the Caribbean and Central America and India. The effects of the weather extreme on global food security would be worse, if the latter were to occur under climate change in 2050, assuming no climate change adaptation worldwide over the years. In addition, the hardest-hit regions would remain the same, whether the weather extreme occurs in 2012 instead of 2050: Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA, South Asia and the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC region. However, sustained growth in per capita income across world economies between 2000 and 2050 would allow few countries in SSA and the LAC region to virtually eliminate hunger within their borders. In these countries, per capita income would be high enough by 2050 to completely offset the negative effect of the weather extreme. The study results are also consistent with USDA׳s estimates on US and global maize production and consumption in 2012 after the weather extreme. Some discrepancy is found on the volume of global maize trade; this implies that the bio-economic model likely overestimates the effect of the

Investigating Food and Agribusiness Corporations as Global Water Security, Management and Governance Agents: The case of Nestlé, Bunge and Cargill

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Suvi Sojamo

2012-10-01

Full Text Available This article investigates the agency of the world’s largest food and agribusiness corporations in global water security via case studies of Nestlé, Bunge and Cargill by analysing their position in the political economy of the world agro-food system and the ways they intentionally and non-intentionally manage and govern water in their value chains and wider networks of influence. The concentrated power of a few corporations in global agro-food value chains and their ability to influence the agro-food market dynamics and networks throughout the world pose asymmetric conditions for reaching not only global food security but also water security. The article will analyse the different forms of power exercised by the corporations in focus in relation to global water security and the emerging transnational water governance regime, and the extent to which their value chain position and stakeholder interaction reflect or drive their actions. Due to their vast infrastructural and technological capacity and major role in the global agro-food political economy, food and agribusiness corporations cannot avoid increasingly engaging, for endogenous and exogenous reasons, in multi-stakeholder initiatives and partnerships to devise methods of managing the agro-food value chains and markets to promote global water security. However, their asymmetric position in relation to their stakeholders demands continuous scrutiny.

Carbon plants nutrition and global food security

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Mariani, Luigi

2017-02-01

To evaluate the effects of carbon nutrition on agricultural productivity, a physiological-process-based crop simulation model, driven by the 1961-1990 monthly climate data from global FAO dataset, was developed and applied to four crops (wheat, maize, rice and soybean -WMRS) which account for 64% of the global caloric consumption of humans. Five different temperatures and CO2 scenarios (current; glacial; pre-industrial; future_1 with 560 ppmv for CO2 and +2 °C for temperature; and future_2 with 800 ppmv for CO2 and +4 °C) were investigated. The relative values of WMRS global productions for past and future scenarios were, respectively, 49% of the present-day scenario for glacial, 82% for pre-industrial, 115% for future_1 and 124% for future_2. A sensitive growth of productivity of future scenarios (respectively to 117% and 134%) was observed if the northward shift of crops was allowed, and a strong increase was obtained without water limitation (from 151% to 157% for the five scenarios) and without biotic and abiotic stresses (from 30% to 40% for WMRS subject to the current scenario). Furthermore since the beginning of the Green Revolution (roughly happened between the '30s and the '50s of the twentieth century) production losses due to sub-optimal levels of CO2 and to biotic and abiotic stresses have been masked by the strong technological innovation trend still ongoing, which, in the last century, led to a strong increase in the global crop production (+400%-600%). These results show the crucial relevance of the future choices of research and development in agriculture (genetics, land reclamation, irrigation, plant protection, and so on) to ensure global food security.

Global Changes and Drivers of the Water Footprint of Food Consumption: A Historical Analysis

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Chen Yang

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Water is one of the most important limiting resources for food production. How much water is needed for food depends on the size of the population, average food consumption patterns and food production per unit of water. These factors show large differences around the world. This paper analyzes sub-continental dynamics of the water footprint of consumption (WFcons for the prevailing diets from 1961 to 2009 using data from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO. The findings show that, in most regions, the water needed to feed one person decreased even if diets became richer, because of the increase in water use efficiency in food production during the past half-century. The logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI decomposition approach is used to analyze the contributions of the major drivers of WFcons for food: population, diet and agricultural practices (output per unit of water. We compare the contributions of these drivers through different subcontinents, and find that population growth still was the major driver behind increasing WFcons for food until now and that potential water savings through agricultural practice improvements were offset by population growth and diet change. The changes of the factors mentioned above were the largest in most developing areas with rapid economic development. With the development of globalization, the international food trade has brought more and more water savings in global water use over time. The results indicate that, in the near future and in many regions, diet change is likely to override population growth as the major driver behind WFcons for food.

Global product development interaction between local networks: A study of the Danish food industry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kristensen, Preben Sander

A study of the Danish foods industry shows that producers of food products largely ignore home marekt demand in their product development activities. They have built up and maintain development of end-user products in interaction with customers in distant sophisticated markets. Concurrently...... view of actors in the global end-user customer market and companies' euclidean view of actors in thelocal business-to-business market. In pr companies combine these two market views by interacting in networks: The global industrial network links various functions which again are each part of a local...... their development of end-user pr through global interaction. It is precisely by not interacting with home market end-user demand, but rather by deriving an industrial home market demand from changing end-user markets that the complex has avoided being insulated....

Achieving sustainable irrigation water withdrawals: global impacts on food security and land use

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Jing; Hertel, Thomas W.; Lammers, Richard B.; Prusevich, Alexander; Baldos, Uris Lantz C.; Grogan, Danielle S.; Frolking, Steve

2017-10-01

Unsustainable water use challenges the capacity of water resources to ensure food security and continued growth of the economy. Adaptation policies targeting future water security can easily overlook its interaction with other sustainability metrics and unanticipated local responses to the larger-scale policy interventions. Using a global partial equilibrium grid-resolving model SIMPLE-G, and coupling it with the global Water Balance Model, we simulate the consequences of reducing unsustainable irrigation for food security, land use change, and terrestrial carbon. A variety of future (2050) scenarios are considered that interact irrigation productivity with two policy interventions— inter-basin water transfers and international commodity market integration. We find that pursuing sustainable irrigation may erode other development and environmental goals due to higher food prices and cropland expansion. This results in over 800 000 more undernourished people and 0.87 GtC additional emissions. Faster total factor productivity growth in irrigated sectors will encourage more aggressive irrigation water use in the basins where irrigation vulnerability is expected to be reduced by inter-basin water transfer. By allowing for a systematic comparison of these alternative adaptations to future irrigation vulnerability, the global gridded modeling approach offers unique insights into the multiscale nature of the water scarcity challenge.

Building a Rice Decision Support System to Support Global Food Security and Commodity Markets, Phase I

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National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Rice is an important crop globally that influences food security and the Earth system. Rice is the predominant food staple in many regions with approximately 700...

Improvements in crop water productivity increase water sustainability and food security—a global analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brauman, Kate A; Foley, Jonathan A; Siebert, Stefan

2013-01-01

Irrigation consumes more water than any other human activity, and thus the challenges of water sustainability and food security are closely linked. To evaluate how water resources are used for food production, we examined global patterns of water productivity—food produced (kcal) per unit of water (l) consumed. We document considerable variability in crop water productivity globally, not only across different climatic zones but also within climatic zones. The least water productive systems are disproportionate freshwater consumers. On precipitation-limited croplands, we found that ∼40% of water consumption goes to production of just 20% of food calories. Because in many cases crop water productivity is well below optimal levels, in many cases farmers have substantial opportunities to improve water productivity. To demonstrate the potential impact of management interventions, we calculated that raising crop water productivity in precipitation-limited regions to the 20th percentile of productivity would increase annual production on rainfed cropland by enough to provide food for an estimated 110 million people, and water consumption on irrigated cropland would be reduced enough to meet the annual domestic water demands of nearly 1.4 billion people. (letter)

Food and pharmaceuticals. Lessons learned from global contaminations with melamine/cyanuric acid and diethylene glycol.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, C A; Brown, S A

2010-01-01

Recently, contamination of pharmaceuticals with diethylene glycol (DEG) and food with melamine and cyanuric acid has demonstrated the impact of globalization on drug and food safety. By examining the details of these outbreaks, some important lessons can be learned. Toxicoses from contaminated food and drugs are often identified only when large numbers of people or animals are affected and numerous deaths result. Populations most at risk are those repeatedly exposed to a single product. Toxicoses may be complex, involving synergism among relatively nontoxic co-contaminants. Although some contamination may occur inadvertently, practices of deliberate contamination of food and drug ingredients may be widespread but escape detection in poorly regulated markets. If this deliberate contamination is motivated by personal financial gain, it is likely to recur and be concealed. The contaminated raw material produced in a poorly regulated market may cross national boundaries and be used in manufacturing processes for numerous products, sometimes in more well-regulated markets. Once in the production chain, contaminated raw materials may be widely disseminated. It is not clear that regulatory organizations have the capacity to identify significant contaminations despite their best efforts. The veterinary and medical communities, in cooperation with regulatory agencies, should develop cooperative programs designed to detect and limit these global outbreaks. Although addressing regional or national outbreaks remains an important role for regulatory agencies, the veterinary and medical communities must develop proactive global approaches to this global problem.

Application of a novel PROMETHEE-based method for construction of a group compromise ranking to prioritization of green suppliers in food supply chain

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Govindan, Kannan; Kadziński, Miłosz; Sivakumar, R.

2017-01-01

green supply chain management (GSCM) elements is essential for utilizing the food supply chain in an environmentally benign way. As a solution to the above challenge, the economic and green characteristics for supplier selection in green purchasing are studied in this paper. For an organization......, the evaluation and selection of the green supplier is a vital issue due to several tangible and intangible criteria involved. Accordingly, we apply multiple criteria decision aiding techniques.We propose a hybrid approach that combines the revised Simos procedure, PROMETHEE methods, algorithms for constructing......The food sector has a prodigious focus and is constantly gaining in importance in today's global economic marketplace. Due to an increasing global population, society faces a greater challenge for sustainable food production, quality, distribution, and food safety in the food supply chain. Adopting...

What Happens to Patterns of Food Consumption when Food Prices Change? Evidence from A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Food Price Elasticities Globally.

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Cornelsen, Laura; Green, Rosemary; Turner, Rachel; Dangour, Alan D; Shankar, Bhavani; Mazzocchi, Mario; Smith, Richard D

2015-12-01

Recent years have seen considerable interest in examining the impact of food prices on food consumption and subsequent health consequences. Fiscal policies targeting the relative price of unhealthy foods are frequently put forward as ways to address the obesity epidemic. Conversely, various food subsidy interventions are used in attempts to reduce levels of under-nutrition. Information on price elasticities is essential for understanding how such changes in food prices affect food consumption. It is crucial to know not only own-price elasticities but also cross-price elasticities, as food substitution patterns may have significant implications for policy recommendations. While own-price elasticities are common in analyses of the impact of food price changes on health, cross-price effects, even though generally acknowledged, are much less frequently included in analyses, especially in the public health literature. This article systematically reviews the global evidence on cross-price elasticities and provides combined estimates for seven food groups in low-income, middle-income and high-income countries alongside previously estimated own-price elasticities. Changes in food prices had the largest own-price effects in low-income countries. Cross-price effects were more varied and depending on country income level were found to be reinforcing, undermining or alleviating own-price effects. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Assisting developing countries toward food self-reliance.

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Herdt, R W

1998-03-03

Per capita food availability in the developing world has increased by 20% since the early 1960s, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization, and today the world has twice as many people but 150 million fewer hungry people than in 1960. The world agricultural system has not done too bad a job over the past 35 years. It is likely that global agricultural production will continue to at least match growth in food demand over the next decade, assuming no major weather anomalies. Continued support of the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research and programs involving U.S. universities is important to sharing knowledge about agriculture with colleagues in the developing world. This paper explores the reasons for providing agricultural development assistance, the benefits to the United States that come from doing so, and the special challenges facing the world over the next few decades.

Strategies of EU agro-food cooperatives to confront globalization: The case of wine cooperatives

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Juan Sebastián Castillo Valero

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Due to globalization and market integration, the agro-food cooperative sector needs to be more competitive. This generates new challenges for cooperative enterprises in the agro-food sector. In this article the analysis of the wine producing sector is undertaken in the area of greatest world-wide wine production and commercialization, Castilla-La Mancha. EU wineries and cooperatives should propose strategic lines within an economy marked by a globalization process in world markets. The paradigmatic case is analyzed in this paper of the comparison of strategies followed by cooperatives confronting capitalist winery enterprises. Therefore, the degree of suitability is aimed to be elucidated and the success of the foundations of international commercial strategies that cooperative enterprises of the sector have followed, depending on their characteristics. Moreover, an exhaustive diagnosis is offered of the current strategic situation of cooperatives and their probability of gaining access to and/or growing in the international market. The parameters that have resulted significant are used as conclusions and recommendations so that cooperatives will reformulate their strategies and the organizations linked to the agro-food sector will know what factors to foment and support in their internationalization and global competitive positioning.

Alternative Food in the Global South: Reflections on a Direct Marketing Initiative in Kenya

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Freidberg, Susanne; Goldstein, Lissa

2011-01-01

Amidst booming scholarship on alternative food networks (AFNs) in the global North, research on AFN in the global South remains scarce. Partly this is because explicitly alternative initiatives are themselves scarce, except for those focused on export markets. Yet in countries such as Kenya, urban consumers and rural smallholders have good reason…

Global food and fibre security threatened by current inefficiencies in fungal identification

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Crous, Pedro W.; Groenewald, Johannes Z.; Slippers, Bernard; Wingfield, Michael J.

2016-01-01

Fungal pathogens severely impact global food and fibre crop security. Fungal species that cause plant diseases have mostly been recognized based on their morphology. In general, morphological descriptions remain disconnected from crucially important knowledge such as mating types, host specificity,

Dependency of global primary bioenergy crop potentials in 2050 on food systems, yields, biodiversity conservation and political stability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Erb, Karl-Heinz; Haberl, Helmut; Plutzar, Christoph

2012-01-01

The future bioenergy crop potential depends on (1) changes in the food system (food demand, agricultural technology), (2) political stability and investment security, (3) biodiversity conservation, (4) avoidance of long carbon payback times from deforestation, and (5) energy crop yields. Using a biophysical biomass-balance model, we analyze how these factors affect global primary bioenergy potentials in 2050. The model calculates biomass supply and demand balances for eleven world regions, eleven food categories, seven food crop types and two livestock categories, integrating agricultural forecasts and scenarios with a consistent global land use and NPP database. The TREND scenario results in a global primary bioenergy potential of 77 EJ/yr, alternative assumptions on food-system changes result in a range of 26–141 EJ/yr. Exclusion of areas for biodiversity conservation and inaccessible land in failed states reduces the bioenergy potential by up to 45%. Optimistic assumptions on future energy crop yields increase the potential by up to 48%, while pessimistic assumptions lower the potential by 26%. We conclude that the design of sustainable bioenergy crop production policies needs to resolve difficult trade-offs such as food vs. energy supply, renewable energy vs. biodiversity conservation or yield growth vs. reduction of environmental problems of intensive agriculture. - Highlights: ► Global energy crop potentials in 2050 are calculated with a biophysical biomass-balance model. ► The study is focused on dedicated energy crops, forestry and residues are excluded. ► Depending on food-system change, global energy crop potentials range from 26–141 EJ/yr. ► Exclusion of protected areas and failed states may reduce the potential up to 45%. ► The bioenergy potential may be 26% lower or 45% higher, depending on energy crop yields.

Innovations in food technology for health.

Science.gov (United States)

Hsieh, Yun-Hwa Peggy; Ofori, Jack Appiah

2007-01-01

Modern nutritional science is providing ever more information on the functions and mechanisms of specific food components in health promotion and/or disease prevention. In response to demands from increasingly health conscious consumers, the global trend is for food industries to translate nutritional information into consumer reality by developing food products that provide not only superior sensory appeal but also nutritional and health benefits. Today's busy life styles are also driving the development of healthy convenience foods. Recent innovations in food technologies have led to the use of many traditional technologies, such as fermentation, extraction, encapsulation, fat replacement, and enzyme technology, to produce new health food ingredients, reduce or remove undesirable food components, add specific nutrient or functional ingredients, modify food compositions, mask undesirable flavors or stabilize ingredients. Modern biotechnology has even revolutionized the way foods are created. Recent discoveries in gene science are making it possible to manipulate the components in natural foods. In combination with biofermentation, desirable natural compounds can now be produced in large amounts at a low cost and with little environmental impact. Nanotechnology is also beginning to find potential applications in the area of food and agriculture. Although the use of new technologies in the production of health foods is often a cause for concern, the possibility that innovative food technology will allow us to produce a wide variety of food with enhanced flavor and texture, while at the same time conferring multiple health benefits on the consumer, is very exciting.

From famine to food crisis: what history can teach us about local and global subsistence crises.

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Vanhaute, Eric

2011-01-01

The number of famine prone regions in the world has been shrinking for centuries. It is currently mainly limited to sub-Saharan Africa. Yet the impact of endemic hunger has not declined and the early twenty-first century seems to be faced with a new threat: global subsistence crises. In this essay I question the concepts of famine and food crisis from different analytical angles: historical and contemporary famine research, food regime theory, and peasant studies. I will argue that only a more integrated historical framework of analysis can surpass dualistic interpretations grounded in Eurocentric modernization paradigms. This article successively debates historical and contemporary famine research, the contemporary food regime and the new global food crisis, the lessons from Europe's 'grand escape' from hunger, and the peasantry and 'depeasantization' as central analytical concepts. Dualistic histories of food and famine have been dominating developmentalist stories for too long. This essay shows how a blending of historical and contemporary famine research, food regime theory and new peasant studies can foster a more integrated perspective.

Vitamin D Deficiency in Europeans Today and in Viking Settlers of Greenland.

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Göring, H; Koshuchowa, S

2016-12-01

The vast majority of the Earth's population lives between the 20th and 40th parallel north and south. It seems that right here humans have found the best living conditions relating not only to temperature and food recourses, but also to UV radiation necessary for the production of vitamin D by human skin. An exception to this general rule is Europe. Nearly half a billion people live between the 40th and 60th parallel north of the equator despite the fact that the amounts of UV radiation there are much lower. Moreover, since the time of the Vikings, there has always been a part of the European population that lived even further north than the 60th parallel (the northern parts of Europe, including Greenland). In this work, we present the potential role that vitamin D deficiency might have played in the extinction of the Vikings of Greenland. We analyze factors that contribute to the discrepancy between the theoretical distribution of areas with vitamin D deficiency and today's reality, like the impact of civilization, religious traditions, as well as vitamin D supplementation in food products and as a biologically active dietary additive. The global migration of people on a scale and speed never seen before is now even more important for this discrepancy.

Responding to global challenges in food, energy, environment and water: Risks and options assessment for decision-making

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Grafton, Quentin; Ansink, Erik

2016-01-01

We analyse the threats of global environmental change, as they relate to food security. First, we review three discourses: (i) ‘sustainable intensification’, or the increase of food supplies without compromising food producing inputs, such as soils and water; (ii) the ‘nexus’ that seeks to

African perspectives on the need for global harmonisation of food safety regulations.

Science.gov (United States)

Anelich, Lucia E C M

2014-08-01

Africa is a large continent consisting of 54 countries at different levels of development and reflecting numerous diverse cultures. Africa's agricultural potential is largely untapped, with approximately 60% of the world's non-cultivated arable land found in sub-Saharan Africa. Excluding South Africa, which is the largest economy in Africa and which has a well-established food sector with a substantial export market, economies in sub-Saharan Africa have been steadily growing at over 5% per annum. Whilst most African countries face many challenges, including weak infrastructure as well as political and economic instability, many changes are occurring, one of these being identifying specific commodities in a particular country which warrant substantial investment for growth into export opportunities. These opportunities create an immediate need for development of food standards, including food safety standards, based on scientific principles to enable regional and international trade in food, thereby assisting in ensuring Africa's role in the global food economy. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry.

Soil erosion, climate change and global food security: challenges and strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Rhodes, Christopher J

2014-01-01

An overview is presented of the determined degree of global land degradation (principally occurring through soil erosion), with some consideration of its possible impact on global food security. Most determinations of the extent of land degradation (e.g. GLASOD) have been made on the basis of "expert judgement" and perceptions, as opposed to direct measurements of this multifactorial phenomenon. More recently, remote sensing measurements have been made which indicate that while some regions of the Earth are "browning" others are "greening". The latter effect is thought to be due to fertilisation of the growth of biomass by increasing levels of atmospheric CO2, and indeed the total amount of global biomass was observed to increase by 3.8% during the years 1981-2003. Nonetheless, 24% of the Earth's surface had occasioned some degree of degradation in the same time period. It appears that while long-term trends in NDVI (normalised difference vegetation index) derivatives are only broad indicators of land degradation, taken as a proxy, the NDVI/NPP (net primary productivity) trend is able to yield a benchmark that is globally consistent and to illuminate regions in which biologically significant changes are occurring. Thus, attention may be directed to where investigation and action at the ground level is required, i.e. to potential "hot spots" of land degradation and/or erosion. The severity of land degradation through soil erosion, and an according catastrophic threat to the survival of humanity may in part have been overstated, although the rising human population will impose inexorable demands for what the soil can provide. However the present system of industrialised agriculture would not be possible without plentiful provisions of cheap crude oil and natural gas to supply fuels, pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers. It is only on the basis of these inputs that it has been possible for the human population to rise above 7 billion. Hence, if the cheap oil and gas

Nicotine yesterday, today, and tomorrow: a global review.

Science.gov (United States)

Gray, Nigel J

2014-02-01

This intentionally selective global review reflects the views and frustrations of a public health physician with 45 years of frontline experience in tobacco control. In particular, it focuses on the nexus between research and policy and the long periods between relevant discoveries and application as policy. Consideration is given to the relative neglect of the possibility of reducing the carcinogenicity and toxicity of the cigarette on the grounds that it is the preferred source of nicotine for the global majority of nicotine users. Although the outcome of such change is unquantifiable, there is much in cigarette smoke that can be changed to make it less carcinogenic and less toxic. It is difficult to think of excuses for accepting the status quo.

Mexico and the food self-sufficiency (six-year period 2006 -2012

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alba Rosa Rivera de la Rosa

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Today, Mexico challenges a globalization trend where richer countries export basic products to developing countries, generating a food crisis that negatively affect the medium-small producers. For this reason, it is important to study the behavior of the food market (exports and imports, since the current Mexican development model does not achieve that food security be a national policy guaranteeing the provision of food for the entire population. Specifically, this article analyses the performance of the food situation during the six–year period 2006-2012, studying three basic foods for Mexican population (maize, bean, wheat and others strategic food like sugar, sorghum and soy. In addition, it analyzes the performance of harvesting and sowing surface, exports and imports. Results indicated that the three main foods showed had high import growth rates decreasing national harvest and sowing surface, with a trade balance deficit during the six-year period studied. The conclusion is that the local producers need a change in the production dynamics and play a strategic role in the food production with new sustainable alternatives.

Food crises, food regimes and food movements: rumblings of reform or tides of transformation?

Science.gov (United States)

Holt Giménez, Eric; Shattuck, Annie

2011-01-01

This article addresses the potential for food movements to bring about substantive changes to the current global food system. After describing the current corporate food regime, we apply Karl Polanyi's 'double-movement' thesis on capitalism to explain the regime's trends of neoliberalism and reform. Using the global food crisis as a point of departure, we introduce a comparative analytical framework for different political and social trends within the corporate food regime and global food movements, characterizing them as 'Neoliberal', 'Reformist', 'Progressive', and 'Radical', respectively, and describe each trend based on its discourse, model, and key actors, approach to the food crisis, and key documents. After a discussion of class, political permeability, and tensions within the food movements, we suggest that the current food crisis offers opportunities for strategic alliances between Progressive and Radical trends within the food movement. We conclude that while the food crisis has brought a retrenchment of neoliberalization and weak calls for reform, the worldwide growth of food movements directly and indirectly challenge the legitimacy and hegemony of the corporate food regime. Regime change will require sustained pressure from a strong global food movement, built on durable alliances between Progressive and Radical trends.

Grave New World? Workplace Skills for Today's College Graduates

Science.gov (United States)

Eisner, Susan

2010-01-01

Today's college graduates face an uncertain and demanding job market in which they are likely to encounter evolving skill needs, reduced hiring, and heightened competition from experienced laid off workers and globally available labor. These realities underscore the importance expressed by educators and practitioners of identifying attributes new…

Global health issues of aflatoxins in food and agriculture: challenges and opportunities

Science.gov (United States)

This special research topic eBOOK contains six review articles, three mini reviews and four original research articles. It opens up exciting perspectives on global health issues related to aflatoxins in the food chain and on the development of suitable strategies for preventing toxigenic fungal grow...

A City and National Metric measuring Isolation from the Global Market for Food Security Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Molly E.; Silver, Kirk Coleman; Rajagopalan, Krishnan

2013-01-01

The World Bank has invested in infrastructure in developing countries for decades. This investment aims to reduce the isolation of markets, reducing both seasonality and variability in food availability and food prices. Here we combine city market price data, global distance to port, and country infrastructure data to create a new Isolation Index for countries and cities around the world. Our index quantifies the isolation of a city from the global market. We demonstrate that an index built at the country level can be applied at a sub-national level to quantify city isolation. In doing so, we offer policy makers with an alternative metric to assess food insecurity. We compare our isolation index with other indices and economic data found in the literature.We show that our Index measures economic isolation regardless of economic stability using correlation and analysis

Food security and sustainability: can one exist without the other?

Science.gov (United States)

Berry, Elliot M; Dernini, Sandro; Burlingame, Barbara; Meybeck, Alexandre; Conforti, Piero

2015-09-01

To position the concept of sustainability within the context of food security. An overview of the interrelationships between food security and sustainability based on a non-systematic literature review and informed discussions based principally on a quasi-historical approach from meetings and reports. International and global food security and nutrition. The Rome Declaration on World Food Security in 1996 defined its three basic dimensions as: availability, accessibility and utilization, with a focus on nutritional well-being. It also stressed the importance of sustainable management of natural resources and the elimination of unsustainable patterns of food consumption and production. In 2009, at the World Summit on Food Security, the concept of stability/vulnerability was added as the short-term time indicator of the ability of food systems to withstand shocks, whether natural or man-made, as part of the Five Rome Principles for Sustainable Global Food Security. More recently, intergovernmental processes have emphasized the importance of sustainability to preserve the environment, natural resources and agro-ecosystems (and thus the overlying social system), as well as the importance of food security as part of sustainability and vice versa. Sustainability should be considered as part of the long-term time dimension in the assessment of food security. From such a perspective the concept of sustainable diets can play a key role as a goal and a way of maintaining nutritional well-being and health, while ensuring the sustainability for future food security. Without integrating sustainability as an explicit (fifth?) dimension of food security, today's policies and programmes could become the very cause of increased food insecurity in the future.

The Global Food System as a Transport Pathway for Hazardous Chemicals: The Missing Link between Emissions and Exposure

OpenAIRE

Ng, Carla A.; von Goetz, Natalie

2016-01-01

Background: Food is a major pathway for human exposure to hazardous chemicals. The modern food system is becoming increasingly complex and globalized, but models for food-borne exposure typically assume locally derived diets or use concentrations directly measured in foods without accounting for food origin. Such approaches may not reflect actual chemical intakes because concentrations depend on food origin, and representative analysis is seldom available. Processing, packaging, storage, and ...

Dependency of global primary bioenergy crop potentials in 2050 on food systems, yields, biodiversity conservation and political stability.

Science.gov (United States)

Erb, Karl-Heinz; Haberl, Helmut; Plutzar, Christoph

2012-08-01

The future bioenergy crop potential depends on (1) changes in the food system (food demand, agricultural technology), (2) political stability and investment security, (3) biodiversity conservation, (4) avoidance of long carbon payback times from deforestation, and (5) energy crop yields. Using a biophysical biomass-balance model, we analyze how these factors affect global primary bioenergy potentials in 2050. The model calculates biomass supply and demand balances for eleven world regions, eleven food categories, seven food crop types and two livestock categories, integrating agricultural forecasts and scenarios with a consistent global land use and NPP database. The TREND scenario results in a global primary bioenergy potential of 77 EJ/yr, alternative assumptions on food-system changes result in a range of 26-141 EJ/yr. Exclusion of areas for biodiversity conservation and inaccessible land in failed states reduces the bioenergy potential by up to 45%. Optimistic assumptions on future energy crop yields increase the potential by up to 48%, while pessimistic assumptions lower the potential by 26%. We conclude that the design of sustainable bioenergy crop production policies needs to resolve difficult trade-offs such as food vs. energy supply, renewable energy vs. biodiversity conservation or yield growth vs. reduction of environmental problems of intensive agriculture.

It is desirable allocative function of the food market in a global economy?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leon Rodriguez, Nohra

2008-01-01

This article brings forth the free market influence on product patterns, agricultural output quantities and prices in the global economy? casting doubt over the allocative efficiency of markets and intending to outline some risks brought on by excessive reliance on free markets regarding consumer welfare, food security and negative impact on the environment and sustainable economic growth. As the main analytic element it is presented the preeminence of agricultural food multinational producers, as well as the scale of their influence in terms of product supply and commercialization, responding exclusively to profit maximization incentives without taking into account their role in terms of food nutrition patterns and production

Food security and women's roles in Moroccan Berber (Amazigh) society today.

Science.gov (United States)

Belahsen, Rekia; Naciri, Kaoutar; El Ibrahimi, Abdennacer

2017-11-01

Traditionally, the Berber diet was part of a semiautarkic economy. The suitability of the diet to the regional ecosystem has guaranteed food security for the Berber tribes of Morocco and other countries of North Africa. As part of a patriarchal model, Berber dietary patterns are historically embedded in a social system where women's and men's roles are complementary at all stages of food production, processing, and conservation. Women have played a dominant role in the conservation of Berber dietary patterns through the preservation of biodiverse seeds and local varieties, the transmission of the Berber language through generations, and the sharing of knowledge on food, medicinal plants, and cultural practices related to diet and food security. Political, social, demographic, economic, and cultural factors have affected the Berber dietary model and the role of women in its preservation. The shift from a semiautarkic traditional model to a model within a market economy has led to food importation, the erosion of culinary components such as wild edible plants and dietary homogenization. Despite these changes and the associated nutrition transition, the Berber diet remains a cultural heritage because of its rich diversity. Berber women play a crucial role in the preservation and sustainability of Berber culinary heritage and food security. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Implications of food insecurity on global health policy and nursing practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Kregg-Byers, Claudia M; Schlenk, Elizabeth A

2010-09-01

The purpose is to discuss the concept of food insecurity (FI) and its impact on current global health policy and nursing practice. Food insecurity. Literature review. FI means a nonsustainable food system that interferes with optimal self-reliance and social justice. Individuals experiencing FI lack nutritionally adequate and safe foods in their diet. Resources play a significant role in FI by affecting whether or not people obtain culturally, socially acceptable food through regular marketplace sources as opposed to severe coping strategies, such as emergency food sources, scavenging, and stealing. Persons who are living in poverty, female heads of household, single parents, people living with many siblings, landless people, migrants, immigrants, and those living in certain geographical regions constitute populations at risk and most vulnerable to FI. FI influences economics through annual losses of gross domestic product due to reduced human productivity. FI affects individuals and households and is largely an unobservable condition, making data collection and analysis challenging. Policy and research have focused on macronutrient sufficiency and deprivation, making it difficult to draw attention and research dollars to FI. Persons experiencing FI exhibit clinical signs such as less healthy diets, poor health status, poor diabetes and chronic disease management, and impaired cognitive function. Nurses can recognize the physical, psychosocial, and personal consequences that those with FI face and manage daily.

Global warming and obesity: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

An, R; Ji, M; Zhang, S

2018-02-01

Global warming and the obesity epidemic are two unprecedented challenges mankind faces today. A literature search was conducted in the PubMed, Web of Science, EBSCO and Scopus for articles published until July 2017 that reported findings on the relationship between global warming and the obesity epidemic. Fifty studies were identified. Topic-wise, articles were classified into four relationships - global warming and the obesity epidemic are correlated because of common drivers (n = 21); global warming influences the obesity epidemic (n = 13); the obesity epidemic influences global warming (n = 13); and global warming and the obesity epidemic influence each other (n = 3). We constructed a conceptual model linking global warming and the obesity epidemic - the fossil fuel economy, population growth and industrialization impact land use and urbanization, motorized transportation and agricultural productivity and consequently influences global warming by excess greenhouse gas emission and the obesity epidemic by nutrition transition and physical inactivity; global warming also directly impacts obesity by food supply/price shock and adaptive thermogenesis, and the obesity epidemic impacts global warming by the elevated energy consumption. Policies that endorse deployment of clean and sustainable energy sources, and urban designs that promote active lifestyles, are likely to alleviate the societal burden of global warming and obesity. © 2017 World Obesity Federation.

The Challenge of Globalization: Preparing Teachers for a Global Age

Science.gov (United States)

Merryfield, Merry M.

2008-01-01

Globalization changes everything. When young people affect and are affected by issues, changes, and events across the world, they need to be given the tools to participate in global discourse and decision making. With their incredible consumer power, today's preK-12 students are already influencing global economic, technological, and environmental…

Effects of Climate Change on Global Food Production from SRES Emissions and Socioeconomic Scenarios

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Effects of Climate Change on Global Food Production from SRES Emissions and Socioeconomic Scenarios is an update to a major crop modeling study by the NASA Goddard...

Ancient Clam Gardens Increased Shellfish Production: Adaptive Strategies from the Past Can Inform Food Security Today

Science.gov (United States)

Groesbeck, Amy S.; Rowell, Kirsten; Lepofsky, Dana; Salomon, Anne K.

2014-01-01

Maintaining food production while sustaining productive ecosystems is among the central challenges of our time, yet, it has been for millennia. Ancient clam gardens, intertidal rock-walled terraces constructed by humans during the late Holocene, are thought to have improved the growing conditions for clams. We tested this hypothesis by comparing the beach slope, intertidal height, and biomass and density of bivalves at replicate clam garden and non-walled clam beaches in British Columbia, Canada. We also quantified the variation in growth and survival rates of littleneck clams (Leukoma staminea) we experimentally transplanted across these two beach types. We found that clam gardens had significantly shallower slopes than non-walled beaches and greater densities of L. staminea and Saxidomus giganteus, particularly at smaller size classes. Overall, clam gardens contained 4 times as many butter clams and over twice as many littleneck clams relative to non-walled beaches. As predicted, this relationship varied as a function of intertidal height, whereby clam density and biomass tended to be greater in clam gardens compared to non-walled beaches at relatively higher intertidal heights. Transplanted juvenile L. staminea grew 1.7 times faster and smaller size classes were more likely to survive in clam gardens than non-walled beaches, specifically at the top and bottom of beaches. Consequently, we provide strong evidence that ancient clam gardens likely increased clam productivity by altering the slope of soft-sediment beaches, expanding optimal intertidal clam habitat, thereby enhancing growing conditions for clams. These results reveal how ancient shellfish aquaculture practices may have supported food security strategies in the past and provide insight into tools for the conservation, management, and governance of intertidal seascapes today. PMID:24618748

Food and Population: A Global Concern [and] The Paradoxes of World Hunger.

Science.gov (United States)

Murphy, Elaine M.

1984-01-01

Student and teacher materials are provided for a secondary unit on world hunger. The student materials are contained in a module entitled "Food and Population: A Global Concern," distributed with the newsletter "Interchange." The teacher materials are contained in the issue of the newsletter itself, subtitled "The Paradoxes of World Hunger." A…

Global trends in antimicrobial use in food animals

Science.gov (United States)

Van Boeckel, Thomas P.; Brower, Charles; Gilbert, Marius; Grenfell, Bryan T.; Levin, Simon A.; Robinson, Timothy P.; Teillant, Aude; Laxminarayan, Ramanan

2015-01-01

Demand for animal protein for human consumption is rising globally at an unprecedented rate. Modern animal production practices are associated with regular use of antimicrobials, potentially increasing selection pressure on bacteria to become resistant. Despite the significant potential consequences for antimicrobial resistance, there has been no quantitative measurement of global antimicrobial consumption by livestock. We address this gap by using Bayesian statistical models combining maps of livestock densities, economic projections of demand for meat products, and current estimates of antimicrobial consumption in high-income countries to map antimicrobial use in food animals for 2010 and 2030. We estimate that the global average annual consumption of antimicrobials per kilogram of animal produced was 45 mg⋅kg−1, 148 mg⋅kg−1, and 172 mg⋅kg−1 for cattle, chicken, and pigs, respectively. Starting from this baseline, we estimate that between 2010 and 2030, the global consumption of antimicrobials will increase by 67%, from 63,151 ± 1,560 tons to 105,596 ± 3,605 tons. Up to a third of the increase in consumption in livestock between 2010 and 2030 is imputable to shifting production practices in middle-income countries where extensive farming systems will be replaced by large-scale intensive farming operations that routinely use antimicrobials in subtherapeutic doses. For Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, the increase in antimicrobial consumption will be 99%, up to seven times the projected population growth in this group of countries. Better understanding of the consequences of the uninhibited growth in veterinary antimicrobial consumption is needed to assess its potential effects on animal and human health. PMID:25792457

Against Globalization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Philipsen, Lotte; Baggesgaard, Mads Anders

2013-01-01

In order to understand globalization, we need to consider what globalization is not. That is, in order to understand the mechanisms and elements that work toward globalization, we must, in a sense, read against globalization, highlighting the limitations of the concept and its inherent conflicts....... Only by employing this as a critical practice will we be analytically able to gain a dynamic understanding of the forces of globalization as they unfold today and as they have developed historically....

Fashioning a New Regime for Agricultural Trade: New Issues and the Global Food Crisis

OpenAIRE

Thomas J. Schoenbaum

2011-01-01

This article examines the impact of issues such as the global food crisis, export controls on agricultural products, and food security on the agricultural trade negotiations currently underway in connection with the Doha Development Agenda convened by the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001. These important issues, which were not foreseen when the negotiations began, must now be squarely faced. Many international organizations, such as the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, t...

The water-energy-food nexus of biofuels in a globalized world

Science.gov (United States)

D'Odorico, P.; Rulli, M. C.

2016-12-01

New renewable energy policies, investment opportunities, and energy security needs, have recently led to an escalation in the reliance on first generation biofuels. This phenomenon is contributing to changes in land use, market dynamics, property rights, and systems of agricultural production, with important impacts on rural livelihoods. Despite these effects of biofuels on food security, their nexus with land and water use remains poorly understood. We investigate recent production trends of bioenergy crops, their patterns of trade, and evaluate the associated displacement of water and land use. We find that bioethanol is produced with domestic crops while biodiesel production relies also on international trade and large scale land acquisitions in the developing world, particularly in Southeast Asia. Altogether, biofuels account for about 2-3% of the global water and land use in agriculture, and 30% of the food required to eradicate malnourishment worldwide. We evaluate the food-energy tradeoffs of biofuels and their impact of the number of people the plant can feed.

THE EARNINGS PER SHARE AND INVENTORY TURNOVER RATIOS IN THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY FOR FOOD AND TEXTILE SECTORS IN ISTANBUL STOCK EXCHANGE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sudi APAK

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The ongoing financial crisis in the global markets, which originated in the US subprime mortgage segment (real estate and quickly spread into other market segments and countries, is already seen today as one of the biggest financial crises in history. Underlying the subprime crisis had essentially two interrelated factors; the boom in US real estate markets, and the high liquidity demand in the global financial markets. The later period was, in turn, fuelled by the significant easing of US monetary policy over an extended period of time and by the additional boost to global liquidity as many emerging markets had tied their exchange rates to the US dollar and therefore had to match the expansive US monetary policy. The occurrence of market crash or financial crisis is possible key factor of earning per share (EPS and inventory turnover ratios (ITR inefficiency. This paper empirically investigates that the effects of the current financial crisis on the efficiency -earning per share (EPS and inventory turnover ratios- listed food and textile companies in Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE. The EPS and inventory turnover ratios, applying the multivariate test statistics for the two sub-periods of pre-crisis and the crisis time. The article proceeds in the following manner. Firstly, the study will explain main reasons of global financial crises. Secondly the study will analyze all EPS and inventory turnover ratios changing are of related companies. Finally, that will be argued for adjustment of related ratios of sectors.

Technological Implications of Supply Chain Practices in Agri-Food Sector: A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rahul Mor

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Today, the global business environment compels enterprises to consider rest of the world in their competitive strategy analysis where firms ignore external factors such as economic trends, competitive positions or technology advancement in other countries. While going truly global with supply chain management, a company develops product in the United States, produce in India and trade in Europe, and they have changed the traditional operation management & logistical activities. This change in trade and the modernization of transport infrastructures have elevated the importance of flow management to new levels. Manufacturers and researchers have noticed many problems concerning supply chain activities, and usually either a system or subcomponent in supply chains is discussed in the literature, but they fails to answer the rational (why, what, how behind them. This paper addresses a review of the principles, bottlenecks and strategies of supply chain practices for organizations with an emphasis on the implications of Indian agri-food sector. Findings of this review reveal that the human & environmental issues, improved product visibility, food safety/quality and the associated economic benefits in sustainable agri-food supply chains can be achieved through innovation, collaboration, elimination of uncertainties and introducing global SCM practices into green & lean initiatives.

Food Footprints: Global diet preferences and the land required to sustain them

Science.gov (United States)

Cassidy, E. S.; Gerber, J. S.; Foley, J. A.

2011-12-01

Agricultural land occupies approximately 4.9 billion hectares of the earth's surface. The amount of land that is required to feed a person differs globally, however, dependent mainly on diet. Diets dense in grain-fed animal protein require more land than plant-based diets in order to supply the same quantity of calories and protein. As the world's population becomes more affluent, more animal products will be demanded of the food system. In this presentation, I will discuss how diet preferences differ globally and how these preferences translate to the amount of cropland needed to sustain them.

Comparing supply-side specifications in models of global agriculture and the food system

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Robinson, S.; Meijl, van J.C.M.; Willenbockel, D.; Valin, H.; Fujimori, S.; Masui, T.; Sands, R.; Wise, M.; Calvin, K.V.; Mason d'Croz, D.; Tabeau, A.A.; Kavallari, A.; Schmitz, C.; Dietrich, J.P.; Lampe, von M.

2014-01-01

This article compares the theoretical and functional specification of production in partial equilibrium (PE) and computable general equilibrium (CGE) models of the global agricultural and food system included in the AgMIP model comparison study. The two model families differ in their scope—partial

Unraveling the nexus between water and food security in Latin America and the Caribbean: regional and global implications

Science.gov (United States)

Willaarts, Barbara; Garrido, Alberto; Soriano, Barbara; De Stefano, Lucia; López Gunn, Elena; Aldaya, Maite; Martínez-Santos, Pedro; Llamas, Ramon

2014-05-01

Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC) is a water and land abundant region, and plays a key role in meeting global food and water security. During the last decade, LAC has experience a rapid socio-economic growth, largely sustained by its competitive advantage in the production and exports of agricultural and mining products and by the high commodity prices in the global market. This study seeks to quantify the contribution of LAC's agriculture to global food and water security, i.e. virtual water trade, and evaluate the environmental and societal implications for regional development. Results show that between 2000 and 2011, LAC has increase its agricultural production 27%, and it now accounts for nearly 18% of the global agricultural market. As a result, the agricultural water footprint (WF) of LAC was augmented 65%; and yet, nearly 19% to 44% of the actual agricultural WF - depending on the countries - is virtual water exported to third countries. In fact, almost 50% of the increase in global virtual water trade during the last decade, corresponds to LAC. Such global contribution has significant implications for regional water and food security. From an environmental perspective, crop expansion (mostly rain-fed) resulted in the deforestation of nearly 1 million km2, turning this region into the second most important deforestation hotspots worldwide. This land clearing is having large impacts of ecosystem services, e.g. carbon sequestration, water quality or biodiversity conservation. From a socio-economic perspective, increasing agricultural production has improved regional food security indicators, although one every seven children is still stunted in LAC and nearly 10% of the population remains undernourished. Dietary shifts and socio-cultural factors also lag behind the growing problem of malnutrition in the region, i.e. overweight and obesity. Improvements of water access and sanitation, have had a positive impact on food security indicators, especially

The Spanish Food Industry on Global Supply Chains and Its Impact on Water Resources

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rosa Duarte

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The study of the impact of economic activities on natural resources through global supply chains is increasingly demanded in the context of the growing globalization of economies and product fragmentation. Taking Spain as a case study and a sector with significant economic and environmental impacts, the agri-food industry, the objective of this work is two-fold. First, we estimate the associated water impact, both from the production and consumption perspectives, paying special attention to the water embodied in production exchanges among countries and sectors. To that aim, we use an environmentally-extended multiregional input-output model (MRIO. Second, we assess the main driving factors behind changes in direct and embodied water consumption between the years 1995 and 2009 by means of a structural decomposition analysis. The MRIO model provides a comprehensive estimate of the economic linkages among regions and economic sectors and, therefore, allows calculating the environmental impacts over international value chains. The results indicate that the food industry exerts large impacts on global water resources, particularly given the remarkable interactions with the domestic and foreign agricultural sectors, These growing linkages show how consumption patterns, and, therefore, lifestyles, involve large environmental impacts through the whole and global supply chains.

Global land and water grabbing for food and bioenergy

Science.gov (United States)

Rulli, M. C.; D'Odorico, P.

2014-12-01

The increasing demand for food, fibers and biofuels, the consequently escalating prices of agricultural products, and the uncertainty of international food markets have recently drawn the attention of governments and corporations toward investments in productive agricultural land, mostly in developing countries. Since 2000 more than 37 million hectares of arable land have been purchased or leased by foreign investors worldwide. The targeted regions are typically located in areas where crop yields are relatively low because of lack of modern technology. It is expected that in the long run large scale investments in agriculture and the consequent development of commercial farming will bring the technology required to close the existing crop yield gaps. Recently, a number of studies and reports have documented the process of foreign land acquisition, while the associated appropriation of land based resources (e.g., water and crops) has remained poorly investigated. The amount of food this land can produce and the number of people it could feed still needs to be quantified. It is also unclear to what extent the acquired land will be used to for biofuel production and the role played by U.S. and E.U. bioenergy policies as drivers of the ongoing land rush. The environmental impacts of these investments in agriculture require adequate investigation. Here we provide a global quantitative assessment of the rates of water and crop appropriation potentially associated with large scale land acquisitions. We evaluate the associated impacts on the food and energy security of both target and investors' countries, and highlight the societal and environmental implications of the land rush phenomenon.

Women in engineering conference: capitalizing on today`s challenges

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Metz, S.S.; Martins, S.M. [eds.

1996-06-01

This document contains the conference proceedings of the Women in Engineering Conference: Capitalizing on Today`s Challenges, held June 1-4, 1996 in Denver, Colorado. Topics included engineering and science education, career paths, workplace issues, and affirmative action.

Global dynamics in a stoichiometric food chain model with two limiting nutrients.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Ming; Fan, Meng; Kuang, Yang

2017-07-01

Ecological stoichiometry studies the balance of energy and multiple chemical elements in ecological interactions to establish how the nutrient content affect food-web dynamics and nutrient cycling in ecosystems. In this study, we formulate a food chain with two limiting nutrients in the form of a stoichiometric population model. A comprehensive global analysis of the rich dynamics of the targeted model is explored both analytically and numerically. Chaotic dynamic is observed in this simple stoichiometric food chain model and is compared with traditional model without stoichiometry. The detailed comparison reveals that stoichiometry can reduce the parameter space for chaotic dynamics. Our findings also show that decreasing producer production efficiency may have only a small effect on the consumer growth but a more profound impact on the top predator growth. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Recipe for a Better Tomorrow: A Food Industry Perspective on Sustainability and Our Food System

Science.gov (United States)

Wasserman, Arlin

2009-01-01

The food and agriculture sector is central to efforts to improve public health today and protect and restore natural systems necessary to support good health in the future. The sector has a greater direct impact on land and water resources, employment, and economic activity than any other. And, from a finite resource base, it is underpinning not only food and fiber production but is increasingly relied upon to provide the raw materials for energy, building materials, packaging, and nonfood consumable products. This commentary reviews consumer attitudes and the transformational changes required in the food and agriculture sector to meet today's needs and ensure a better tomorrow. PMID:23144679

Recipe for a Better Tomorrow: A Food Industry Perspective on Sustainability and Our Food System.

Science.gov (United States)

Wasserman, Arlin

2009-07-01

The food and agriculture sector is central to efforts to improve public health today and protect and restore natural systems necessary to support good health in the future. The sector has a greater direct impact on land and water resources, employment, and economic activity than any other. And, from a finite resource base, it is underpinning not only food and fiber production but is increasingly relied upon to provide the raw materials for energy, building materials, packaging, and nonfood consumable products. This commentary reviews consumer attitudes and the transformational changes required in the food and agriculture sector to meet today's needs and ensure a better tomorrow.

Facets of Nanotechnology as Seen in Food Processing, Packaging, and Preservation Industry.

Science.gov (United States)

Pradhan, Neha; Singh, Surjit; Ojha, Nupur; Shrivastava, Anamika; Barla, Anil; Rai, Vivek; Bose, Sutapa

2015-01-01

Nanotechnology has proven its competence in almost all possible fields we are aware of. However, today nanotechnology has evolved in true sense by contributing to a very large extent to the food industry. With the growing number of mouths to feed, production of food is not adequate. It has to be preserved in order to reach to the masses on a global scale. Nanotechnology made the idea a reality by increasing the shelf life of different kinds of food materials. It is not an entirely full-proof measure; however it has brought down the extent of wastage of food due to microbial infestation. Not only fresh food but also healthier food is being designed with the help of nano-delivery systems which act as a carrier for the food supplements. There are regulations to follow however as several of them pose serious threats to the wellbeing of the population. In coming days, newer modes of safeguarding food are going to be developed with the help of nanotechnology. In this paper, an overview has been given of the different methods of food processing, packaging, and preservation techniques and the role nanotechnology plays in the food processing, packaging, and preservation industry.

Doing global science a guide to responsible conduct in the global research enterprise

CERN Document Server

InterAcademy Partnership

2016-01-01

This concise introductory guide explains the values that should inform the responsible conduct of scientific research in today's global setting. Featuring accessible discussions and ample real-world scenarios, Doing Global Science covers proper conduct, fraud and bias, the researcher's responsibilities to society, communication with the public, and much more. The book places special emphasis on the international and highly networked environment in which modern research is done, presenting science as an enterprise that is being transformed by globalization, interdisciplinary research projects, team science, and information technologies. Accessibly written by an InterAcademy Partnership committee comprised of leading scientists from around the world, Doing Global Science is required reading for students, practitioners, and anyone concerned about the responsible conduct of science today.

Facing global environmental change. Environmental, human, energy, food, health and water security concepts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brauch, Hans Guenter [Freie Univ. Berlin (Germany). Dept. of Political and Social Sciences; United Nations Univ., Bonn (DE). Inst. for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS); AFES-Press, Mosbach (Germany); Oswald Spring, Ursula [National Univ. of Mexico (UNAM), Cuernavaca, MOR (MX). Centro Regional de Investigaciones Multidiscipinarias (CRIM); United Nations Univ., Bonn (DE). Inst. for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS); Grin, John [Amsterdam Univ. (Netherlands). Amsterdam School for Social Science Research; Mesjasz, Czeslaw [Cracow Univ. of Economics (Poland). Faculty of Management; Kameri-Mbote, Patricia [Nairobi Univ. (Kenya). School of Law; International Environmental Law Research Centre, Nairobi (Kenya); Behera, Navnita Chadha [Jamia Millia Islamia Univ., New Delhi (India). Nelson Mandela Center for Peace and Conflict Resolution; Chourou, Bechir [Tunis-Carthage Univ., Hammam-Chatt (Tunisia); Krummenacher, Heinz (eds.) [swisspeace, Bern (Switzerland). FAST International

2009-07-01

This policy-focused, global and multidisciplinary security handbook on Facing Global Environmental Change addresses new security threats of the 21st century posed by climate change, desertification, water stress, population growth and urbanization. These security dangers and concerns lead to migration, crises and conflicts. They are on the agenda of the UN, OECD, OSCE, NATO and EU. In 100 chapters, 132 authors from 49 countries analyze the global debate on environmental, human and gender, energy, food, livelihood, health and water security concepts and policy problems. In 10 parts they discuss the context and the securitization of global environmental change and of extreme natural and societal outcomes. They suggest a new research programme to move from knowledge to action, from reactive to proactive policies and to explore the opportunities of environ-mental cooperation for a new peace policy. (orig.)

Position of the American Dietetic Association: food and nutrition professionals can implement practices to conserve natural resources and support ecological sustainability.

Science.gov (United States)

Harmon, Alison H; Gerald, Bonnie L

2007-06-01

It is the position of the American Dietetic Association to encourage environmentally responsible practices that conserve natural resources, minimize the quantity of waste generated, and support the ecological sustainability of the food system-the process of food production, transformation, distribution, access, and consumption. Registered dietitians and dietetic technicians, registered, play various roles in the food system and work in settings where efforts to conserve can have significant effects. Natural resources that provide the foundation for the food system include biodiversity, soil, land, energy, water, and air. A food system that degrades or depletes its resource base is not sustainable. Making wise food purchases and food management decisions entails understanding the external costs of food production and foodservice and how these external costs affect food system sustainability. This position paper provides information, specific action-oriented strategies, and resources to guide registered dietitians and dietetic technicians, registered, in food decision making and professional practice. Food and nutrition professionals also can participate in policy making at the local, state, and national levels, and can support policies that encourage the development of local sustainable food systems. Our actions today have global consequences. Conserving and protecting resources will contribute to the sustainability of the global food system now and in the future.

Food technology: challenge for health promotion.

Science.gov (United States)

Kwon, T W; Hong, J H; Moon, G S; Song, Y S; Kim, J I; Kim, J C; Kim, M J

2004-01-01

The food technology has brought countless benefits to today's food supply. Despite its many positive contributions, it has also brought unintended negative consequences. It is the time to mobilize the food technology to help the food supply more secure, safer and healthier, and here three possible approaches are foreseeable: First, we should continue to improve the conventional technologies. Many wholesome foods have been prepared and preserved using natural materials simply by fermentation. Second, we have to enhance the minimal processing as much as applicable. Third, new ingredients, intelligent packaging and functional foods should be explored to improve food supply and health. Today, consumer interest in the functional foods has been increased tremendously, and the future of food lies in the functional foods. However, the situations in the developing world are different from this. As food resource is limited in this region, food technology has to be emphasized to increase food supply. To help solve such complex problems, not only new technologies, but also conventional technologies have to be mobilized. Simultaneously, even higher technical capabilities have to be built up by applying new findings from the related disciplines to allow the food technology to play its vital role.

Farm Organization, Ownership and Food Productivity in Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nkasiobi Silas Oguzor

2012-06-01

Full Text Available African food production is in crisis. Today, despite Africa’s vast physical and climatic potentials to produce food, most African States depend on food importation. Africa’s capacity to deal with its food battles is severely constrained by its political instability, its early stage of scientific and institutional development, and a rapidly changing and complex global environment. In Nigeria and in most developing economies, there is a fundamental lack of political commitment to come grips with poverty, malnutrition and access to food. Because of these barriers, traditional economics is a rather limited tool to understand food production and other related variables. Poverty, hunger, malnutrition, famine and starvation in developing economies are just as much a function of political, macroeconomic, and institutional barriers as lack of technology. Illustrations from the agrarian chaos in Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Chad and others are too numerous to conclude otherwise. The aim of this paper is to determine and analyze economics incentives and strategies, which could stimulate commercial agriculture in Nigeria. The analysis is based on the premise that the form of production organization in Nigerian agriculture is the major constraint to commercialization. The paper concludes that output price subsidy is the over-riding factor in the commercialization of agriculture in Nigeria.

Beneficial impacts of an international grain reserve on global food security

Science.gov (United States)

Otto, C.; Schewe, J.; Puma, M. J.; Frieler, K.

2017-12-01

Highly volatile food prices on global markets challenge food security. Only in the last decade, two pronounced food price spikes severely affected vulnerable populations worldwide by increasing malnutrition and hunger. This has stirred up the debate upon the usefulness of an international grain reserve. Whereas advocates argue that it could damp damaging price extremes, opponents question its effectiveness and are concerned about associated market distortions and costs. However, to our knowledge, a comprehensive quantitative assessment is still missing. For this purpose, we introduce an agent-based dynamic multi-regional model that consistently accounts for intra-annual strategic as well as commercial storage holding. For the case of wheat, we first show that the model is able to reproduce historical world market prices (see Fig. 1(a)) and regional ending stocks (stocks see Fig.1(b) for global ending stocks) from 1980 to the present. Having a bi-annual timestep, the model enables us to single out the main drivers of past short-term price volatility: regional, mainly weather induced, production variations followed by trade policies as the second most important driver. The latter include, both, long-term stockholding management decisions as well as short-term regional political responses to scarcity situations such as export restrictions and restocking attempts. We then quantitatively model a strategic wheat reserve managed by an international body such as the UN. We discuss a management scheme for the reserve that aims at stabilizing prices within a price band by buying at low and selling at high prices (cf. Fig. 1). Importantly, in order to minimize market distortions, this scheme is not designed to damp out price volatility completely, but to merely avoid damaging price extremes. Thus, it preserves the incentive for producers to invest in agricultural development and it can only complement and not replace local efforts to increase the food system's resilience

Global Biodiversity Loss by Freshwater Consumption and Eutrophication from Swiss Food Consumption.

Science.gov (United States)

Scherer, Laura; Pfister, Stephan

2016-07-05

We investigated water-related resource use, emissions and ecosystem impacts of food consumed in Switzerland. To do so, we coupled LCA methodologies on freshwater consumption, freshwater eutrophication and the consequent local and global biodiversity impacts with Swiss customs data and multiregional input-output analysis. Most of the resource use, emissions and impacts occur outside the national boundaries which illustrates the extent of environmental outsourcing facilitated by international trade. Countries that are severely affected by Swiss food consumption include Spain, the United States and Ecuador. Cocoa, coffee, and almonds stood out as products with high impacts. By identifying spatial hotspots and impactful products, awareness of policy-makers as well as individual consumers can be raised and efforts of detailed assessments can be streamlined. However, political and economic constraints and the resistance by individual consumers limit the high potential of changes in diets and trade relations to decrease the environmental impacts of food.

Global change-driven effects on dissolved organic matter composition: Implications for food webs of northern lakes.

Science.gov (United States)

Creed, Irena F; Bergström, Ann-Kristin; Trick, Charles G; Grimm, Nancy B; Hessen, Dag O; Karlsson, Jan; Kidd, Karen A; Kritzberg, Emma; McKnight, Diane M; Freeman, Erika C; Senar, Oscar E; Andersson, Agneta; Ask, Jenny; Berggren, Martin; Cherif, Mehdi; Giesler, Reiner; Hotchkiss, Erin R; Kortelainen, Pirkko; Palta, Monica M; Vrede, Tobias; Weyhenmeyer, Gesa A

2018-03-15

Northern ecosystems are experiencing some of the most dramatic impacts of global change on Earth. Rising temperatures, hydrological intensification, changes in atmospheric acid deposition and associated acidification recovery, and changes in vegetative cover are resulting in fundamental changes in terrestrial-aquatic biogeochemical linkages. The effects of global change are readily observed in alterations in the supply of dissolved organic matter (DOM)-the messenger between terrestrial and lake ecosystems-with potentially profound effects on the structure and function of lakes. Northern terrestrial ecosystems contain substantial stores of organic matter and filter or funnel DOM, affecting the timing and magnitude of DOM delivery to surface waters. This terrestrial DOM is processed in streams, rivers, and lakes, ultimately shifting its composition, stoichiometry, and bioavailability. Here, we explore the potential consequences of these global change-driven effects for lake food webs at northern latitudes. Notably, we provide evidence that increased allochthonous DOM supply to lakes is overwhelming increased autochthonous DOM supply that potentially results from earlier ice-out and a longer growing season. Furthermore, we assess the potential implications of this shift for the nutritional quality of autotrophs in terms of their stoichiometry, fatty acid composition, toxin production, and methylmercury concentration, and therefore, contaminant transfer through the food web. We conclude that global change in northern regions leads not only to reduced primary productivity but also to nutritionally poorer lake food webs, with discernible consequences for the trophic web to fish and humans. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

How Could Agricultural Land Systems Contribute to Raise Food Production Under Global Change?

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

WU Wen-bin; YU Qiang-yi; Verburg H Peter; YOU Liang-zhi; YANG Peng; TANG Hua-jun

2014-01-01

To feed the increasing world population, more food needs to be produced from agricultural land systems. Solutions to produce more food with fewer resources while minimizing adverse environmental and ecological consequences require sustainable agricultural land use practices as supplementary to advanced biotechnology and agronomy. This review paper, from a land system perspective, systematically proposed and analyzed three interactive strategies that could possibly raise future food production under global change. By reviewing the current literatures, we suggest that cropland expansion is less possible amid iferce land competition, and it is likely to do less in increasing food production. Moreover, properly allocating crops in space and time is a practical way to ensure food production. Climate change, dietary shifts, and other socio-economic drivers, which would shape the demand and supply side of food systems, should be taken into consideration during the decision-making on rational land management in respect of sustainable crop choice and allocation. And ifnally, crop-speciifc agricultural intensiifcation would play a bigger role in raising future food production either by increasing the yield per unit area of individual crops or by increasing the number of crops sown on a particular area of land. Yet, only when it is done sustainably is this a much more effective strategy to maximize food production by closing yield and harvest gaps.

Measuring success in global health diplomacy: lessons from marketing food to children in India.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Richard; Irwin, Rachel

2016-06-16

Global health diplomacy (GHD) focuses on international negotiation; principally between nation states, but increasingly non-state actors However, agreements made at the global level have to be enacted at the national, and in some cases the sub-national level. This presents two related problems: (1) how can success be measured in global health diplomacy and (2) at what point should success be evaluated? This commentary highlights these issues through examining the relationship between India and the WHO Set of Recommendations on the Marketing of Food and Non-alcoholic Beverages to Children, endorsed by Resolution WHA63.14 at the 63rd World Health Assembly in 2010.

Education and the food-systems veterinarian: the impact of new information technologies.

Science.gov (United States)

Bernardo, Theresa M

2006-01-01

Food systems educators face a double challenge: (1) the inherent change in scope and perspective from raising animals to producing safe food in an environmentally conscientious manner; and (2) the unprecedented demand for higher education, both nationally and internationally. In the modern world, small numbers of producers are capable of feeding a growing population. As demographics have shifted from rural to urban areas, more global livelihoods are derived from manufacturing and services than from agriculture. Education, as one of those services, is accounting for an increasing percentage of world trade, through the physical translocation of students and, more recently, through online education. Within the veterinary realm, colleges outside the United States seek accreditation to better compete for students, and there is increasing pressure from private schools. Today's food systems require a high level of veterinary expertise, with specialization in a particular production system as well as the ability to contribute as part of a larger team that can address economic, bio-security, biological-waste, animal-welfare, food-safety, and public-health concerns. The need for different expertise from food systems specialists (indeed, shortages of all types of veterinary specialists), combined with global competition in education, is a call to action for the veterinary profession. This is an opportunity to revisit and reorganize the delivery of veterinary education, making use of new collaborative technologies for greater efficiency and effectiveness.

Factors affecting food security and contribution of modern technologies in food sustainability.

Science.gov (United States)

Premanandh, Jagadeesan

2011-12-01

The concept of food insecurity is complex and goes beyond the simplistic idea of a country's inability to feed its population. The global food situation is redefined by many driving forces such as population growth, availability of arable lands, water resources, climate change and food availability, accessibility and loss. The combined effect of these factors has undeniably impacted global food production and security. This article reviews the key factors influencing global food insecurity and emphasises the need to adapt science-based technological innovations to address the issue. Although anticipated benefits of modern technologies suggest a level of food production that will sustain the global population, both political will and sufficient investments in modern agriculture are needed to alleviate the food crisis in developing countries. In this globalised era of the 21st century, many determinants of food security are trans-boundary and require multilateral agreements and actions for an effective solution. Food security and hunger alleviation on a global scale are within reach provided that technological innovations are accepted and implemented at all levels. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry.

Globalization and American Education

Science.gov (United States)

Merriman, William; Nicoletti, Augustine

2008-01-01

Globalization is a potent force in today's world. The welfare of the United States is tied to the welfare of other countries by economics, the environment, politics, culture, information, and technology. This paper identifies the implications of globalization for education, presents applications of important aspects of globalization that teachers…

Food Insecurity and Mental Health Status: A Global Analysis of 149 Countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Andrew D

2017-08-01

This study sought to determine the association of individual-level food insecurity (FI) with mental health status across all global regions. Cross-sectional data were analyzed in 2016 from the 2014 Gallup World Poll, a series of globally implemented, nationally representative surveys. FI was assessed using the Food Insecurity Experience Scale Survey Module for Individuals, an eight-question psychometric scale reporting individuals' experiences of FI. Individual-level composite indices of mental health, the Negative Experience Index and Positive Experience Index (0-100 scale), were calculated based on responses to five questions of respondents' recent negative and positive experiences, respectively, associated with depression and mental distress. The prevalence of any FI ranged from 18.3% in East Asia to 76.1% in Sub-Saharan Africa. In global analyses (149 countries) using adjusted multiple regression analyses, FI was associated in a dose-response fashion with poorer scores on the mental health indices (coefficient [95% CI]: Negative Experience Index: mild FI, 10.4 [9.5, 11.2]; moderate FI, 17.7 [16.4, 19.0]; severe FI, 24.5 [22.7, 26.3]; Positive Experience Index: mild FI, -8.3 [-9.3, -7.4]; moderate FI, -12.6 [-13.8, -11.3]; severe FI, -16.2 [-17.9, -14.5]). Within-region analyses (11 regions) consistently demonstrated the same trends. FI is associated with poorer mental health and specific psychosocial stressors across global regions independent of SES. The numerous pathways via which FI may contribute to common mental disorders, and the broad social implications of FI linked to cultural norms and self-efficacy, may contribute to the cross-cultural consistency of the findings. Copyright © 2017 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Estimating the global prevalence of inadequate zinc intake from national food balance sheets: effects of methodological assumptions.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K Ryan Wessells

Full Text Available The prevalence of inadequate zinc intake in a population can be estimated by comparing the zinc content of the food supply with the population's theoretical requirement for zinc. However, assumptions regarding the nutrient composition of foods, zinc requirements, and zinc absorption may affect prevalence estimates. These analyses were conducted to: (1 evaluate the effect of varying methodological assumptions on country-specific estimates of the prevalence of dietary zinc inadequacy and (2 generate a model considered to provide the best estimates.National food balance data were obtained from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Zinc and phytate contents of these foods were estimated from three nutrient composition databases. Zinc absorption was predicted using a mathematical model (Miller equation. Theoretical mean daily per capita physiological and dietary requirements for zinc were calculated using recommendations from the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine and the International Zinc Nutrition Consultative Group. The estimated global prevalence of inadequate zinc intake varied between 12-66%, depending on which methodological assumptions were applied. However, country-specific rank order of the estimated prevalence of inadequate intake was conserved across all models (r = 0.57-0.99, P<0.01. A "best-estimate" model, comprised of zinc and phytate data from a composite nutrient database and IZiNCG physiological requirements for absorbed zinc, estimated the global prevalence of inadequate zinc intake to be 17.3%.Given the multiple sources of uncertainty in this method, caution must be taken in the interpretation of the estimated prevalence figures. However, the results of all models indicate that inadequate zinc intake may be fairly common globally. Inferences regarding the relative likelihood of zinc deficiency as a public health problem in different countries can be drawn based on the country

Future Warming Increases Global Maize Yield Variability with Implications for Food Markets

Science.gov (United States)

Tigchelaar, M.; Battisti, D. S.; Naylor, R. L.; Ray, D. K.

2017-12-01

If current trends in population growth and dietary shifts continue, the world will need to produce about 70% more food by 2050, while earth's climate is rapidly changing. Rising temperatures in particular are projected to negatively impact agricultural production, as the world's staple crops perform poorly in extreme heat. Theoretical models suggest that as temperatures rise above plants' optimal temperature for performance, not only will mean yields decline rapidly, but the variability of yields will increase, even as interannual variations in climate remain unchanged. Here we use global datasets of maize production and climate variability combined with CMIP5 temperature projections to quantify how yield variability will change in major maize producing countries under 2°C and 4°C of global warming. Maize is the world's most produced crop, and is linked to other staple crops through substitution in consumption and production. We find that in warmer climates - absent any breeding gains in heat tolerance - the Coefficient of Variation (CV) of maize yields increases almost everywhere, to values much larger than present-day. This increase in CV is due both to an increase in the standard deviation of yields, and a decrease in mean yields. In locations where crop failures become the norm under high (4°C) warming (mostly in tropical, low-yield environments), the standard deviation of yields ultimately decreases. The probability that in any given year the most productive areas in the top three maize producing countries (United States, China, Brazil) have simultaneous production losses greater than 10% is virtually zero under present-day climate conditions, but increases to 12% under 2°C warming, and 89% under 4°C warming. This has major implications for global food markets and staple crop prices, affecting especially the 2.5 billion people that comprise the world's poor, who already spend the majority of their disposable income on food and are particularly vulnerable

Food Consumption and its Impact on Cardiovascular Disease: Importance of Solutions Focused on the Globalized Food System: A Report From the Workshop Convened by the World Heart Federation.

Science.gov (United States)

Anand, Sonia S; Hawkes, Corinna; de Souza, Russell J; Mente, Andrew; Dehghan, Mahshid; Nugent, Rachel; Zulyniak, Michael A; Weis, Tony; Bernstein, Adam M; Krauss, Ronald M; Kromhout, Daan; Jenkins, David J A; Malik, Vasanti; Martinez-Gonzalez, Miguel A; Mozaffarian, Dariush; Yusuf, Salim; Willett, Walter C; Popkin, Barry M

2015-10-06

Major scholars in the field, on the basis of a 3-day consensus, created an in-depth review of current knowledge on the role of diet in cardiovascular disease (CVD), the changing global food system and global dietary patterns, and potential policy solutions. Evidence from different countries and age/race/ethnicity/socioeconomic groups suggesting the health effects studies of foods, macronutrients, and dietary patterns on CVD appear to be far more consistent though regional knowledge gaps is highlighted. Large gaps in knowledge about the association of macronutrients to CVD in low- and middle-income countries particularly linked with dietary patterns are reviewed. Our understanding of foods and macronutrients in relationship to CVD is broadly clear; however, major gaps exist both in dietary pattern research and ways to change diets and food systems. On the basis of the current evidence, the traditional Mediterranean-type diet, including plant foods and emphasis on plant protein sources provides a well-tested healthy dietary pattern to reduce CVD. Copyright © 2015 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Medium Term Economic Effects of Peak Oil Today

OpenAIRE

Dr. Ulrike Lehr; Dr. Christian Lutz; Kirsten Wiebe

2011-01-01

The paper at hand presents results of a model-based scenario analysis on the economic implications in the next decade of an oil peak today and significantly decreasing oil production in the coming years. For that the extraction paths of oil and other fossil fuels given in LBST (2010) are implemented in the global macroeconomic model GINFORS. Additionally, the scenarios incorporate different technological potentials for energy efficiency and renewable energy, which cannot be forecast using eco...

Nature and history today: the ecological crisis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luciano ESPINOSA RUBIO

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Today, the Nature-History relations are the ecological ones: we are living in a global eco-bio-techno-noos-sphere and that means that ecological crisis is a crisis of civilization too. Above all, the climate change and its social and political consequences will have a great impact in our lives, and we must respond without losing our rights. In the intellectual way, we need new narrations in order to affront the situation and perhaps the theory of the lesser evil is one of the better answers that we can find.

Disease will limit future food supply from the global crustacean fishery and aquaculture sectors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stentiford, G.D.; Neil, D.M.; Peeler, E.J.; Shields, J.D.; Small, H.J.; Flegel, T.W.; Vlak, J.M.; Jones, B.; Morado, F.; Moss, S.; Lotz, J.; Bartholomay, L.; Behringer, D.C.; Hauton, C.; Lightner, D.V.

2012-01-01

Seafood is a highly traded food commodity. Farmed and captured crustaceans contribute a significant proportion with annual production exceeding 10 M metric tonnes with first sale value of $40bn. The sector is dominated by farmed tropical marine shrimp, the fastest growing sector of the global

Energy financing in today's world - a banker's viewpoint

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mackrell, Ian

1991-01-01

If the world runs on energy, the energy industry runs on finance. Supplying the industry's huge appetite for funds -on the scale and in the form required - has always posed a major challenge to the international banking community. But in some respects that challenge is greater today than it has ever been, not only because of the industry's escalating requirements but also because of the way bank's attitudes have been changing in the recent past. One reason for this is the rapidly evolving scene within the energy business in response to the harsher competitive conditions and the greater uncertainties of tomorrow. However, the other major factor is that banking itself has been undergoing significant change as a result of severe pressures and constraints, both internal and external. Some of the key global trends and issues affecting energy financing in today's world are considered here. (author)

Energy financing in today's world - a banker's viewpoint

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mackrell, Ian [Barclays Bank plc, London (GB)

1991-07-01

If the world runs on energy, the energy industry runs on finance. Supplying the industry's huge appetite for funds -on the scale and in the form required - has always posed a major challenge to the international banking community. But in some respects that challenge is greater today than it has ever been, not only because of the industry's escalating requirements but also because of the way bank's attitudes have been changing in the recent past. One reason for this is the rapidly evolving scene within the energy business in response to the harsher competitive conditions and the greater uncertainties of tomorrow. However, the other major factor is that banking itself has been undergoing significant change as a result of severe pressures and constraints, both internal and external. Some of the key global trends and issues affecting energy financing in today's world are considered here. (author).

Review: Lorenzo Cotula, The Great African Land Grab?: Agricultural Investments and the Global Food System (2013

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kerstin Nolte

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Review of the monograph:Lorenzo Cotula, The Great African Land Grab?: Agricultural Investments and the Global Food System, London, New York: Zed Books, 2013, ISBN 9781780324203, 248 pages

The importance of ethics in the process of education in today globalised society

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Josefová Alena

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The events of the recent past show fluctuating structure of today world which is characterized on one hand as multicultural cooperation of people from various cultures and ethnic groups, and on the other hand seen with many conflicts and misunderstandings. Therefore ethical behavior becomes more important, which creates our humanity. The paper focuses on the importance of ethics in the process of education in today globalized world with the aim of leading the students to multicultural perception of the society and the world. To understand the world in European and globalized consequences will lead to reduction or eradication of religious intolerance. The paper describes the changes in education system in the Czech Republic in the past years and focuses on the importance of ethics in the process during primary, secondary and university education.

Facets of Nanotechnology as Seen in Food Processing, Packaging, and Preservation Industry

Science.gov (United States)

Pradhan, Neha; Singh, Surjit; Ojha, Nupur; Shrivastava, Anamika; Barla, Anil; Rai, Vivek; Bose, Sutapa

2015-01-01

Nanotechnology has proven its competence in almost all possible fields we are aware of. However, today nanotechnology has evolved in true sense by contributing to a very large extent to the food industry. With the growing number of mouths to feed, production of food is not adequate. It has to be preserved in order to reach to the masses on a global scale. Nanotechnology made the idea a reality by increasing the shelf life of different kinds of food materials. It is not an entirely full-proof measure; however it has brought down the extent of wastage of food due to microbial infestation. Not only fresh food but also healthier food is being designed with the help of nano-delivery systems which act as a carrier for the food supplements. There are regulations to follow however as several of them pose serious threats to the wellbeing of the population. In coming days, newer modes of safeguarding food are going to be developed with the help of nanotechnology. In this paper, an overview has been given of the different methods of food processing, packaging, and preservation techniques and the role nanotechnology plays in the food processing, packaging, and preservation industry. PMID:26613082

High food prices and the global financial crisis have reduced access to nutritious food and worsened nutritional status and health.

Science.gov (United States)

Brinkman, Henk-Jan; de Pee, Saskia; Sanogo, Issa; Subran, Ludovic; Bloem, Martin W

2010-01-01

A global economic and financial crisis is engulfing the developing world, coming on top of high food and fuel prices. This paper assesses the impact of the crises on food consumption, nutrition, and health. Several methods were applied, including risk analysis using the cost of the food basket, assessment surveys, simulations, regression analysis using a food consumption score (FCS), reflecting diet frequency and diversity, and a review of the impact of such dietary changes on nutritional status and health. The cost of the food basket increased in several countries, forcing households to reduce quality and quantity of food consumed. The FCS, which is a measure of diet diversity, is negatively correlated with food prices. Simulations show that energy consumption declined during 2006-2010 in nearly all developing regions, resulting potentially in an additional 457 million people (of 4.5 billion) at risk of being hungry and many more unable to afford the dietary quality required to perform, develop, and grow well. As a result of the crises, large numbers of vulnerable households have reduced the quality and quantity of foods they consume and are at risk of increased malnutrition. Population groups most affected are those with the highest requirements, including young children, pregnant and lactating women, and the chronically ill (particularly people with HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis). Because undernutrition during the first 2 y of life has life-long consequences, even short-term price rises will have long-term effects. Thus, measures to mitigate the impact of the crises are urgently required.

Safety evaluation of food flavorings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schrankel, Kenneth R.

2004-01-01

Food flavorings are an essential element in foods. Flavorings are a unique class of food ingredients and excluded from the legislative definition of a food additive because they are regulated by flavor legislation and not food additive legislation. Flavoring ingredients naturally present in foods, have simple chemical structures, low toxicity, and are used in very low levels in foods and beverages resulting in very low levels of human exposure or consumption. Today, the overwhelming regulatory trend is a positive list of flavoring substances, e.g. substances not listed are prohibited. Flavoring substances are added to the list following a safety evaluation based on the conditions of intended use by qualified experts. The basic principles for assessing the safety of flavoring ingredients will be discussed with emphasis on the safety evaluation of flavoring ingredients by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Health Organization (WHO) Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) and the US Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Expert Panel (FEXPAN). The main components of the JECFA evaluation process include chemical structure, human intake (exposure), metabolism to innocuous or harmless substances, and toxicity concerns consistent with JECFA principles. The Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association (FEMA) evaluation is very similar to the JECFA procedure. Both the JECFA and FEMA evaluation procedures are widely recognized and the results are accepted by many countries. This implies that there is no need for developing countries to conduct their own toxicological assessment of flavoring ingredients unless it is an unique ingredient in one country, but it is helpful to survey intake or exposure assessment. The global safety program established by the International Organization of Flavor Industry (IOFI) resulting in one worldwide open positive list of flavoring substances will be reviewed

Measurement of food-related approach-avoidance biases: Larger biases when food stimuli are task relevant

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lender, A.; Meule, A.; Rinck, M.; Brockmeyer, T.; Blechert, J.

2018-01-01

Strong implicit responses to food have evolved to avoid energy depletion but contribute to overeating in today's affluent environments. The Approach-Avoidance Task (AAT) supposedly assesses implicit biases in response to food stimuli: Participants push pictures on a monitor "away" or pull them

Distributional impacts of the 2008 global food price spike in Vietnam

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

McKay, Andy; Tarp, Finn

macro-data, this paper investigates how global price changes appear to have impacted on rural welfare in Vietnam during 2006-12. In this paper we study the case of rice in Vietnam, in the context of the 2008 food price spike. We analyse the responses of domestic producer and consumer prices, and discuss......Agriculture and food cultivation production remains a key sector in the Vietnamese economy in terms of productive activities, income generation, and national export earnings. Higher world market prices should therefore in principle have a beneficial impact on rural farmers. This is based however...... the policy actions taken by the government to help reduce the impact on consumers, as well as to continue to encourage production. We also look at the distributional impact of the resulting domestic price changes, using data from a specialist rural household survey to look at production response. Vietnam...

Developing Successful Global Leaders

Science.gov (United States)

Training, 2011

2011-01-01

Everyone seems to agree the world desperately needs strong leaders who can manage a global workforce and all the inherent challenges that go with it. That's a big part of the raison d'etre for global leadership development programs. But are today's organizations fully utilizing these programs to develop global leaders, and, if so, are they…

Climate change and hunger as the challenges in the global food system

OpenAIRE

Stoddart, Ana Florencia

2013-01-01

In the last decades, there has been a growing tendency towards international trade and globalisation, particularly leading to a significant increase in flows of agricultural commodities worldwide. From a macroeconomic perspective, the commodity projections are more optimistic than the previous years and the long run tendency shows an increasing demand for feedstock. However, the strong shifts of shocks and fluctuations (in terms of prices and volumes) are a concern to global food security, wi...

Companies' opinions and acceptance of global food safety initiative benchmarks after implementation.

Science.gov (United States)

Crandall, Phil; Van Loo, Ellen J; O'Bryan, Corliss A; Mauromoustakos, Andy; Yiannas, Frank; Dyenson, Natalie; Berdnik, Irina

2012-09-01

International attention has been focused on minimizing costs that may unnecessarily raise food prices. One important aspect to consider is the redundant and overlapping costs of food safety audits. The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) has devised benchmarked schemes based on existing international food safety standards for use as a unifying standard accepted by many retailers. The present study was conducted to evaluate the impact of the decision made by Walmart Stores (Bentonville, AR) to require their suppliers to become GFSI compliant. An online survey of 174 retail suppliers was conducted to assess food suppliers' opinions of this requirement and the benefits suppliers realized when they transitioned from their previous food safety systems. The most common reason for becoming GFSI compliant was to meet customers' requirements; thus, supplier implementation of the GFSI standards was not entirely voluntary. Other reasons given for compliance were enhancing food safety and remaining competitive. About 54 % of food processing plants using GFSI benchmarked schemes followed the guidelines of Safe Quality Food 2000 and 37 % followed those of the British Retail Consortium. At the supplier level, 58 % followed Safe Quality Food 2000 and 31 % followed the British Retail Consortium. Respondents reported that the certification process took about 10 months. The most common reason for selecting a certain GFSI benchmarked scheme was because it was widely accepted by customers (retailers). Four other common reasons were (i) the standard has a good reputation in the industry, (ii) the standard was recommended by others, (iii) the standard is most often used in the industry, and (iv) the standard was required by one of their customers. Most suppliers agreed that increased safety of their products was required to comply with GFSI benchmarked schemes. They also agreed that the GFSI required a more carefully documented food safety management system, which often required

Global Climate Change, Food Security and the U.S. Food System

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Molly Elizabeth; Walsh, Margaret; Hauser, Rachel; Murray, Anthony; Jadin, Jenna; Baklund, Peter; Robinson, Paula

2013-01-01

Climate change influences on the major pillars of food security. Each of the four elements of food security (availability,access,utilization,andstability) is vulnerable to changes in climate. For example,reductions in production related to regional drought influence food availability at multiple scales. Changes in price influences the ability of certain populations to purchase food (access). Utilization maybe affected when production zones shift, reducing the availability of preferred or culturally appropriate types of food within a region. Stability of the food supply may be highly uncertain given an increased incidence of extreme climatic events and their influence on production patterns.

Diversifying crops for food and nutrition security - a case of teff.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Acga; Mayes, Sean; Dalle, Gemedo; Demissew, Sebsebe; Massawe, Festo

2017-02-01

There are more than 50000 known edible plants in the world, yet two-thirds of global plant-derived food is provided by only three major cereals - maize (Zea mays), wheat (Triticum aestivum) and rice (Oryza sativa). The dominance of this triad, now considered truly global food commodities, has led to a decline in the number of crop species contributing to global food supplies. Our dependence on only a few crop species limits our capability to deal with challenges posed by the adverse effects of climate change and the consequences of dietary imbalance. Emerging evidence suggests that climate change will cause shifts in crop production and yield loss due to more unpredictable and hostile weather patterns. One solution to this problem is through the wider use of underutilised (also called orphan or minor) crops to diversify agricultural systems and food sources. In addition to being highly nutritious, underutilised crops are resilient in natural and agricultural conditions, making them a suitable surrogate to the major crops. One such crop is teff [Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter], a warm-season annual cereal with the tiniest grain in the world. Native to Ethiopia and often the sustenance for local small farmers, teff thrives in both moisture-stressed and waterlogged soil conditions, making it a dependable staple within and beyond its current centre of origin. Today, teff is deemed a healthy wheat alternative in the West and is sought-after by health aficionados and those with coeliac disease or gluten sensitivity. The blooming market for healthy food is breathing new life into this underutilised crop, which has received relatively limited attention from mainstream research perhaps due to its 'orphan crop' status. This review presents the past, present and future of an ancient grain with a potential beyond its size. © 2015 Cambridge Philosophical Society.

Irradiated foodstuff: atom, junk-food and globalization; Aliments irradies: Atome, malbouffe et mondialisation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Azam, Genevieve; Berlan, Jean-Pierre; Desbordes, Roland; Dufour, Francois; Fievet, Yann; Folliard, Thierry; Gallais, Veronique; Hauter, Wenonah; Jacquiau, Christian; Kastler, Guy; Lannoye, Paul; Le Goff, Lylian; Le Rohellec, Catherine; Louchard, Olivier; Marechal, Gilles; Nicolas, Yveline; Remesy, Christian; Trouve, Aurelie; Veillerette, Francois

2008-07-01

Food irradiation is officially presented as an ideal technology at the service of worldwide health safety and as an alternative to chemical processing of foodstuff. It is first of all a multi-usage technology for the preservation, disinfestation, ripening slowing down, and germination inhibition of products which serves the interests of multinational companies of the agriculture and food industry. According to the authors, it is also an instrument for the globalization of foodstuff trade encouraged by the international institutions and by some governments. The book stresses on the health, socio-economic and environmental risks of this technology: vitamins loss, carcinogenesis, mutagenesis, impact on local employment and economy, risks linked with the use of irradiation devices etc

Sustainability of Local and Global Food Chains: Introduction to the Special Issue

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gianluca Brunori

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Sustainability assessment is one of the keys to competition by food supply chains over sustainability. The way it is conceived and embodied into decision-makers’ choices affects the competitiveness of local and global chains. Science-based assessment methodologies have made substantial progress, but uncertainties—as well as interests at stake—are high. There are no science-based methods that are able to give an unchallenged verdict over the sustainability performance of a firm, let alone a supply chain. Assessment methods are more suited for medium-large firm dimensions, as planning, monitoring, and reporting are costly. Moreover, the availability of data affects the choice of parameters to be measured, and many claims of local food are not easily measurable. To give local chains a chance to operate on a level playing field, there is the need to re-think sustainability assessment processes and tailor them to the characteristics of the analysed supply chains. We indicate seven key points on which we think scholars should focus their attention when dealing with food supply chain sustainability assessment.

Why Food System Transformation Is Essential and How Nutrition Scientists Can Contribute.

Science.gov (United States)

Lartey, Anna; Meerman, Janice; Wijesinha-Bettoni, Ramani

2018-01-01

The International Union of Nutritional Sciences held its 21st International Congress of Nutrition in October 2017 in Buenos Aires, Argentina under the theme - From Sciences to Nutrition Security. In addition to multiple sessions on food systems and their links to diet, nutrition and health, the Congress closing lecture focused on the need to transform food systems so as to increase their capacity to provide healthy diets, making a call for greater involvement of nutrition scientists. This article presents the main messages of that lecture, providing (i) an overview of global nutrition trends and their links to diets, food environments and food systems, (ii) a synopsis of the current global momentum for food system transformation and (iii) the need for nutrition scientists to leverage this momentum in terms of increased evidence generation and policy advocacy. Key Messages: Poor quality diets are increasingly leading to the compromising of human health as never before; the prevalence of undernutrition persists and remains acute in vulnerable regions, and hunger is increasing concomitantly with an unprecedented rise in overweight, obesity and nutrition-related non-communicable diseases. Increasing access to healthy diets through faster, stronger implementation of supply and demand-side strategies that address the underlying drivers of today's faulty food systems is imperative to solve these problems, as well as to address related environmental and economic costs. The global momentum for such action is increasing, but the evidence base needed to galvanize governments and hold stakeholders accountable remains yet a fledgling. To date, inputs from nutrition scientists to this reform agenda have been weak, especially given the unique contributions the field can make in terms of rigorous analysis and technical advice. Strengthened participation will require innovations in metrics and methodologies, combined with new thinking on what constitutes viable evidence and a

CLIMATE CHANGE AND ESSENTIAL ANNUAL CROP PRODUCTION. A VIEW FROM FOOD SECURITY IN CHILE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

CARLOS MÉNDEZ NOTARI

2017-09-01

Full Text Available This research has the objective of analyzing whether the public policies that today define the rules for productive development in agriculture can mitigate the effects related to global warming and if these are sufficient to prevent the pressing of climate change over the difficulties already existing in the agricultural sector or, to prevent the emergence of new risk factors or threats that affect the country’s food security. It also seeks to propose some recommendations for the design of public policies to minimize the risks and threats related to the adaptation of agricultural production to climate change and, therefore, to ensure physical, social and economic access to sufficient food and nutritious foods that meet the needs of the national population and mitigate its effects on the multidimensional sphere of the security. In this sense, we try to answer the following question: What challenges does climate change pose to Chilean agriculture in terms of food security?

Attribution of global foodborne disease to specific foods: Findings from a World Health Organization structured expert elicitation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hoffmann, Sandra; Devleesschauwer, Brecht; Aspinall, Willy

2017-01-01

as exposure routes for key hazards is critical to preventing illness. This study reports the findings of a structured expert elicitation providing globally comparable food source attribution estimates for 11 major FBDs in each of 14 world subregions. Methods and findings We used Cooke’s Classical Model...... was of minor importance compared to eggs and poultry meat in the American and African subregions, whereas in the European and Western Pacific subregions the importance of these three food sources were quite similar. Our regional results broadly agree with estimates from earlier European and North American food...

A fuzzy-based model to implement the global safety buildings index assessment for agri-food buildings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francesco Barreca

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The latest EU policies focus on the issue of food safety with a view to ensuring adequate and standard quality levels for the food produced and/or consumed within the EC. To that purpose, the environment where agricultural products are manufactured and processed plays a crucial role in achieving food hygiene. As a consequence, it is of the outmost importance to adopt proper building solutions which meet health and hygiene requirements as well as to use suitable tools to measure the levels achieved. Similarly, it is necessary to verify and evaluate the level of workers’ safety and welfare in their working environment. Workers’ safety has not only an ethical and social value but also an economic implication, since possible accidents or environmental stressors are the major causes of the lower efficiency and productivity of workers. Therefore, it is fundamental to design suitable models of analysis that allow assessing buildings as a whole, taking into account both health and hygiene safety as well as workers’ safety and welfare. Hence, this paper proposes an assessment model that, based on an established study protocol and on the application of a fuzzy logic procedure, allows assessing the global safety level of an agri-food building by means of a global safety buildings index. The model here presented is original since it uses fuzzy logic to evaluate the performances of both the technical and environmental systems of an agri-food building in terms of health and hygiene safety of the manufacturing process as well as of workers’ health and safety. The result of the assessment is expressed through a triangular fuzzy membership function which allows carrying out comparative analyses of different buildings. A specific procedure was developed to apply the model to a case study which tested its operational simplicity and the validity of its results. The proposed model allows obtaining a synthetic and global value of the building performance of

Comparing the Sustainability of Local and Global Food Chains: A Case Study of Cheese Products in Switzerland and the UK

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emilia Schmitt

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Local food has recently gained popularity under the assumption that it is more sustainable than food from distant locations. However, evidence is still lacking to fully support this assumption. The goal of this study is to compare local and global food chains in five dimensions of sustainability (environmental, economic, social, ethical and health, covering all stages of the chain. In particular, four cheese supply chains are compared in detail: a local (L’Etivaz and global (Le Gruyère case in Switzerland and a local (Single Gloucester and global (Cheddar case in the UK. A multi-dimensional perspective is adopted to compare their sustainability performance. Eight attributes of performance (affordability, creation and distribution of added value, information and communication, consumer behaviour, resource use, biodiversity, nutrition and animal welfare are used to frame the comparative analysis. The results suggest that local cheese performs better in the field of added value creation and distribution, animal welfare and biodiversity. Global chains, by contrast, perform better in terms of affordability and efficiency and some environmental indicators. This analysis needed to be expressed in qualitative terms rather than quantified indicators and it has been especially useful to identify the critical issues and trade-offs that hinder sustainability at different scales. Cheese supply chains in Switzerland and the UK also often present hybrid arrangements in term of local and global scales. Comparison is therefore most meaningful when presented on a local (farmhouse/global (creamery continuum.

Monitoring Global Food Security with New Remote Sensing Products and Tools

Science.gov (United States)

Budde, M. E.; Rowland, J.; Senay, G. B.; Funk, C. C.; Husak, G. J.; Magadzire, T.; Verdin, J. P.

2012-12-01

Global agriculture monitoring is a crucial aspect of monitoring food security in the developing world. The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) has a long history of using remote sensing and crop modeling to address food security threats in the form of drought, floods, pests, and climate change. In recent years, it has become apparent that FEWS NET requires the ability to apply monitoring and modeling frameworks at a global scale to assess potential impacts of foreign production and markets on food security at regional, national, and local levels. Scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center and the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) Climate Hazards Group have provided new and improved data products as well as visualization and analysis tools in support of the increased mandate for remote monitoring. We present our monitoring products for measuring actual evapotranspiration (ETa), normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) in a near-real-time mode, and satellite-based rainfall estimates and derivatives. USGS FEWS NET has implemented a Simplified Surface Energy Balance (SSEB) model to produce operational ETa anomalies for Africa and Central Asia. During the growing season, ETa anomalies express surplus or deficit crop water use, which is directly related to crop condition and biomass. We present current operational products and provide supporting validation of the SSEB model. The expedited Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (eMODIS) production system provides FEWS NET with an improved NDVI dataset for crop and rangeland monitoring. eMODIS NDVI provides a reliable data stream with a relatively high spatial resolution (250-m) and short latency period (less than 12 hours) which allows for better operational vegetation monitoring. We provide an overview of these data and cite specific applications for crop monitoring. FEWS NET uses satellite rainfall estimates as inputs for

Global maize trade and food security: implications from a social network model.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Felicia; Guclu, Hasan

2013-12-01

In this study, we developed a social network model of the global trade of maize: one of the most important food, feed, and industrial crops worldwide, and critical to food security. We used this model to analyze patterns of maize trade among nations, and to determine where vulnerabilities in food security might arise if maize availability was decreased due to factors such as diversion to nonfood uses, climatic factors, or plant diseases. Using data on imports and exports from the U.N. Commodity Trade Statistics Database for each year from 2000 to 2009 inclusive, we summarized statistics on volumes of maize trade between pairs of nations for 217 nations. There is evidence of market segregation among clusters of nations; with three prominent clusters representing Europe, Brazil and Argentina, and the United States. The United States is by far the largest exporter of maize worldwide, whereas Japan and the Republic of Korea are the largest maize importers. In particular, the star-shaped cluster of the network that represents U.S. maize trade to other nations indicates the potential for food security risks because of the lack of trade these other nations conduct with other maize exporters. If a scenario arose in which U.S. maize could not be exported in as large quantities, maize supplies in many nations could be jeopardized. We discuss this in the context of recent maize ethanol production and its attendant impacts on food prices elsewhere worldwide. © 2013 Society for Risk Analysis.

Convergence in Global Food Demand and Delivery

OpenAIRE

Regmi, Anita; Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Unnevehr, Laurian J.

2008-01-01

Using food expenditures and food sales data over 1990-2004, this report examines whether food consumption and delivery trends are converging across 47 high- and middle-income countries. Middle-income countries, such as China and Mexico, appear to be following trends in high-income countries, measured across several dimensions of food system growth and change. Convergence is apparent in most important food expenditure categories and in indicators of food system modernization such as supermarke...

Entomophagy – why should it bug you? The ethics of insect production for food and feed

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gjerris, Mickey; Gamborg, Christian; Röcklinsberg, Helena

2015-01-01

Humans have, as far as the archeological records show, always eaten insects, reaching over 2000 edible species today. Given a growing global human population and high pressure on resources, interest in insects as a nutrious protein source for human food (entomophagy) and novel protein source...... for animal feed is developing. Compared to most other sources of animal protein insects are considered to be an environmentally low-impact source of nutrients. In a Western context the search for sustainable food and feed products has therefore lead to a growing interest in the area. However, as insects...... score low on the socio-zoological scale, but high on the ‘disgust’-scale, mainly based on culturally transmitted information, utilizing insects in the food sector will probably face consumer resistance. The use of insects as a major human food and feed source is thought to present two major challenges...

The Future of Food Demand: Understanding Differences in Global Economic Models

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Valin, Hugo; Sands, Ronald; van der Mensbrugghe, Dominique; Nelson, Gerald; Ahammad, Helal; Blanc, Elodie; Bodirsky, Benjamin; Fujimori, Shinichiro; Hasegawa, Tomoko; Havlik, Petr; Heyhoe, Edwina; Kyle, G. Page; Mason d' Croz, Daniel; Paltsev, S.; Rolinski, Susanne; Tabeau, Andrzej; van Meijl, Hans; von Lampe, Martin; Willenbockel, Dirk

2014-01-01

Understanding the capacity of agricultural systems to feed the world population under climate change requires a good prospective vision on the future development of food demand. This paper reviews modeling approaches from ten global economic models participating to the AgMIP project, in particular the demand function chosen and the set of parameters used. We compare food demand projections at the horizon 2050 for various regions and agricultural products under harmonized scenarios. Depending on models, we find for a business as usual scenario (SSP2) an increase in food demand of 59-98% by 2050, slightly higher than FAO projection (54%). The prospective for animal calories is particularly uncertain with a range of 61-144%, whereas FAO anticipates an increase by 76%. The projections reveal more sensitive to socio-economic assumptions than to climate change conditions or bioenergy development. When considering a higher population lower economic growth world (SSP3), consumption per capita drops by 9% for crops and 18% for livestock. Various assumptions on climate change in this exercise do not lead to world calorie losses greater than 6%. Divergences across models are however notable, due to differences in demand system, income elasticities specification, and response to price change in the baseline.

Speculation on commodities futures markets and destabilization of global food prices: exploring the connections.

Science.gov (United States)

Ghosh, Jayati; Heintz, James; Pollin, Robert

2012-01-01

In December 2010, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization's Food Price Index surpassed its previous peak of June 2008, and prices remained at this level through September 2011. This pattern is creating justified fears of a renewal or intensification of the global food crisis. This paper reviews arguments and evidence to inform debates on how to regulate commodity futures markets in the face of such price volatility and sustained high prices. We focus on the relationship between market liquidity and price patterns in asset markets in general and in commodities futures markets in particular, as well as the relationship between spot and futures market prices for food. We find strong evidence supporting the need to limit huge increases in trading volume on futures markets through regulations. We find that arguments opposing regulation are not supported. We find no support for the claim that liquidity in futures markets stabilizes prices at "fundamental" values or that spot market prices are free of any significant influence from futures markets. Given these results, the most appropriate position for regulators is precautionary: they should enact and enforce policies capable of effectively dampening excessive speculative trading on the commodities markets for food.

The Role of Multicultural Marketing on Malay Consumers Perceptions towards Global vs. Local Ethnic Food Brands

OpenAIRE

Umair, Sana

2013-01-01

This dissertation combines two different elements of interest in International Marketing Research. The objective of this research is the comparison of global versus local brand within the context of ethnic marketing in the multicultural society of Malaysia. The product instant noodle in the category of ethnic food was chosen in the variant of Asam Laksa as the target sample focused specifically on Malay consumers. Comparison was done between Maggi (global) and Mamee (local). The sample compri...

Diet change and food loss reduction: What is their combined impact on global water use and scarcity?

Science.gov (United States)

Jalava, Mika; Guillaume, Joseph H. A.; Kummu, Matti; Porkka, Miina; Siebert, Stefan; Varis, Olli

2016-03-01

There is a pressing need to improve food security and reduce environmental impacts of agricultural production globally. Two of the proposed measures are diet change from animal-based to plant-based foodstuffs and reduction of food losses and waste. These two measures are linked, as diet change affects production and consumption of foodstuffs and consequently loss processes through their different water footprints and loss percentages. This paper takes this link into account for the first time and provides an assessment of the combined potential contribution of diet change and food loss reduction for reducing water footprints and water scarcity. We apply scenarios in which we change diets to follow basic dietary recommendations, limit animal-based protein intake to 25% of total protein intake, and halve food losses to study single and combined effects of diet change and loss reduction. Dietary recommendations alone would achieve 6% and 7% reductions of blue and green water consumption, respectively, while changing diets to contain less animal products would result in savings of 11% and 18%, respectively. Halving food loss would alone achieve 12% reductions for both blue and green water. Combining the measures would reduce water consumption by 23% and 28%, respectively, lowering water scarcity in areas with a population of over 600 million. At a global scale, effects of diet change and loss reduction were synergistic with loss reductions being more effective under changed diet. This demonstrates the importance of considering the link between diet change and loss reduction in assessments of food security and resource use.

Sustainable Food Consumption

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Reisch, Lucia; Eberle, Ulrike; Lorek, Sylvia

2013-01-01

Contemporary food production and consumption cannot be regarded as sustainable and raises problems with its wide scope involving diverse actors. Moreover, in the face of demographic change and a growing global population, sus-tainability problems arising from food systems will likely become more...... and globalization of agriculture and food processing, the shift of consumption patterns toward more dietary animal protein, the emergence of modern food styles that entail heavily processed products, the growing gap on a global scale between rich and poor, and the paradoxical lack of food security amid an abundance...... of food. These factors are attributable to national and international policies and regulations, as well as to prevalent business prac-tices and, in particular, consumers' values and habits. The most effective ways for affluent societies to reduce the environmental impact of their diets are to reduce...

Globalization vs National Sovereignty

Science.gov (United States)

2017-06-09

economic market or system in which prices are based on competition among private businesses and not controlled by a government.12 Global Commons...effects of globalization , work in different countries for years of their lives, conduct social networking and business through cyberspace. Civic...Qaeda. Today , The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria recruits and funds operations around the world benefiting from globalization . The central objectives

Vaccination ecosystem health check: achieving impact today and sustainability for tomorrow.

Science.gov (United States)

Saadatian-Elahi, Mitra; Bloom, David; Plotkin, Stanley; Picot, Valentina; Louis, Jacques; Watson, Michael

2017-01-01

Vaccination is a complex ecosystem with several components that interact with one another and with the environment. Today's vaccine ecosystem is defined by the pursuit of polio eradication, the drive to get as many of the new vaccines to as many people as possible and the research and development against immunologically challenging diseases. Despite these successes, vaccine ecosystem is facing keys issues with regard to supply/distribution and cost/profitability asymmetry that risk slowing its global growth. The conference "Vaccination ecosystem health check: achieving impact today and sustainability for tomorrow" held in Annecy-France (January 19-21, 2015) took stock of the health of today's vaccination ecosystem and its ability to reliably and sustainably supply high-quality vaccines while investing in tomorrow's needed innovation. Small and decreasing numbers of suppliers/manufacturing facilities; paucity of research-driven companies; regulatory pressures; market uncertainties; political prioritization; anti-vaccine movements/complacency; and technological and programmatic issues were acknowledged as the major challenges that could weaken today's vaccination ecosystem. The expert panel discussed also drivers and barriers to a sustainable vaccination ecosystem; the metrics of a vaccination ecosystem; and what should be added, removed, increased, or reduced to maintain the health of the vaccination ecosystem.

The food waste hierarchy as a framework for the management of food surplus and food waste

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Papargyropoulou, Effie; Lozano, Rodrigo|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/36412380X; K. Steinberger, Julia; Wright, Nigel; Ujang, Zaini Bin

2014-01-01

The unprecedented scale of food waste in global food supply chains is attracting increasing attention due to its environmental, social and economic impacts. Drawing on interviews with food waste specialists, this study construes the boundaries between food surplus and food waste, avoidable and

The Globalization of Innovation in the Danish Food Industry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Haakonsson, Stine Jessen

2012-01-01

The internationalization of innovation in the food industry is becoming increasingly oriented towards emerging markets. Innovative lead firms express a need for ‘tapping into knowledge’ by collaborating with research facilities, customers and suppliers in these new locations. European firms...... experience a push towards market expansion and knowledge generation directed at emerging markets. This results in new network constructs: global innovation networks. The aim of this paper is twofold. First, it identifies and outlines the determining factors behind the internationalization of innovation due...... to the need to access new markets and knowledge. This unfolds through strategies of exploitation and exploration. Second, it investigates the extent to which these strategies connect to position in the value chain and factors in the host economy. In this, the potential impact at the receiving end...

Certification of Markets, Markets of Certificates: Tracing Sustainability in Global Agro-Food Value Chains

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arthur P. J. Mol

2015-09-01

Full Text Available There is a blossoming of voluntary certification initiatives for sustainable agro-food products and production processes. With these certification initiatives come traceability in supply chains, to guarantee the sustainability of the products consumed. No systematic analysis exists of traceability systems for sustainability in agro-food supply chains. Hence, the purpose of this article is to analyze the prevalence of four different traceability systems to guarantee sustainability; to identify the factors that determine the kind of traceability systems applied in particular supply chains; and to assess what the emergence of economic and market logics in traceability mean for sustainability. Two conclusions are drawn. Globalizing markets for sustainable agro-food products induces the emergence of book-and-claim traceability systems, but the other three systems (identity preservation, segregation and mass balance will continue to exist as different factors drive traceability requirements in different supply chains. Secondly, traceability itself is becoming a market driven by economic and market logics, and this may have consequences for sustainability in agro-food supply chains in the future.

Global Diversity and Leadership.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruiz, Art

2003-01-01

Argues that global diversity has become a business imperative in today's business climate. Global diversity is of core importance even for companies that are considered domestic. Suggests community colleges need help in understanding their customer base and their shifting values in order to meet their needs and win customer loyalty. (NB)

GLOBAL OR NATIONAL BRANDS?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sorina GÎRBOVEANU

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Today, branding is such a strong force that hardly anything goes unbranded. Branding in global markets poses several challenges to the marketers. A key decision is the choice between global and nationals brands. This article gives the answers to the questions: what is, what is need for, what are the advantages, costs and risks of global and national brands? All go to the following conclusion: use global brands where possible and national brands where necessary.

Hydropower versus irrigation—an analysis of global patterns

Science.gov (United States)

Zeng, Ruijie; Cai, Ximing; Ringler, Claudia; Zhu, Tingju

2017-03-01

Numerous reservoirs around the world provide multiple flow regulation functions; key among these are hydroelectricity production and water releases for irrigation. These functions contribute to energy and food security at national, regional and global levels. While reservoir operations for hydroelectricity production might support irrigation, there are also well-known cases where hydroelectricity production reduces water availability for irrigated food production. This study assesses these relationships at the global level using machine-learning techniques and multi-source datasets. We find that 54% of global installed hydropower capacity (around 507 thousand Megawatt) competes with irrigation. Regions where such competition exists include the Central United States, northern Europe, India, Central Asia and Oceania. On the other hand, 8% of global installed hydropower capacity (around 79 thousand Megawatt) complements irrigation, particularly in the Yellow and Yangtze River Basins of China, the East and West Coasts of the United States and most river basins of Southeast Asia, Canada and Russia. No significant relationship is found for the rest of the world. We further analyze the impact of climate variables on the relationships between hydropower and irrigation. Reservoir flood control functions that operate under increased precipitation levels appear to constrain hydroelectricity production in various river basins of the United States, South China and most basins in Europe and Oceania. On the other hand, increased reservoir evaporative losses and higher irrigation requirements due to higher potential evaporation levels may lead to increased tradeoffs between irrigation and hydropower due to reduced water availability in regions with warmer climates, such as India, South China, and the Southern United States. With most reservoirs today being built for multiple purposes, it is important for policymakers to understand and plan for growing tradeoffs between key

Corrosion issues in nuclear industry today

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cattant, F.; Crusset, D.; Feron, D.

2008-01-01

In the context of global warming, nuclear energy is a carbon-free source of power and so is a meaningful option for energy production without CO 2 emissions. Currently, there are more than 440 commercial nuclear reactors, accounting for about 15% of electric power generation in the world, and there has not been a major accident in over 20 years. The world's fleet of nuclear power plants is, on average, more than 20 years old. Even though the design life of a nuclear power plant is typically 30 or 40 years, it is quite feasible that many nuclear power plants will be able to operate for longer than this. The re-emergence of nuclear power today is founded on the present generation of nuclear reactors meeting the demands of extended service life, ensuring the cost competitiveness of nuclear power and matching enhanced safety requirements. Nuclear power plant engineers should be able to demonstrate such integrity and reliability of their system materials and components as to enable nuclear power plants to operate beyond their initial design life. Effective waste management is another challenge for sustainable nuclear energy today; more precisely, a solution is needed for the management of high-level and long-lived intermediate-level radioactive waste over the very long term. Most nuclear countries are currently gathering the data needed to assess the feasibility of a deep geological waste repository, including the prediction of the behaviour of materials over several thousands of years. The extended service life of nuclear power plants and the need for permanent disposal for nuclear waste are today's key issues in the nuclear industry. We focus here on the major role that corrosion plays in these two factors, and on the French approaches to these two issues. (authors)

Use of Foodomics for Control of Food Processing and Assessing of Food Safety.

Science.gov (United States)

Josić, D; Peršurić, Ž; Rešetar, D; Martinović, T; Saftić, L; Kraljević Pavelić, S

Food chain, food safety, and food-processing sectors face new challenges due to globalization of food chain and changes in the modern consumer preferences. In addition, gradually increasing microbial resistance, changes in climate, and human errors in food handling remain a pending barrier for the efficient global food safety management. Consequently, a need for development, validation, and implementation of rapid, sensitive, and accurate methods for assessment of food safety often termed as foodomics methods is required. Even though, the growing role of these high-throughput foodomic methods based on genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic techniques has yet to be completely acknowledged by the regulatory agencies and bodies. The sensitivity and accuracy of these methods are superior to previously used standard analytical procedures and new methods are suitable to address a number of novel requirements posed by the food production sector and global food market. © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Food irradiation; Global aspects and future prospects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Matsuyama, Akira (Tokyo Univ. of Agriculture (Japan). Nodai Research Institute)

1990-07-01

This paper reviews researches, commentaries, and conference and public records of food irradiation, published mainly during the period 1987-1989, focusing on the current conditions of food irradiation that may pose not only scientific or technologic problems but also political issues or consumerism. Approximately 50 kinds of food, although not enough to fill economic benefit, are now permitted for food irradiation in the world. Consumerism is pointed out as the major factor that precludes the feasibility of food irradiation in the world. In the United States, irradiation is feasible only for spices. Food irradiation has already been feasible in France, Hollands, Belgium, and the Soviet Union; has under consideration in the Great Britain, and has been rejected in the West Germany. Although the feasibility of food irradiation is projected to increase gradually in the future, commercial success or failure depends on the final selection of consumers. In this respect, the role of education and public information are stressed. Meat radicidation and recent progress in the method for detecting irradiated food are referred to. (N.K.) 128 refs.

Will Transition of Staple Food Strategy in China Really Mitigate Global Climate Change?

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, B.; Zhao, D.

2017-12-01

meet the demand for food in China, but it increases risk of global climate change.

Global Food Security Index Studies and Satellite Information

Science.gov (United States)

Medina, T. A.; Ganti-Agrawal, S.; Joshi, D.; Lakhankar, T.

2017-12-01

Food yield is equal to the total crop harvest per unit cultivated area. During the elapsed time of germination and frequent harvesting, both human and climate related effects determine a country's' contribution towards global food security. Each country across the globe's annual income per capita was collected to then determine nine countries for further studies. For a location to be chosen, its income per capita needed to be considered poor, uprising or wealthy. Both physical land cover and regional climate helped categorize potential parameters thought to be studied. Once selected, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data was collected for Ethiopia, Liberia, Indonesia, United States, Norway, Russia, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia over the recent 16 years for approximately every 16 days starting from early in the year 2000. Software languages such as Geographic Information System (GIS), MatLab and Excel were used to determine how population size, income and deforestation directly determines agricultural yields. Because of high maintenance requirements for large harvests when forest areas are cleared, they often have a reduction in soil quality, requiring fertilizer use to produce sufficient crop yields. Total area and vegetation index of each country is to be studied, to determine crop and deforestation percentages. To determine how deforestation impacts future income and crop yield predictions of each country studied. By using NDVI results a parameter is to be potentially found that will help define an index, to create an equation that will determine a country's annual income and ability to provide for their families and themselves.

Microbial safety of foods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bandekar, J.R.

2013-01-01

Despite advances in hygiene, consumer knowledge and food treatment and processing, food-borne diseases have become one of the most widespread public health problems in the world to-day. About two thirds of all outbreaks are traced to microbial contaminated food - one of the most hazardous being Clostridium botulinum, E. coli 0157: H7 and Salmonella. The pathogens can be introduced in the food products anywhere in the food chain and hence it is of prime important to have microbial vigilance in the entire food chain. WHO estimates that food-borne and water-borne diarrhoeal diseases taken together kill about 2.2 million people annually. The infants, children, elderly and immune-compromised people are particularly susceptible to food-borne diseases. Unsafe food causes many acute and life-long diseases, ranging from diarrhoeal diseases to various forms of cancer. A number of factors such as emergence of new food-borne pathogens, development of drug resistance in the pathogens, changing life style, global trade of food etc. are responsible for the continued persistence of food-borne diseases. Due to consumer demand, a number of Ready-To-Eat (RTE) minimally processed foods are increasingly marketed. However, there is increased risk of food-borne diseases with these products. The food-borne disease outbreaks due to E. coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella and Campylobacter are responsible for recall of many foods resulting in heavy losses to food industry. The development of multi drug resistant pathogens due to indiscriminate use of antibiotics is also a major problem. Food Technology Division of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre has been working on food-borne bacterial pathogens particularly Salmonella, Campylobacter, Vibrio and Aeromonas species, their prevalence in export quality seafood as well in foods sold in retail market such as poultry, fish, sprouts and salads. These pathogens from Indian foods have been characterized for the presence of virulence genes

Global assessment of ocean carbon export by combining satellite observations and food-web models

Science.gov (United States)

Siegel, D. A.; Buesseler, K. O.; Doney, S. C.; Sailley, S. F.; Behrenfeld, M. J.; Boyd, P. W.

2014-03-01

The export of organic carbon from the surface ocean by sinking particles is an important, yet highly uncertain, component of the global carbon cycle. Here we introduce a mechanistic assessment of the global ocean carbon export using satellite observations, including determinations of net primary production and the slope of the particle size spectrum, to drive a food-web model that estimates the production of sinking zooplankton feces and algal aggregates comprising the sinking particle flux at the base of the euphotic zone. The synthesis of observations and models reveals fundamentally different and ecologically consistent regional-scale patterns in export and export efficiency not found in previous global carbon export assessments. The model reproduces regional-scale particle export field observations and predicts a climatological mean global carbon export from the euphotic zone of 6 Pg C yr-1. Global export estimates show small variation (typically model parameter values. The model is also robust to the choices of the satellite data products used and enables interannual changes to be quantified. The present synthesis of observations and models provides a path for quantifying the ocean's biological pump.

The AgMIP Coordinated Global and Regional Assessments (CGRA) of Climate Change Impacts on Agriculture and Food Security

Science.gov (United States)

Ruane, Alex; Rosenzweig, Cynthia; Elliott, Joshua; Antle, John

2015-01-01

The Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP) has been working since 2010 to construct a protocol-based framework enabling regional assessments (led by regional experts and modelers) that can provide consistent inputs to global economic and integrated assessment models. These global models can then relay important global-level information that drive regional decision-making and outcomes throughout an interconnected agricultural system. AgMIPs community of nearly 800 climate, crop, livestock, economics, and IT experts has improved the state-of-the-art through model intercomparisons, validation exercises, regional integrated assessments, and the launch of AgMIP programs on all six arable continents. AgMIP is now launching Coordinated Global and Regional Assessments (CGRA) of climate change impacts on agriculture and food security to link global and regional crop and economic models using a protocol-based framework. The CGRA protocols are being developed to utilize historical observations, climate projections, and RCPsSSPs from CMIP5 (and potentially CMIP6), and will examine stakeholder-driven agricultural development and adaptation scenarios to provide cutting-edge assessments of climate changes impact on agriculture and food security. These protocols will build on the foundation of established protocols from AgMIPs 30+ activities, and will emphasize the use of multiple models, scenarios, and scales to enable an accurate assessment of related uncertainties. The CGRA is also designed to provide the outputs necessary to feed into integrated assessment models (IAMs), nutrition and food security assessments, nitrogen and carbon cycle models, and additional impact-sector assessments (e.g., water resources, land-use, biomes, urban areas). This presentation will describe the current status of CGRA planning and initial prototype experiments to demonstrate key aspects of the protocols before wider implementation ahead of the IPCC Sixth Assessment

The AgMIP Coordinated Global and Regional Assessments (CGRA) of Climate Change Impacts on Agriculture and Food Security

Science.gov (United States)

Ruane, A. C.; Rosenzweig, C.; Antle, J. M.; Elliott, J. W.

2015-12-01

The Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP) has been working since 2010 to construct a protocol-based framework enabling regional assessments (led by regional experts and modelers) that can provide consistent inputs to global economic and integrated assessment models. These global models can then relay important global-level information that drive regional decision-making and outcomes throughout an interconnected agricultural system. AgMIP's community of nearly 800 climate, crop, livestock, economics, and IT experts has improved the state-of-the-art through model intercomparisons, validation exercises, regional integrated assessments, and the launch of AgMIP programs on all six arable continents. AgMIP is now launching Coordinated Global and Regional Assessments (CGRA) of climate change impacts on agriculture and food security to link global and regional crop and economic models using a protocol-based framework. The CGRA protocols are being developed to utilize historical observations, climate projections, and RCPs/SSPs from CMIP5 (and potentially CMIP6), and will examine stakeholder-driven agricultural development and adaptation scenarios to provide cutting-edge assessments of climate change's impact on agriculture and food security. These protocols will build on the foundation of established protocols from AgMIP's 30+ activities, and will emphasize the use of multiple models, scenarios, and scales to enable an accurate assessment of related uncertainties. The CGRA is also designed to provide the outputs necessary to feed into integrated assessment models (IAMs), nutrition and food security assessments, nitrogen and carbon cycle models, and additional impact-sector assessments (e.g., water resources, land-use, biomes, urban areas). This presentation will describe the current status of CGRA planning and initial prototype experiments to demonstrate key aspects of the protocols before wider implementation ahead of the IPCC Sixth Assessment

Food Safety as a contributor to Food Security: global policy concerns & challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vijay Kumar Chattu

2015-12-01

Microphysical particles such as glass and metal can be hazardous and cause serious injury to consumers. Pathogenic bacteria, viruses and toxins produced by microorganisms are all possible contaminants of food and impact food safety. Like food security, food safety is also effected by poverty and climate change. Hence Foo

Creating Global Citizens through Study Abroad

Science.gov (United States)

Bellamy, Carol; Weinberg, Adam

2006-01-01

One of the greatest challenges for a student today is how to live as a responsible citizen in a globalizing world. Today's interconnected world cannot afford bystanders or passive participants. It demands confident, skilled citizens who will make responsible choices that take into consideration how educators allocate resources and what impact…

Food Safety Incidents, Collateral Damage and Trade Policy Responses: China-Canada Agri-Food Trade

OpenAIRE

Liu, Huanan; Hobbs, Jill E.; Kerr, William A.

2008-01-01

As markets become globalized, food safety policy and international trade policy are increasingly intertwined. Globalization also means that food safety incidents are widely reported internationally. One result is that food safety incidents can negatively impact products where no food safety issue exists as consumers lose trust in both foreign and domestic food safety institutions. While the policy framework for dealing with directly effected imported foods is well understood, how to deal with...

COMPETITION AMONG FOREIGN AND CHINESE AGRO-FOOD ENTERPRISES IN THE PROCESS OF GLOBALIZATION

OpenAIRE

Wei, Anning; Cacho, Joyce A.

1999-01-01

Based on various case studies, this article examines the interaction of foreign investors and local operators in globalization in the agro-food market in China. The study found that to break the limitation of the high-end market and to position mainly in the middle market were critical for international brands to succeed. Asian companies approached the China market as an insider because of cultural proximity. The latter, plus focused management and effective technology, made their operations ...

Radiation processing of food - safety and quality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chakraborty, Pratap

2007-01-01

Food is vital for human existence. Conservation and preservation of food is a prerequisite for food security and it provides economic stability and self-reliance to a nation. The need to preserve food has been felt by mankind since time immemorial. The seasonal nature of production, long distances between production and consumption centres and rising gap between demand and supply have made this need even more relevant today

REVIEW ARTICLE: Fast Foods and their Impact on Health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ashakiran

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Eat healthy and live healthy’ is one of the essential requirements for long life. Unfortunately, today’s world has been adapted to a system of consumption of foods which has several adverse effects on health. Lifestyle changes has compelled us so much that one has so little time to really think what we are eating is right Globalisation and urbanisation have greatly affected one’s eating habits and forced many people to consume fancy and high calorie fast foods, popularly known as ‘Junk foods. Research into the possible health hazards on consumption of such high calorie foods has given an insight to avoid them, but unfortunately measures taken are not aseffective as they need to be. Diseases like coronary artery disease and diabetes mellitus have seen a profound rise in developing countries and such unhealthy junk food consumption is one of the notable factors to its contribution. This global problem of consuming junk food on a large scale and its impact on health needs emphasis and health education which can greatly contribute to itslimited consumption and switching over to healthy eating habits for the better living. knowledge highlighting about the eating habits,nutritional aspects, quality of unhealthy foods, their health impact and preventive measures should be given to create awareness and render health education for a change towards good eating practices. Junk food and its impact on health have been reviewed from variousresources and have been systematically presented, so as to emphasize its ill effects and measures to be adapted towards healthy living.

Global Software Engineering

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ebert, Christof; Kuhrmann, Marco; Prikladnicki, Rafael

2016-01-01

Professional software products and IT systems and services today are developed mostly by globally distributed teams, projects, and companies. Successfully orchestrating Global Software Engineering (GSE) has become the major success factor both for organizations and practitioners. Yet, more than...... and experience reported at the IEEE International Conference on Software Engineering (ICGSE) series. The outcomes of our analysis show GSE as a field highly attached to industry and, thus, a considerable share of ICGSE papers address the transfer of Software Engineering concepts and solutions to the global stage...

Digital Citizenship within Global Contexts

Science.gov (United States)

Searson, Michael; Hancock, Marsali; Soheil, Nusrat; Shepherd, Gregory

2015-01-01

EduSummIT 2013 featured a working group that examined digital citizenship within a global context. Group members recognized that, given today's international, regional, political, and social dynamics, the notion of "global" might be more aspirational than practical. The development of informed policies and practices serving and involving…

GEOGLAM Crop Assessment Tool: Adapting from global agricultural monitoring to food security monitoring

Science.gov (United States)

Humber, M. L.; Becker-Reshef, I.; Nordling, J.; Barker, B.; McGaughey, K.

2014-12-01

The GEOGLAM Crop Monitor's Crop Assessment Tool was released in August 2013 in support of the GEOGLAM Crop Monitor's objective to develop transparent, timely crop condition assessments in primary agricultural production areas, highlighting potential hotspots of stress/bumper crops. The Crop Assessment Tool allows users to view satellite derived products, best available crop masks, and crop calendars (created in collaboration with GEOGLAM Crop Monitor partners), then in turn submit crop assessment entries detailing the crop's condition, drivers, impacts, trends, and other information. Although the Crop Assessment Tool was originally intended to collect data on major crop production at the global scale, the types of data collected are also relevant to the food security and rangelands monitoring communities. In line with the GEOGLAM Countries at Risk philosophy of "foster[ing] the coordination of product delivery and capacity building efforts for national and regional organizations, and the development of harmonized methods and tools", a modified version of the Crop Assessment Tool is being developed for the USAID Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET). As a member of the Countries at Risk component of GEOGLAM, FEWS NET provides agricultural monitoring, timely food security assessments, and early warnings of potential significant food shortages focusing specifically on countries at risk of food security emergencies. While the FEWS NET adaptation of the Crop Assessment Tool focuses on crop production in the context of food security rather than large scale production, the data collected is nearly identical to the data collected by the Crop Monitor. If combined, the countries monitored by FEWS NET and GEOGLAM Crop Monitor would encompass over 90 countries representing the most important regions for crop production and food security.

Preventing food crises using a food policy approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Timmer, C Peter

2010-01-01

A food crisis occurs when rates of hunger and malnutrition rise sharply at local, national, or global levels. This definition distinguishes a food crisis from chronic hunger, although food crises are far more likely among populations already suffering from prolonged hunger and malnutrition. A food crisis is usually set off by a shock to either supply or demand for food and often involves a sudden spike in food prices. It is important to remember that in a market economy, food prices measure the scarcity of food, not its value in any nutritional sense. Except in rare circumstances, the straightforward way to prevent a food crisis is to have rapidly rising labor productivity through economic growth and keep food prices stable while maintaining access by the poor. The formula is easier to state than to implement, especially on a global scale, but it is good to have both the objective, reducing short-run spikes in hunger, and the deep mechanisms, pro-poor economic growth and stable food prices, clearly in mind. A coherent food policy seeks to use these mechanisms, and others, to achieve a sustained reduction in chronic hunger over the long run while preventing spikes in hunger in the short run.

Melamine nephrotoxicity: an emerging epidemic in an era of globalization.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhalla, Vivek; Grimm, Paul C; Chertow, Glenn M; Pao, Alan C

2009-04-01

Recent outbreaks of nephrolithiasis and acute kidney injury among children in China have been linked to ingestion of milk-based infant formula contaminated with melamine. These cases provide evidence in humans for the nephrotoxicity of melamine, which previously had been described only in animals. The consequences of this outbreak are already severe and will likely continue to worsen. Herein we summarize the global impact of the melamine milk contamination, the reemergence of melamine-tainted animal feed, and potential mechanisms of melamine nephrotoxicity. Large-scale epidemiologic studies are necessary to further characterize this disease and to assess its potential long-term sequelae. This epidemic of environmental kidney disease highlights the morbidity associated with adulterated food products available in today's global marketplace and reminds us of the unique vulnerability of the kidney to environmental insults. Melamine is the latest in a growing list of diverse potentially toxic compounds about which nephrologists and other health-care providers responsible for the diagnosis and management of kidney disease must now be aware.

HOW UNIVERSAL ARE THE UNIVERSAL HUMAN RIGHTS TODAY?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lia-Alexandra BALTADOR

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This paper aims to contribute to a constructive debate on human rights. The two World Wars of the last century brought about the creation of the United Nations aimed “to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small”. Only three years later the Universal Declaration of the Human Rights was elaborated and promoted by the UN, considered to be the foundation of international human rights law. Today, as globalization brings all closer together in a “global village”, one can see that there are many ways to perceive and guarantee human rights, in different states, but also within different states. Poverty, illiteracy, censorship, cruel treatment and even the lack of guarantee for the right to life are, unfortunately, the norm for many people of the world. Such observations bring up questions regarding the legitimacy, universality and coherence of human rights.

Towards global benchmarking of food environments and policies to reduce obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases: design and methods for nation-wide surveys.

Science.gov (United States)

Vandevijvere, Stefanie; Swinburn, Boyd

2014-05-15

Unhealthy diets are heavily driven by unhealthy food environments. The International Network for Food and Obesity/non-communicable diseases (NCDs) Research, Monitoring and Action Support (INFORMAS) has been established to reduce obesity, NCDs and their related inequalities globally. This paper describes the design and methods of the first-ever, comprehensive national survey on the healthiness of food environments and the public and private sector policies influencing them, as a first step towards global monitoring of food environments and policies. A package of 11 substudies has been identified: (1) food composition, labelling and promotion on food packages; (2) food prices, shelf space and placement of foods in different outlets (mainly supermarkets); (3) food provision in schools/early childhood education (ECE) services and outdoor food promotion around schools/ECE services; (4) density of and proximity to food outlets in communities; food promotion to children via (5) television, (6) magazines, (7) sport club sponsorships, and (8) internet and social media; (9) analysis of the impact of trade and investment agreements on food environments; (10) government policies and actions; and (11) private sector actions and practices. For the substudies on food prices, provision, promotion and retail, 'environmental equity' indicators have been developed to check progress towards reducing diet-related health inequalities. Indicators for these modules will be assessed by tertiles of area deprivation index or school deciles. International 'best practice benchmarks' will be identified, against which to compare progress of countries on improving the healthiness of their food environments and policies. This research is highly original due to the very 'upstream' approach being taken and its direct policy relevance. The detailed protocols will be offered to and adapted for countries of varying size and income in order to establish INFORMAS globally as a new monitoring initiative

Safer food means food irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Steele, J.H.

2000-01-01

In this article the author presents the sanitary advantages that are brought by food irradiation. OMS experts state that this technique is safe and harmless for any average global dose between 10 KGy and 100 KGy. Whenever a seminar is held on the topic, it is always concluded that food irradiation should be promoted and favoured. In France food irradiation is authorized for some kinds of products and exceptionally above a 10 KGy dose. Historically food irradiation has been hampered in its development by its classification by American Authorities as food additives in 1958 (Delanay clause). The author draws a parallel between food irradiation and pasteurization or food deep-freezing in their beginnings. (A.C.)

New literacies, Japanese youth, and global fast food culture: Exploring youth critical agencies

OpenAIRE

Iwase, Masayuki

2010-01-01

This thesis explores the critical agencies expressed by a group of Japanese youth asked to reflect on their understanding of fast food cultures in the context of a global consumer-media environment. New literacies and the concepts of the young cyberflâneur and the phoneur are used to define and map the youths’ agentic practices, while various qualitative research methods are employed to investigate how eight Japanese high school students understand the meaning and impact of McDonald’s in thei...

Precautionary labelling of foods for allergen content: are we ready for a global framework?

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Food allergy appears to be on the rise with the current mainstay of treatment centred on allergen avoidance. Mandatory allergen labelling has improved the safety of food for allergic consumers. However an additional form of voluntary labelling (termed precautionary allergen labelling) has evolved on a wide range of packaged goods, in a bid by manufacturers to minimise risk to customers, and the negative impact on business that might result from exposure to trace amounts of food allergen present during cross-contamination during production. This has resulted in near ubiquitous utilisation of a multitude of different precautionary allergen labels with subsequent confusion amongst many consumers as to their significance. The global nature of food production and manufacturing makes harmonisation of allergen labelling regulations across the world a matter of increasing importance. Addressing inconsistencies across countries with regards to labelling legislation, as well as improvement or even banning of precautionary allergy labelling are both likely to be significant steps forward in improved food safety for allergic families. This article outlines the current status of allergen labelling legislation around the world and reviews the value of current existing precautionary allergen labelling for the allergic consumer. We strongly urge for an international framework to be considered to help roadmap a solution to the weaknesses of the current systems, and discuss the role of legislation in facilitating this. PMID:24791183

Precautionary labelling of foods for allergen content: are we ready for a global framework?

Science.gov (United States)

Allen, Katrina J; Turner, Paul J; Pawankar, Ruby; Taylor, Stephen; Sicherer, Scott; Lack, Gideon; Rosario, Nelson; Ebisawa, Motohiro; Wong, Gary; Mills, E N Clare; Beyer, Kirsten; Fiocchi, Alessandro; Sampson, Hugh A

2014-01-01

Food allergy appears to be on the rise with the current mainstay of treatment centred on allergen avoidance. Mandatory allergen labelling has improved the safety of food for allergic consumers. However an additional form of voluntary labelling (termed precautionary allergen labelling) has evolved on a wide range of packaged goods, in a bid by manufacturers to minimise risk to customers, and the negative impact on business that might result from exposure to trace amounts of food allergen present during cross-contamination during production. This has resulted in near ubiquitous utilisation of a multitude of different precautionary allergen labels with subsequent confusion amongst many consumers as to their significance. The global nature of food production and manufacturing makes harmonisation of allergen labelling regulations across the world a matter of increasing importance. Addressing inconsistencies across countries with regards to labelling legislation, as well as improvement or even banning of precautionary allergy labelling are both likely to be significant steps forward in improved food safety for allergic families. This article outlines the current status of allergen labelling legislation around the world and reviews the value of current existing precautionary allergen labelling for the allergic consumer. We strongly urge for an international framework to be considered to help roadmap a solution to the weaknesses of the current systems, and discuss the role of legislation in facilitating this.

A comparison of certified and noncertified pet foods.

OpenAIRE

Brown, R G

1997-01-01

The market presents the buyer with a wide array of pet food choices. Marketing pet foods has changed in the last decade and today foods may be bought at a variety of outlets. The present study compares nutrient composition, digestibility, and effect on urine pH (cat foods only) of selected certified and noncertified pet foods from different outlets. The selected foods were considered analogous in terms of declared ingredients and macronutrient profiles. The analytical methods used were those ...

Rethinking Global Water Governance for the 21st Century

Science.gov (United States)

Ajami, N. K.; Cooley, H.

2012-12-01

Growing pressure on the world's water resources is having major impacts on our social and economic well-being. According to the United Nations, today, at least 1.1 billion people do not have access to clean drinking water. Pressures on water resources are likely to continue to worsen in response to decaying and crumbling infrastructure, continued population growth, climate change, degradation of water quality, and other challenges. If these challenges are not addressed, they pose future risks for many countries around the world, making it urgent that efforts are made to understand both the nature of the problems and the possible solutions that can effectively reduce the associated risks. There is growing understanding of the need to rethink governance to meet the 21st century water challenges. More and more water problems extend over traditional national boundaries and to the global community and the types and numbers of organizations addressing water issues are large and growing. Economic globalization and transnational organizations and activities point to the need for improving coordination and integration on addressing water issues, which are increasingly tied to food and energy security, trade, global climate change, and other international policies. We will present some of the key limitations of global water governance institutions and provide recommendations for improving these institutions to address 21st century global water challenges more effectively.

Academic librarianship today

CERN Document Server

2017-01-01

Intended for use by both librarians and students in LIS programs, Academic Librarianship Today is the most current, comprehensive overview of the field available today. Key features include: Each chapter was commissioned specifically for this new book, and the authors are highly regarded academic librarians or library school faculty— or both Cutting-edge topics such as open access, copyright, digital curation and preservation, emerging technologies, new roles for academic librarians, cooperative collection development and resource sharing, and patron-driven acquisitions are explored in depth Each chapter ends with thought-provoking questions for discussion and carefully constructed assignments that faculty can assign or adapt for their courses The book begins with Gilman’s introduction, an overview that briefly synthesizes the contents of the contributors’ chapters by highlighting major themes. The main part of the book is organized into three parts: The Academic Library Landscape Today, ...

Examining the Gap between Science and Public Opinion about Genetically Modified Food and Global Warming.

Science.gov (United States)

McFadden, Brandon R

2016-01-01

There is great uncertainty due to challenges of escalating population growth and climate change. Public perception that diverges from the scientific community may decrease the effectiveness of scientific inquiry and innovation as tools to solve these challenges. The objective of this study was to identify the factors associated with the divergence of public opinion from scientific consensus regarding the safety of genetically modified (GM) foods and human involvement in global warming (GW). Results indicate that the effects of knowledge on public opinion are complex and non-uniform across types of knowledge (i.e., perceived and actual) or issues. Political affiliation affects agreement with science; Democrats were more likely to agree that GM food is safe and human actions cause GW. Respondents who had relatively higher cognitive function or held illusionary correlations about GM food or GW were more likely to have an opinion that differed from the scientific community.

Examining the Gap between Science and Public Opinion about Genetically Modified Food and Global Warming

Science.gov (United States)

McFadden, Brandon R.

2016-01-01

There is great uncertainty due to challenges of escalating population growth and climate change. Public perception that diverges from the scientific community may decrease the effectiveness of scientific inquiry and innovation as tools to solve these challenges. The objective of this study was to identify the factors associated with the divergence of public opinion from scientific consensus regarding the safety of genetically modified (GM) foods and human involvement in global warming (GW). Results indicate that the effects of knowledge on public opinion are complex and non-uniform across types of knowledge (i.e., perceived and actual) or issues. Political affiliation affects agreement with science; Democrats were more likely to agree that GM food is safe and human actions cause GW. Respondents who had relatively higher cognitive function or held illusionary correlations about GM food or GW were more likely to have an opinion that differed from the scientific community. PMID:27829008

Food losses and waste in the context of sustainable food systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Timmermans, A.J.M.; Ambuko, J.; Belik, W.; Huang, Jikun

2014-01-01

The issue of global food losses and waste has recently received much attention and has been given high visibility. According to FAO, almost one-third of food produced for human consumption – approximately 1.3 billion tonnes per year – is either lost or wasted globally: their reduction is now

Television Food Advertising to Children: A Global Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Halford, Jason C.G.; Boyland, Emma J.; Chapman, Kathy; Bautista-Castaño, Inmaculada; Berg, Christina; Caroli, Margherita; Cook, Brian; Coutinho, Janine G.; Effertz, Tobias; Grammatikaki, Evangelia; Keller, Kathleen; Leung, Raymond; Manios, Yannis; Monteiro, Renata; Pedley, Claire; Prell, Hillevi; Raine, Kim; Recine, Elisabetta; Serra-Majem, Lluis; Singh, Sonia; Summerbell, Carolyn

2010-01-01

Objectives. We compared television food advertising to children in several countries. Methods. We undertook a collaboration among 13 research groups in Australia, Asia, Western Europe, and North and South America. Each group recorded programming for 2 weekdays and 2 weekend days between 6:00 and 22:00, for the 3 channels most watched by children, between October 2007 and March 2008. We classified food advertisements as core (nutrient dense, low in energy), noncore (high in undesirable nutrients or energy, as defined by dietary standards), or miscellaneous. We also categorized thematic content (promotional characters and premiums). Results. Food advertisements composed 11% to 29% of advertisements. Noncore foods were featured in 53% to 87% of food advertisements, and the rate of noncore food advertising was higher during children's peak viewing times. Most food advertisements containing persuasive marketing were for noncore products. Conclusions. Across all sampled countries, children were exposed to high volumes of television advertising for unhealthy foods, featuring child-oriented persuasive techniques. Because of the proven connections between food advertising, preferences, and consumption, our findings lend support to calls for regulation of food advertising during children's peak viewing times. PMID:20634464

Television food advertising to children: a global perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly, Bridget; Halford, Jason C G; Boyland, Emma J; Chapman, Kathy; Bautista-Castaño, Inmaculada; Berg, Christina; Caroli, Margherita; Cook, Brian; Coutinho, Janine G; Effertz, Tobias; Grammatikaki, Evangelia; Keller, Kathleen; Leung, Raymond; Manios, Yannis; Monteiro, Renata; Pedley, Claire; Prell, Hillevi; Raine, Kim; Recine, Elisabetta; Serra-Majem, Lluis; Singh, Sonia; Summerbell, Carolyn

2010-09-01

We compared television food advertising to children in several countries. We undertook a collaboration among 13 research groups in Australia, Asia, Western Europe, and North and South America. Each group recorded programming for 2 weekdays and 2 weekend days between 6:00 and 22:00, for the 3 channels most watched by children, between October 2007 and March 2008. We classified food advertisements as core (nutrient dense, low in energy), noncore (high in undesirable nutrients or energy, as defined by dietary standards), or miscellaneous. We also categorized thematic content (promotional characters and premiums). Food advertisements composed 11% to 29% of advertisements. Noncore foods were featured in 53% to 87% of food advertisements, and the rate of noncore food advertising was higher during children's peak viewing times. Most food advertisements containing persuasive marketing were for noncore products. Across all sampled countries, children were exposed to high volumes of television advertising for unhealthy foods, featuring child-oriented persuasive techniques. Because of the proven connections between food advertising, preferences, and consumption, our findings lend support to calls for regulation of food advertising during children's peak viewing times.

From food production to food security: developing interdisciplinary, regional-level research

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ingram, J.S.I.

2011-01-01

Food security is a condition whereby “all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life” (FAO World Food Summit, 1996). Globally, food production has kept

[Food poisoning--importance of international perspective].

Science.gov (United States)

Nishibuchi, Mitsuaki

2012-08-01

It is important to obtain the information on food security in the countries other than Japan since more than 60 % of the food consumed come from these countries. Food security is now considered as a global issue. A global trend persuading us to provide safe food to humans is based on the concept of human security development associated with a sense of human mission to sustain one's life. Another global tendency pushing us to secure safety and hygiene of food is driven by the economic pressure coming from the rules in international trade established by Codex Committee under FAO/WHO. In contrast to these trends under globalization requesting safe and hygienic food, food habits based on tradition or religion are maintained locally in various parts of the world. These local habits include eating raw or improperly cooked foods, which may become a risk of being exposed to food poisoning pathogens. This issue may be adequately solved by a risk assessment approach based on the concept of appropriate level of protection (ALOP). Like or not, people in some local areas live in the unhygienic environment where they are unintentionally and frequently exposed to enteric pathogens or immunologically cross-reacting microorganisms through which they may acquire specific immunity to the pathogens and escape from infection by the pathogens. There are therefore many areas in the world where people understand the necessity to provide safe food at the international level (globalization) but actually consume food in varying hygienic conditions from area to area due in part to traditional food habits or living environments (localization); we call this situation as glocalization (global+local).

The Coolness of Capitalism Today

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jim McGuigan

2012-05-01

Full Text Available This paper is about the reconciliation of cultural analysis with political economy in Marxist-inspired research on communications. It traces how these two traditions became separated with the development of a one-dimensional and consumerist cultural studies, on the one-hand, and a more classically Marxist political economy of communications, on the other hand, that was accused of holding a simplistic and erroneous concept of ideology. The paper defends a conception of ideology as distorted communication motivated by unequal power relations and sketches a multidimensional mode of cultural analysis that takes account of the moments of production, consumption and textual meaning in the circulation of communications and culture. In accordance with this framework of analysis, the cool-capitalism thesis is outlined and illustrated with reference to Apple, the ‘cool’ corporation. And, the all-purpose mobile communication device is selected as a key and urgent focus of attention for research on commodity fetishism and labour exploitation on a global scale today.

Reestablishing healthy food retail: changing the landscape of food deserts.

Science.gov (United States)

Karpyn, Allison; Young, Candace; Weiss, Stephanie

2012-02-01

The term "food desert" was formally introduced into the lexicon in 1995 and has come to describe areas with limited access to affordable nutritious foods, particularly areas in lower-income neighborhoods. The definition has led to the development of national and regional maps that focus efforts on equity in food access. Recognition of food deserts also marks a strategic change in public health's approach to obesity prevention. Today's emphasis on prevention has shifted away from individual responsibility to the role of the environment in health promotion. A number of solutions are underway to address food deserts, including public–private financing programs, industry commitments, as well as local and regional efforts to put healthy food within reach. The promise of financing programs to facilitate development of healthy food markets in underserved communities is rooted in their potential to alleviate the grocery gap and address underlying environmental contributors to obesity and diet-related diseases, such as obesity and diabetes. As food desert mapping and related interventions expand, there remains a need for ongoing investigation of impacts and the mechanisms by which impacts are achieved.

Disease will limit future food supply from the global crustacean fishery and aquaculture sectors.

Science.gov (United States)

Stentiford, G D; Neil, D M; Peeler, E J; Shields, J D; Small, H J; Flegel, T W; Vlak, J M; Jones, B; Morado, F; Moss, S; Lotz, J; Bartholomay, L; Behringer, D C; Hauton, C; Lightner, D V

2012-06-01

Seafood is a highly traded food commodity. Farmed and captured crustaceans contribute a significant proportion with annual production exceeding 10 M metric tonnes with first sale value of $40bn. The sector is dominated by farmed tropical marine shrimp, the fastest growing sector of the global aquaculture industry. It is significant in supporting rural livelihoods and alleviating poverty in producing nations within Asia and Latin America while forming an increasing contribution to aquatic food supply in more developed countries. Nations with marine borders often also support important marine fisheries for crustaceans that are regionally traded as live animals and commodity products. A general separation of net producing and net consuming nations for crustacean seafood has created a truly globalised food industry. Projections for increasing global demand for seafood in the face of level or declining fisheries requires continued expansion and intensification of aquaculture while ensuring best utilisation of captured stocks. Furthermore, continued pressure from consuming nations to ensure safe products for human consumption are being augmented by additional legislative requirements for animals (and their products) to be of low disease status. As a consequence, increasing emphasis is being placed on enforcement of regulations and better governance of the sector; currently this is a challenge in light of a fragmented industry and less stringent regulations associated with animal disease within producer nations. Current estimates predict that up to 40% of tropical shrimp production (>$3bn) is lost annually, mainly due to viral pathogens for which standard preventative measures (e.g. such as vaccination) are not feasible. In light of this problem, new approaches are urgently required to enhance yield by improving broodstock and larval sourcing, promoting best management practices by farmer outreach and supporting cutting-edge research that aims to harness the natural

Challenges of Agro-Food Standards Conformity: Lessons from East Africa and Policy Implications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bolwig, Simon; Riisgaard, Lone; Gibbon, Peter

2013-01-01

Standards are used to govern an increasing share of global food trade, and have been interpreted by academics both as market access barriers and opportunities for low-income country producers, exporters and workers. Donors have mostly chosen to treat them as opportunities and today finance...... of a research programme on standards conformity in East Africa. These demonstrate that most interventions underestimate the nature of the challenges faced and that significant impacts are achieved only under rather restricted conditions. The solutions lay not only in more selective support to standard...... development and better-informed interventions, but also to focus more squarely on supply capacity and welfare outcomes in project planning....

[Convenience foods -- a simple way of healthy cooking].

Science.gov (United States)

Rentsch, N; Mühlemann, P; Baumgartner-Perren, S; Exl-Preysch, B M

2001-09-01

Convenience foods stand for a culinary revolution that commenced just over 100 years ago. The food industry came into being parallel to industrialization and urbanization. Nicolas Appert invented the can at that time and Julius Maggi invented dehydrated soup. Today convenience foods--from powdered spices to ready-to-eat dishes--are prepared using state-of-the-art technology and offer a ubiquitous range of healthy, easy-to-serve foods.

Food irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Migdal, W.

1995-01-01

A worldwide standard on food irradiation was adopted in 1983 by codex Alimentarius Commission of the Joint Food Standard Programme of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and The World Health Organization (WHO). As a result, 41 countries have approved the use of irradiation for treating one or more food items and the number is increasing. Generally, irradiation is used to: food loses, food spoilage, disinfestation, safety and hygiene. The number of countries which use irradiation for processing food for commercial purposes has been increasing steadily from 19 in 1987 to 33 today. In the frames of the national programme on the application of irradiation for food preservation and hygienization an experimental plant for electron beam processing has been established in Inst. of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology. The plant is equipped with a small research accelerator Pilot (19 MeV, 1 kW) and industrial unit Electronika (10 MeV, 10 kW). On the basis of the research there were performed at different scientific institutions in Poland, health authorities have issued permissions for irradiation for; spices, garlic, onions, mushrooms, potatoes, dry mushrooms and vegetables. (author)

Food quality, effects on health and sustainability today: a model case report.

Science.gov (United States)

Borroni, Vittorio Natale; Fargion, Silvia; Mazzocchi, Alessandra; Giachetti, Marco; Lanzarini, Achille; Dall'Asta, Margherita; Scazzina, Francesca; Agostoni, Carlo

2017-02-01

The Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico is a five-century institution that, besides the unique clinical role in the center of Milan, may rely on benefactor donations such as fields and farming houses not far from the city, for a total of 8500 ha, all managed by the "Sviluppo Ca' Granda' Foundation". Presently, the main products of these fields are represented by rice and cow's milk. During the latest years, farmers and managers have developed a model of sustainable food production, with great attention to the product quality based on compositional analysis and functional nutritional characteristics. This experience represents a new holistic model of food production and consumption, taking great care of both sustainability and health.

Biomass Assessment. Assessment of global biomass potentials and their links to food, water, biodiversity, energy demand and economy. Inventory and analysis of existing studies. Supporting document

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dornburg, V.; Faaij, A.; Verweij, P.; Banse, M.; Van Diepen, K.; Van Keulen, H.; Langeveld, H.; Meeusen, M.; Van de Ven, G.; Wester, F.; Alkemade, R.; Ten Brink, B.; Van den Born, G.J.; Van Oorschot, M.; Ros, J.; Smout, F.; Van Vuuren, D.; Van den Wijngaart, R.; Aiking, H.; Londo, M.; Mozaffarian, H.; Smekens, K.; Lysen, E.

2008-01-01

This supporting document contains the result from the inventory phase of the biomass assessment of global biomass potentials and their links to food, water, biodiversity, energy demand and economy. This study provides a comprehensive assessment of global biomass potential estimates, focusing on the various factors affecting these potentials, such as food supplies, water use, biodiversity, energy demands and agro-economics

House of tomorrow today

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lichtenberg, J.J.N.; Ham, M.; Hensen, J.L.M.

2011-01-01

The House of Tomorrow Today is a project focussing on a healthy, energy producing dwelling to be realized with today¿s proven technology. The project aims at an energy plus level based on the principles as formulated in SmartBuilding (Slimbouwen) [1] ActiveHouse [2] and HoTT [3] It can be seen as

Satellite Imagery Analysis for Automated Global Food Security Forecasting

Science.gov (United States)

Moody, D.; Brumby, S. P.; Chartrand, R.; Keisler, R.; Mathis, M.; Beneke, C. M.; Nicholaeff, D.; Skillman, S.; Warren, M. S.; Poehnelt, J.

2017-12-01

The recent computing performance revolution has driven improvements in sensor, communication, and storage technology. Multi-decadal remote sensing datasets at the petabyte scale are now available in commercial clouds, with new satellite constellations generating petabytes/year of daily high-resolution global coverage imagery. Cloud computing and storage, combined with recent advances in machine learning, are enabling understanding of the world at a scale and at a level of detail never before feasible. We present results from an ongoing effort to develop satellite imagery analysis tools that aggregate temporal, spatial, and spectral information and that can scale with the high-rate and dimensionality of imagery being collected. We focus on the problem of monitoring food crop productivity across the Middle East and North Africa, and show how an analysis-ready, multi-sensor data platform enables quick prototyping of satellite imagery analysis algorithms, from land use/land cover classification and natural resource mapping, to yearly and monthly vegetative health change trends at the structural field level.

Education for a sustainable agri-food system

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dittrich, K.; Dagevos, H.; Jong, de F.; Seuneke, P.

Food and the city has never been a more urgent theme than today, and The European Union’s priority to commit to innovation in this field will certainly enhance its economic and external strength and improve its competitive position in the world of food and life sciences. Europea Netherlands held a

Examining the Gap between Science and Public Opinion about Genetically Modified Food and Global Warming.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brandon R McFadden

Full Text Available There is great uncertainty due to challenges of escalating population growth and climate change. Public perception that diverges from the scientific community may decrease the effectiveness of scientific inquiry and innovation as tools to solve these challenges. The objective of this study was to identify the factors associated with the divergence of public opinion from scientific consensus regarding the safety of genetically modified (GM foods and human involvement in global warming (GW. Results indicate that the effects of knowledge on public opinion are complex and non-uniform across types of knowledge (i.e., perceived and actual or issues. Political affiliation affects agreement with science; Democrats were more likely to agree that GM food is safe and human actions cause GW. Respondents who had relatively higher cognitive function or held illusionary correlations about GM food or GW were more likely to have an opinion that differed from the scientific community.

Antarctica and Global Environmental Change - Lessons from the Past Inform Climate Change Policy Today

Science.gov (United States)

Dunbar, R. B.; Scientific Team Of Odp Drilling Leg 318; Andrill Science Team

2011-12-01

Antarctic's continental ice, sea ice, and the broader Southern Ocean form a coupled and complex climate system that interacts in important yet poorly understood ways with the low and mid-latitudes. Because of its unusual sovereignty status and the fact that there is no indigenous human population, information about climate change in Antarctica penetrates the policy world less readily than findings from other regions. Yet, Antarctica's potential to impact climate change globally is disproportionately large. Vulnerable portions of the ice sheet may contribute up to 3 to 5 meters of sea level rise in the coming centuries, including significant amounts within the next 50 years. Loss of sea ice and other changes in the Southern Ocean may reduce oceanic uptake of excess atmospheric carbon dioxide, exacerbating global warming worldwide. Antarctica's impact on the Southern Hemisphere wind field is now well-established, contributing to ongoing decadal-scale perturbations in continental precipitation as well as major reorganizations of Southern Ocean food chains. Recent scientific drilling programs in the Ross Sea and off Wilkes Land, Antarctica, provide valuable insights into past climatic and biogeochemical change in Antarctica, insights of great relevance to international and national climate change policy. In this paper, we discuss polar amplification, sea level variability coupled to Antarctic ice volume, and response timescales as seen through the lens of past climate change. One key result emerging from multiple drilling programs is recognition of unanticipated dynamism in the Antarctic ice sheet during portions of the Pliocene (at a time with pCO2 levels equivalent to those anticipated late this century) as well as during "super-interglacials" of the Pleistocene. Evidence for substantially warmer ocean temperatures and reduced sea ice cover at these times suggests that polar amplification of natural climate variability, even under scenarios of relative small amounts

Companies’ contribution to sustainability through global supply chains

Science.gov (United States)

Thorlakson, Tannis; de Zegher, Joann F.; Lambin, Eric F.

2018-01-01

Global supply chains play a critical role in many of the most pressing environmental stresses and social struggles identified by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Responding to calls from the global community, companies are adopting a variety of voluntary practices to improve the environmental and/or social management of their suppliers’ activities. We develop a global survey of 449 publicly listed companies in the food, textile, and wood-products sectors with annual reports in English to provide insight into how the private sector contributes to advancing the SDGs via such sustainable-sourcing practices. We find that while 52% of companies use at least one sustainable-sourcing practice, these practices are limited in scope; 71% relates to only one or a few input materials and 60.5% apply to only first-tier suppliers. We also find that sustainable-sourcing practices typically address a small subset of the sustainability challenges laid out by the SDGs, primarily focusing on labor rights and compliance with national laws. Consistent with existing hypotheses, companies that face consumer and civil society pressure are associated with a significantly higher probability of adopting sustainable-sourcing practices. Our findings highlight the opportunities and limitations of corporate sustainable-sourcing practices in addressing the myriad sustainability challenges facing our world today. PMID:29440420

Crop improvement in the CGIAR as a global success story of open access and international collaboration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Derek Byerlee

2009-12-01

Full Text Available International agricultural research has historically been an example par excellence of open source approach to biological research. Beginning in the 1950s and especially in the 1960s, a looming global food crisis led to the development of a group of international agricultural research centers with a specific mandate to foster international exchange and crop improvement relevant to many countries. This formalization of a global biological commons in genetic resources was implemented through an elaborate system of international nurseries with a breeding hub, free sharing of germplasm, collaboration in information collection, the development of human resources, and an international collaborative network. This paper traces the history of the international wheat program with particular attention to how this truly open source system operated in practice and the impacts that it had on world poverty and hunger. The paper also highlights the challenges of maintaining and evolving such a system over the long term, both in terms of financing, as well the changing ‘rules of the game’ resulting from international agreements on intellectual property rights and biodiversity. Yet the open source approach is just as relevant today, as witnessed by current crises in food prices and looming crop diseases problem of global significance.

Antioxidants in foods: state of the science important to the food industry.

Science.gov (United States)

Finley, John W; Kong, Ah-Ng; Hintze, Korry J; Jeffery, Elizabeth H; Ji, Li Li; Lei, Xin Gen

2011-07-13

Antioxidant foods and ingredients are an important component of the food industry. In the past, antioxidants were used primarily to control oxidation and retard spoilage, but today many are used because of putative health benefits. However, the traditional message that oxidative stress, which involves the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), is the basis for chronic diseases and aging is being reexamined. Accumulating evidence suggests that ROS exert essential metabolic functions and that removal of too many ROS can upset cell signaling pathways and actually increase the risk of chronic disease. It is imperative that the food industry be aware of progress in this field to present the science relative to foods in a forthright and clear manner. This may mean reexamining the health implications of adding large amounts of antioxidants to foods.

Einstein today

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aspect, A.; Grangier, Ph.; Bouchet, F.R.; Brunet, E.; Derrida, B.; Cohen-Tannoudji, C.; Dalibard, J.; Laloe, F.; Damour, Th.; Darrigol, O.; Pocholle, J.P.

2005-01-01

The most important contributions of Einstein involve 5 fields of physics : the existence of quanta (light quanta, stimulated radiation emission and Bose-Einstein condensation), relativity, fluctuations (Brownian motion and thermodynamical fluctuations), the basis of quantum physics and cosmology (cosmological constant and the expansion of the universe). Diverse and renowned physicists have appreciated the development of modern physics from Einstein's ideas to the knowledge of today. This book is a collective book that gathers their work under 7 chapters: 1) 1905, a new beginning; 2) from the Einstein, Podolsky and Rosen's article to quantum information (cryptography and quantum computers); 3) the Bose-Einstein condensation in gases; 4) from stimulated emission to the today's lasers; 5) Brownian motion and the fluctuation-dissipation theory; 6) general relativity; and 7) cosmology. (A.C.)

A global awareness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guesnerie, R.

2007-01-01

Today there is no doubt of the global warming. The author presents the diagnostic of the environmental impacts of the climatic change but also the economic impacts. Illustrated by many references of scenario, he analyses then the possible actions and programs. (A.L.B.)

Linking regional stakeholder scenarios and shared socioeconomic pathways: Quantified West African food and climate futures in a global context.

Science.gov (United States)

Palazzo, Amanda; Vervoort, Joost M; Mason-D'Croz, Daniel; Rutting, Lucas; Havlík, Petr; Islam, Shahnila; Bayala, Jules; Valin, Hugo; Kadi Kadi, Hamé Abdou; Thornton, Philip; Zougmore, Robert

2017-07-01

The climate change research community's shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs) are a set of alternative global development scenarios focused on mitigation of and adaptation to climate change. To use these scenarios as a global context that is relevant for policy guidance at regional and national levels, they have to be connected to an exploration of drivers and challenges informed by regional expertise. In this paper, we present scenarios for West Africa developed by regional stakeholders and quantified using two global economic models, GLOBIOM and IMPACT, in interaction with stakeholder-generated narratives and scenario trends and SSP assumptions. We present this process as an example of linking comparable scenarios across levels to increase coherence with global contexts, while presenting insights about the future of agriculture and food security under a range of future drivers including climate change. In these scenarios, strong economic development increases food security and agricultural development. The latter increases crop and livestock productivity leading to an expansion of agricultural area within the region while reducing the land expansion burden elsewhere. In the context of a global economy, West Africa remains a large consumer and producer of a selection of commodities. However, the growth in population coupled with rising incomes leads to increases in the region's imports. For West Africa, climate change is projected to have negative effects on both crop yields and grassland productivity, and a lack of investment may exacerbate these effects. Linking multi-stakeholder regional scenarios to the global SSPs ensures scenarios that are regionally appropriate and useful for policy development as evidenced in the case study, while allowing for a critical link to global contexts.

Knowledge Management Challenges For Global Business

OpenAIRE

Veli Denizhan Kalkan

2011-01-01

Managing organizational knowledge effectively is a prerequisite for securing competitive advantages in the global marketplace. The field of knowledge management brings out important challenges for global business practices. Based on a comprehensive academic and popular literature review, this paper identifies six main knowledge management challenges faced by global business today. These are developing a working definition of knowledge, dealing with tacit knowledge and utilization of informati...

Re-envisioning global agricultural trade: time for a paradigm shift to ensure food security and population health in low-income countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Pirkle, Catherine M; Poliquin, Hélène; Sia, Drissa; Kouakou, Kouassi Joseph; Sagna, Tani

2015-03-01

In this commentary, we use examples from West Africa to highlight how the liberalization of global agricultural trade exacerbates population health inequalities by threatening the livelihoods and food security of communities in low-income settings. We highlight the exploitative nature of trade agreements with West African countries demonstrating how these agreements disincentivize local agricultural investment and take jobs away from small-scale farmers. Further, we link agricultural trade liberalization to increased food insecurity, malnutrition, and exposure to environmental contaminants. Finally, we propose a paradigm shift that advocates for food sovereignty and the right to food. © The Author(s) 2014.

High Pressure Treatment in Foods

OpenAIRE

Edwin Fabian Torres Bello; Gerardo González Martínez; Bernadette F. Klotz Ceberio; Dolores Rodrigo; Antonio Martínez López

2014-01-01

Abstract: High hydrostatic pressure (HHP), a non-thermal technology, which typically uses water as a pressure transfer medium, is characterized by a minimal impact on food characteristics (sensory, nutritional, and functional). Today, this technology, present in many food companies, can effectively inactivate bacterial cells and many enzymes. All this makes HHP very attractive, with very good acceptance by consumers, who value the organoleptic characteristics of products processed by this non...

PulseNet International: Vision for the implementation of whole genome sequencing (WGS) for global food-borne disease surveillance.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nadon, Celine; Van Walle, Ivo; Gerner-Smidt, Peter; Campos, Josefina; Chinen, Isabel; Concepcion-Acevedo, Jeniffer; Gilpin, Brent; Smith, Anthony M; Man Kam, Kai; Perez, Enrique; Trees, Eija; Kubota, Kristy; Takkinen, Johanna; Nielsen, Eva Møller; Carleton, Heather

2017-01-01

PulseNet International is a global network dedicated to laboratory-based surveillance for food-borne diseases. The network comprises the national and regional laboratory networks of Africa, Asia Pacific, Canada, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, and the United States. The

The MELISSA food data base: space food preparation and process optimization

Science.gov (United States)

Creuly, Catherine; Poughon, Laurent; Pons, A.; Farges, Berangere; Dussap, Claude-Gilles

Life Support Systems have to deal with air, water and food requirement for a crew, waste management and also to the crew's habitability and safety constraints. Food can be provided from stocks (open loops) or produced during the space flight or on an extraterrestrial base (what implies usually a closed loop system). Finally it is admitted that only biological processes can fulfil the food requirement of life support system. Today, only a strictly vegetarian source range is considered, and this is limited to a very small number of crops compared to the variety available on Earth. Despite these constraints, a successful diet should have enough variety in terms of ingredients and recipes and sufficiently high acceptability in terms of acceptance ratings for individual dishes to remain interesting and palatable over a several months period and an adequate level of nutrients commensurate with the space nutritional requirements. In addition to the nutritional aspects, others parameters have to be considered for the pertinent selection of the dishes as energy consumption (for food production and transformation), quantity of generated waste, preparation time, food processes. This work concerns a global approach called MELISSA Food Database to facilitate the cre-ation and the management of these menus associated to the nutritional, mass, energy and time constraints. The MELISSA Food Database is composed of a database (MySQL based) con-taining multiple information among others crew composition, menu, dishes, recipes, plant and nutritional data and of a web interface (PHP based) to interactively access the database and manage its content. In its current version a crew is defined and a 10 days menu scenario can be created using dishes that could be cooked from a set of limited fresh plant assumed to be produced in the life support system. The nutritional covering, waste produced, mass, time and energy requirements are calculated allowing evaluation of the menu scenario and its

Global health: governance and policy development.

Science.gov (United States)

Kelley, Patrick W

2011-06-01

Global health policy is now being influenced by an ever-increasing number of nonstate and non-intergovernmental actors to include influential foundations, multinational corporations, multi-sectoral partnerships, and civil society organizations. This article reviews how globalization is a key driver for the ongoing evolution of global health governance. It describes the massive increases in bilateral and multilateral investments in global health and it highlights the current global and US architecture for performing global health programs. The article closes describing some of the challenges and prospects that characterize global health governance today. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The role of philosophy in global bioethics: introducing four trends.

Science.gov (United States)

Hellsten, Sirkku K

2015-04-01

This article examines the relationship between philosophy and culture in global bioethics. First, it studies what is meant by the term "global" in global bioethics. Second, the author introduces four different types, or recognizable trends, in philosophical inquiry in bioethics today. The main argument is that, in order to make better sense of the complexity of the ethical questions and challenges we face today across the globe, we need to embrace the universal nature of self-critical and analytical philosophical analysis and argumentation, rather than using seemingly philosophical approaches to give unjustified normative emphasis on different cultural approaches to bioethics.

The future of global health education: training for equity in global health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lisa V. Adams

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Among academic institutions in the United States, interest in global health has grown substantially: by the number of students seeking global health opportunities at all stages of training, and by the increase in institutional partnerships and newly established centers, institutes, and initiatives to house global health programs at undergraduate, public health and medical schools. Witnessing this remarkable growth should compel health educators to question whether the training and guidance that we provide to students today is appropriate, and whether it will be applicable in the next decade and beyond. Given that “global health” did not exist as an academic discipline in the United States 20 years ago, what can we expect it will look like 20 years from now and how can we prepare for that future? Discussion Most clinicians and trainees today recognize the importance of true partnership and capacity building in both directions for successful international collaborations. The challenge is in the execution of these practices. There are projects around the world where this is occurring and equitable partnerships have been established. Based on our experience and observations of the current landscape of academic global health, we share a perspective on principles of engagement, highlighting instances where partnerships have thrived, and examples of where we, as a global community, have fallen short. Conclusions As the world moves beyond the charity model of global health (and its colonial roots, it is evident that the issue underlying ethical global health practice is partnership and the pursuit of health equity. Thus, achieving equity in global health education and practice ought to be central to our mission as educators and advisors when preparing trainees for careers in this field. Seeking to eliminate health inequities wherever they are ingrained will reveal the injustices around the globe and in our own cities and

Food and Development

African Journals Online (AJOL)

issue, but also food is perhaps the most important development issue, if not global issue, of our time, ... Other boxes include the pet food market, genetically modified (GM) crops, land grabs, the financialisation of food,. African bean sauces ...

Reducing food waste through direct surplus food redistribution : the Norwegian case

OpenAIRE

Capodistrias, Paula

2015-01-01

Food waste is a global problem with significant economic and environmental consequences. Food waste management approaches include production of biogas, animal feed and compost and surplus food redistribution. From a sustainability point of view, surplus food redistribution is the most favorable approach. Surplus food redistribution can be either direct (between suppliers of surplus food and charity food services) or indirect (Through Food banks). This paper is a case study on direct surplus f...

Whose global art (history?: Ancient art as global art

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cynthia Colburn

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Discourse on global art or art history arguably dominates the field of art history today in terms of curriculum and research. This discourse cuts across time and space, impacting all art historical specializations, from prehistoric to contemporary, and from Africa to the Americas. Yet, the mainstream theoretical discourse on global art or art history focuses almost explicitly on contemporary and, to a lesser extent, modern art, operating from the premise that only these arts were created in an age of globalization and, thus, emphasize hybridity. This essay seeks to expand the mainstream theoretical discourse regarding global art to pre-modern examples, given that artistic exchange and hybridity dates as early as the prehistoric era all over the world and is not dependent on newer technologies. Indeed, one might argue that the study of pre-modern examples of global art could provide a powerful historical lens through which to analyze contemporary global art.

History Teaches Us That Confronting Antibiotic Resistance Requires Stronger Global Collective Action.

Science.gov (United States)

Podolsky, Scott H; Bud, Robert; Gradmann, Christoph; Hobaek, Bård; Kirchhelle, Claas; Mitvedt, Tore; Santesmases, María Jesús; Thoms, Ulrike; Berild, Dag; Kveim Lie, Anne

2015-01-01

Antibiotic development and usage, and antibiotic resistance in particular, are today considered global concerns, simultaneously mandating local and global perspectives and actions. Yet such global considerations have not always been part of antibiotic policy formation, and those who attempt to formulate a globally coordinated response to antibiotic resistance will need to confront a history of heterogeneous, often uncoordinated, and at times conflicting reform efforts, whose legacies remain apparent today. Historical analysis permits us to highlight such entrenched trends and processes, helping to frame contemporary efforts to improve access, conservation and innovation. © 2015 American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Inc.

Global Learning in a New Era

Science.gov (United States)

Ramaley, Judith

2016-01-01

Our nation's colleges and universities frequently adapt their approach to education in response to the reality of social, economic and environmental challenges. Today the reality is that we are increasingly interconnected on a global scale. This new era of globalization impacts every facet of society, and it offers both an exciting blend of…

Agriculture, pesticides, food security and food safety

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carvalho, Fernando P. [Instituto Tecnologico e Nuclear, Departamento de Proteccao Radiologica e Seguranca Nuclear, Estrada Nacional 10, P-2686-953 Sacavem (Portugal)]. E-mail: carvalho@itn.pt

2006-11-15

Decades ago, agrochemicals were introduced aiming at enhancing crop yields and at protecting crops from pests. Due to adaptation and resistance developed by pests to chemicals, every year higher amounts and new chemical compounds are used to protect crops, causing undesired side effects and raising the costs of food production. Eventually, new techniques, including genetically modified organisms (GMOs) resistant to pests, could halt the massive spread of agrochemicals in agriculture fields. Biological chemical-free agriculture is gaining also more and more support but it is still not able to respond to the need for producing massive amounts of food. The use of agrochemicals, including pesticides, remains a common practice especially in tropical regions and South countries. Cheap compounds, such as DDT, HCH and lindane, that are environmentally persistent, are today banned from agriculture use in developed countries, but remain popular in developing countries. As a consequence, persistent residues of these chemicals contaminate food and disperse in the environment. Coordinated efforts are needed to increase the production of food but with a view to enhanced food quality and safety as well as to controlling residues of persistent pesticides in the environment.

Agriculture, pesticides, food security and food safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carvalho, Fernando P.

2006-01-01

Decades ago, agrochemicals were introduced aiming at enhancing crop yields and at protecting crops from pests. Due to adaptation and resistance developed by pests to chemicals, every year higher amounts and new chemical compounds are used to protect crops, causing undesired side effects and raising the costs of food production. Eventually, new techniques, including genetically modified organisms (GMOs) resistant to pests, could halt the massive spread of agrochemicals in agriculture fields. Biological chemical-free agriculture is gaining also more and more support but it is still not able to respond to the need for producing massive amounts of food. The use of agrochemicals, including pesticides, remains a common practice especially in tropical regions and South countries. Cheap compounds, such as DDT, HCH and lindane, that are environmentally persistent, are today banned from agriculture use in developed countries, but remain popular in developing countries. As a consequence, persistent residues of these chemicals contaminate food and disperse in the environment. Coordinated efforts are needed to increase the production of food but with a view to enhanced food quality and safety as well as to controlling residues of persistent pesticides in the environment

Evaluation of food waste disposal options by LCC analysis from the perspective of global warming: Jungnang case, South Korea

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Mi-Hyung; Song, Yul-Eum; Song, Han-Byul; Kim, Jung-Wk; Hwang, Sun-Jin

2011-01-01

Highlights: → Various food waste disposal options were evaluated from the perspective of global warming. → Costs of the options were compared by the methodology of life cycle assessment and life cycle cost analysis. → Carbon price and valuable by-products were used for analyzing environmental credits. → The benefit-cost ratio of wet feeding scenario was the highest. - Abstract: The costs associated with eight food waste disposal options, dry feeding, wet feeding, composting, anaerobic digestion, co-digestion with sewage sludge, food waste disposer, incineration, and landfilling, were evaluated in the perspective of global warming and energy and/or resource recovery. An expanded system boundary was employed to compare by-products. Life cycle cost was analyzed through the entire disposal process, which included discharge, separate collection, transportation, treatment, and final disposal stages, all of which were included in the system boundary. Costs and benefits were estimated by an avoided impact. Environmental benefits of each system per 1 tonne of food waste management were estimated using carbon prices resulting from CO 2 reduction by avoided impact, as well as the prices of by-products such as animal feed, compost, and electricity. We found that the cost of landfilling was the lowest, followed by co-digestion. The benefits of wet feeding systems were the highest and landfilling the lowest.

Food supply reliance on groundwater

Science.gov (United States)

Dalin, Carole; Puma, Michael; Wada, Yoshihide; Kastner, Thomas

2016-04-01

Water resources, essential to sustain human life, livelihoods and ecosystems, are under increasing pressure from population growth, socio-economic development and global climate change. As the largest freshwater resource on Earth, groundwater is key for human development and food security. Yet, excessive abstraction of groundwater for irrigation, driven by an increasing demand for food in recent decades, is leading to fast exhaustion of groundwater reserves in major agricultural areas of the world. Some of the highest depletion rates are observed in Pakistan, India, California Central Valley and the North China Plain aquifers. In addition, the growing economy and population of several countries, such as India and China, makes prospects of future available water and food worrisome. In this context, it is becoming particularly challenging to sustainably feed the world population, without exhausting our water resources. Besides, food production and consumption across the globe have become increasingly interconnected, with many areas' agricultural production destined to remote consumers. In this globalisation era, trade is crucial to the world's food system. As a transfer of water-intensive goods, across regions with varying levels of water productivity, food trade can save significant volumes of water resources globally. This situation makes it essential to address the issue of groundwater overuse for global food supply, accounting for international food trade. To do so, we quantify the current, global use of non-renewable groundwater for major crops, accounting for various water productivity and trade flows. This will highlight areas requiring quickest attention, exposing major exporters and importers of non-renewable groundwater, and thus help explore solutions to improve the sustainability of global food supply.

Sustainable fuel, food, fertilizer and ecosystems through a global artificial photosynthetic system: overcoming anticompetitive barriers

Science.gov (United States)

Bruce, Alex; Faunce, Thomas

2015-01-01

This article discusses challenges that artificial photosynthetic (AP) systems will face when entering and competing in a global market characterized by established fossil fuel technology. It provides a perspective on the neoliberal principles underpinning much policy entrenching such environmentally destructive technology and outlines how competition law could aid overcoming these hurdles for AP development. In particular, it critiques the potential for competition law to promote a global AP initiative with greater emphasis on atmospheric carbon dioxide and nitrogen fixation (as well as solar-driven water splitting) to produce an equitable, globally distributed source of human food, fertilizer and biosphere sustainability, as well as hydrogen-based fuel. Some relevant strategies of competition law evaluated in this context include greater citizen–consumer involvement in shaping market values, legal requirements to factor services from the natural environment (i.e. provision of clean air, water, soil pollution degradation) into corporate costs, reform of corporate taxation and requirements to balance maximization of shareholder profit with contribution to a nominated public good, a global financial transactions tax, as well as prohibiting horizontal cartels, vertical agreements and unilateral misuse of market power. PMID:26052427

Sustainable fuel, food, fertilizer and ecosystems through a global artificial photosynthetic system: overcoming anticompetitive barriers.

Science.gov (United States)

Bruce, Alex; Faunce, Thomas

2015-06-06

This article discusses challenges that artificial photosynthetic (AP) systems will face when entering and competing in a global market characterized by established fossil fuel technology. It provides a perspective on the neoliberal principles underpinning much policy entrenching such environmentally destructive technology and outlines how competition law could aid overcoming these hurdles for AP development. In particular, it critiques the potential for competition law to promote a global AP initiative with greater emphasis on atmospheric carbon dioxide and nitrogen fixation (as well as solar-driven water splitting) to produce an equitable, globally distributed source of human food, fertilizer and biosphere sustainability, as well as hydrogen-based fuel. Some relevant strategies of competition law evaluated in this context include greater citizen-consumer involvement in shaping market values, legal requirements to factor services from the natural environment (i.e. provision of clean air, water, soil pollution degradation) into corporate costs, reform of corporate taxation and requirements to balance maximization of shareholder profit with contribution to a nominated public good, a global financial transactions tax, as well as prohibiting horizontal cartels, vertical agreements and unilateral misuse of market power.

Enhancing Global Competitiveness through Experiential Learning: Insights into Successful Programming

Science.gov (United States)

Ghose, Nabarun

2010-01-01

International exposure of students is very essential in today's globalized world. Experiential learning, such as study abroad, plays a major role in developing global competencies in students, making them more marketable globally. This paper highlights one experiential activity that injects global competencies in students, thereby making them more…

Cooperation and competence in global food chains : perspectives on food quality and safety

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vellema, S.; Boselie, D.M.

2003-01-01

Supermarket chains, retailers and wholesalers have made food safety and food quality an integral element of their business strategies. What does this mean for producers in the South, who have to comply with international standards for good agricultural practices as well as with strict food safety

Opinions on Fresh Produce Food Safety and Quality Standards by Fresh Produce Supply Chain Experts from the Global South and North.

Science.gov (United States)

Jacxsens, Liesbeth; Van Boxstael, Sigrid; Nanyunja, Jessica; Jordaan, Danie; Luning, Pieternel; Uyttendaele, Mieke

2015-10-01

This study describes the results of an on-line survey of fresh produce supply chain experts who work with producers from the Global North (n = 41, 20 countries) and the Global South (n = 63, 29 countries). They expressed their opinion using 1 to 5 Likert scales on several items related to four types of food safety and quality standards and legislation: Codex Alimentarius standards, European Union legislation, national legislation, and private standards. The results reflect the different circumstances under which the Southern and Northern producers operate in relation to the local organization, regulation, and support of the sector; but they also indicate similar challenges, in particular, the challenge of private standards, which were perceived to demand a higher implementation effort than the other three types of standards. Private standards were also strongly perceived to exclude Southern and Northern small- and medium-scale producers from high-value markets, whereas European Union legislation was perceived to strongly exclude, in particular, small- and medium-scale Southern producers. The results further highlight concerns about costly control measures and third-party certification that are required by downstream buyers but that are mostly paid for by upstream suppliers. Food standards are seen in their dual role as a catalyst for implementation of structured food safety management systems on the one hand and as a nontariff barrier to trade on the other hand. The results of the survey also pointed up the advantages of enforcing food safety and food quality standards in terms of knowledge spillover to noncertified activities, increased revenues, and improved food safety of delivered produce. Survey results highlight the importance of technical assistance and support of producers by governments and producer cooperatives or trade associations in the implementation and certification of food standards, along with increased awareness of and training of individuals in

Yesterday's dinner, tomorrow's weather, today's news? US newspaper coverage of food system contributions to climate change.

Science.gov (United States)

Neff, Roni A; Chan, Iris L; Smith, Katherine Clegg

2009-07-01

There is strong evidence that what we eat and how it is produced affects climate change. The present paper examines coverage of food system contributions to climate change in top US newspapers. Using a sample of sixteen leading US newspapers from September 2005 to January 2008, two coders identified 'food and climate change' and 'climate change' articles based on specified criteria. Analyses examined variation across time and newspaper, the level of content relevant to food systems' contributions to climate change, and how such content was framed. There were 4582 'climate change' articles in these newspapers during this period. Of these, 2.4% mentioned food or agriculture contributions, with 0.4% coded as substantially focused on the issue and 0.5% mentioning food animal contributions. The level of content on food contributions to climate change increased across time. Articles initially addressed the issue primarily in individual terms, expanding to address business and government responsibility more in later articles. US newspaper coverage of food systems' effects on climate change during the study period increased, but still did not reflect the increasingly solid evidence of the importance of these effects. Increased coverage may lead to responses by individuals, industry and government. Based on co-benefits with nutritional public health messages and climate change's food security threats, the public health nutrition community has an important role to play in elaborating and disseminating information about food and climate change for the US media.

Dietary Factors Affect Food Reward and Motivation to Eat

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pandit, Rahul; Mercer, Julian G.; Overduin, Joost; la Fleur, Susanne E.; Adan, Roger A. H.

2012-01-01

The propensity to indulge in unhealthy eating and overconsumption of palatable food is a crucial determinant in the rising prevalence of obesity in today's society. The tendency to consume palatable foods in quantities that exceed energy requirements has been linked to an addiction-like process.

The Changing Face of Global Food Scarcity

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Lester R.; Eckholm, Erik P.

1974-01-01

The causes of the world's food shortage are enumerated and explained. Possible solutions to the shortage are described with emphasis placed upon the moral decision of the affluent countries to take more responsibility in decreasing their consumption of food and energy. (DE)

Nuclear power planning in the context of global climate change - the Malaysian perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alawiah Musa; Fairuz Suzana Mohd Chachuli; Nik Arlina Nik Ali

2007-01-01

The global warming effect due to ?greenhouse gases? is a hot topic discussed by world climate scientists today. This effect causes sea levels to rise, countries experiencing extreme weather conditions, violent storms and long dry spells. In centuries to come, these catastrophic effects can cause the spread of diseases and destroy food production and human habitat. Over one-third of the greenhouse gases come from the burning of fossil fuel to generate electricity. Nuclear power plants do not generate these gases. This paper presents the results obtained from a case study using MESSAGE, an analytical tool developed by the IAEA, which was used to evaluate Malaysia future energy requirements and strategies in addressing climate change issues. (Author)

INTERACTIONS BETWEEN GLOBALIZATION AND SPORTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Senem ÇEYİZ

2014-07-01

Full Text Available We live in a world of rapid change. Although the most obvious examples of this change are seen in technology, it, in fact, has permeated all areas of life. When viewed from an international perspective, it is possible to say that almost all of the borders in many areas - particularly economic, social and cultural - in the world have disappeared due to the impact of technology. Nowadays the process which is seen as the source of all these changes and interactions is referred to as globalization. The word globalization has often been used as a multidimensional concept . Today, owin g to the process of globalization in many areas , spatial distances are almost diminished, so much so that the developments which take place at one end of the world may affect another country at the other end . The effects of globalization are as visible in the sports field as in many other areas. Sports is becoming more and more industrialized day by day . Live broadcasting of several sporting events has quite a large audience all over the world. Many foreign ath letes take part in national teams by changing their nationalities . It can also be argued that as much as globalization has an impact on sports today so does sports on globalization. The concepts inherent in sports like performance , competition, breaking re cords have created a common language recognized all over the world, a situation which serves to accelerate globalization.

An open ecosystem engagement strategy through the lens of global food safety

Science.gov (United States)

Stacey, Paul; Fons, Garin; Bernardo, Theresa M

2015-01-01

The Global Food Safety Partnership (GFSP) is a public/private partnership established through the World Bank to improve food safety systems through a globally coordinated and locally-driven approach. This concept paper aims to establish a framework to help GFSP fully leverage the potential of open models. In preparing this paper the authors spoke to many different GFSP stakeholders who asked questions about open models such as: what is it?what’s in it for me?why use an open rather than a proprietary model?how will open models generate equivalent or greater sustainable revenue streams compared to the current “traditional” approaches?  This last question came up many times with assertions that traditional service providers need to see opportunity for equivalent or greater revenue dollars before they will buy-in. This paper identifies open value propositions for GFSP stakeholders and proposes a framework for creating and structuring that value. Open Educational Resources (OER) were the primary open practice GFSP partners spoke to us about, as they provide a logical entry point for collaboration. Going forward, funders should consider requiring that educational resources and concomitant data resulting from their sponsorship should be open, as a public good. There are, however, many other forms of open practice that bring value to the GFSP. Nine different open strategies and tactics (Appendix A) are described, including: open content (including OER and open courseware), open data, open access (research), open government, open source software, open standards, open policy, open licensing and open hardware. It is recommended that all stakeholders proactively pursue "openness" as an operating principle. This paper presents an overall GFSP Open Ecosystem Engagement Strategy within which specific local case examples can be situated. Two different case examples, China and Colombia, are presented to show both project-based and crowd-sourced, direct-to-public paths

Global agricultural land resources--a high resolution suitability evaluation and its perspectives until 2100 under climate change conditions.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Florian Zabel

Full Text Available Changing natural conditions determine the land's suitability for agriculture. The growing demand for food, feed, fiber and bioenergy increases pressure on land and causes trade-offs between different uses of land and ecosystem services. Accordingly, an inventory is required on the changing potentially suitable areas for agriculture under changing climate conditions. We applied a fuzzy logic approach to compute global agricultural suitability to grow the 16 most important food and energy crops according to the climatic, soil and topographic conditions at a spatial resolution of 30 arc seconds. We present our results for current climate conditions (1981-2010, considering today's irrigated areas and separately investigate the suitability of densely forested as well as protected areas, in order to investigate their potentials for agriculture. The impact of climate change under SRES A1B conditions, as simulated by the global climate model ECHAM5, on agricultural suitability is shown by comparing the time-period 2071-2100 with 1981-2010. Our results show that climate change will expand suitable cropland by additionally 5.6 million km2, particularly in the Northern high latitudes (mainly in Canada, China and Russia. Most sensitive regions with decreasing suitability are found in the Global South, mainly in tropical regions, where also the suitability for multiple cropping decreases.

Interface between Global Education and Multicultural Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Randall, Ruth E.; And Others

Today global education and multicultural education are vital as all countries in the world face complex issues in economic, political, and social interdependence. This paper examines the interface between global education and multicultural education as a potential answer of how to prepare students for effective participation in a culturally…

Food quality and safety: Consumer perception and demand

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grunert, Klaus G.

2005-01-01

choice and consumer demand, addressing questions of price perception and the validity of willingness-to-pay measurements. It is concluded that food quality and safety are central issues in today's food economics, though many research questions remain to be addressed. Udgivelsesdato: SEP 1......Research on consumer quality perception is reviewed using the Total Food Quality Model as a structuring device. The relationship between food safety and quality is addressed, and is discussed in the context of research on consumer risk perception. Quality and safety perception is linked to food...

Food quality and safety: Consumer perception and demand

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grunert, Klaus G.

2005-01-01

Research on consumer quality perception is reviewed using the Total Food Quality Model as a structuring device. The relationship between food safety and quality is addressed, and is discussed in the context of research on consumer risk perception. Quality and safety perception is linked to food...... choice and consumer demand, addressing questions of price perception and the validity of willingness-to-pay measurements. It is concluded that food quality and safety are central issues in today's food economics, though many research questions remain to be addressed. Udgivelsesdato: SEP 1...

Application of Ultrasound in the Food Industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Javier Orlando Delgado

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Ultrasound is an emerging technology with more research and development for food preservation, one of the qualities of is the reduction of the concentration of microorganisms, inhibition of enzyme activity without altering the physical, chemical and nutritional foods.It was conducted direffent literature sources analysis to develop a document with ultrasound applications in main food technology processing, the benefits of cavitation effect, intensity and frequency applied in each of researching works that have been made today.

Global Inequality

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Niño-Zarazúa, Miguel; Roope, Laurence; Tarp, Finn

2017-01-01

This paper measures trends in global interpersonal inequality during 1975–2010 using data from the most recent version of the World Income Inequality Database (WIID). The picture that emerges using ‘absolute,’ and even ‘centrist’ measures of inequality, is very different from the results obtained...... by centrist measures such as the Krtscha, could return to 1975 levels, at today's domestic and global per capita income levels, but this would require quite dramatic structural reforms to reduce domestic inequality levels in most countries....... using standard ‘relative’ inequality measures such as the Gini coefficient or Coefficient of Variation. Relative global inequality has declined substantially over the decades. In contrast, ‘absolute’ inequality, as captured by the Standard Deviation and Absolute Gini, has increased considerably...

Food irradiation: Applications, public acceptance and global trade ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The process involves exposing the packed or bulked food to the rays of the sun. Food irradiation processing that entails combating post-harvest losses, curtailing food-borne disease and overcoming quarantine barriers has been pursued since the mid-50s. The scientific basis and technological adaptation of the process ...

Global building physics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rode, Carsten

2013-01-01

High ambitions are set for the building physics performance of buildings today. No single technology can achieve fulfilment of these ambitions alone. Integrated, multi-facetted solutions and optimization are necessary. A holistic, or ‘global’, technological perspective is needed, which includes all...... aspects of the building as defined in building engineering. We live in an international society and building solutions are developed across country borders. Building physics is a global theme. The International Association of Building Physics has global appeal. This brief article reports the keynote...

Global Building Physics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rode, Carsten

2012-01-01

High ambitions are set for the building physics performance of buildings today. No single technology can achieve fulfilment of these ambitions alone. Integrated, multi-facetted solutions and optimization are necessary. A holistic, or “global”, technological perspective is needed, which includes all...... aspects of the building as defined in building engineering. We live in an international society and building solutions are developed across country borders. Building physics is a global theme. The International Association of Building Physics has global appeal. The keynote lecture and this brief paper...

Global Learning and the School Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Bourn, Douglas

2016-01-01

The global society of today is one that children and young people are aware of but this has not been fully recognised by education policy-makers despite the efforts and activities of many civil society organisations and the enthusiasm of teachers. Since 2010 in England, a government-sponsored programme, the Global Learning Programme, has been a…

Analyzing the greenhouse gas impact potential of smallholder development actions across a global food security program

Science.gov (United States)

Grewer, Uwe; Nash, Julie; Gurwick, Noel; Bockel, Louis; Galford, Gillian; Richards, Meryl; Costa Junior, Ciniro; White, Julianna; Pirolli, Gillian; Wollenberg, Eva

2018-04-01

This article analyses the greenhouse gas (GHG) impact potential of improved management practices and technologies for smallholder agriculture promoted under a global food security development program. Under ‘business-as-usual’ development, global studies on the future of agriculture to 2050 project considerable increases in total food production and cultivated area. Conventional cropland intensification and conversion of natural vegetation typically result in increased GHG emissions and loss of carbon stocks. There is a strong need to understand the potential greenhouse gas impacts of agricultural development programs intended to achieve large-scale change, and to identify pathways of smallholder agricultural development that can achieve food security and agricultural production growth without drastic increases in GHG emissions. In an analysis of 134 crop and livestock production systems in 15 countries with reported impacts on 4.8 million ha, improved management practices and technologies by smallholder farmers significantly reduce GHG emission intensity of agricultural production, increase yields and reduce post-harvest losses, while either decreasing or only moderately increasing net GHG emissions per area. Investments in both production and post-harvest stages meaningfully reduced GHG emission intensity, contributing to low emission development. We present average impacts on net GHG emissions per hectare and GHG emission intensity, while not providing detailed statistics of GHG impacts at scale that are associated to additional uncertainties. While reported improvements in smallholder systems effectively reduce future GHG emissions compared to business-as-usual development, these contributions are insufficient to significantly reduce net GHG emission in agriculture beyond current levels, particularly if future agricultural production grows at projected rates.

High Pressure Treatment in Foods

Science.gov (United States)

Torres Bello, Edwin Fabian; González Martínez, Gerardo; Klotz Ceberio, Bernadette F.; Rodrigo, Dolores; Martínez López, Antonio

2014-01-01

High hydrostatic pressure (HHP), a non-thermal technology, which typically uses water as a pressure transfer medium, is characterized by a minimal impact on food characteristics (sensory, nutritional, and functional). Today, this technology, present in many food companies, can effectively inactivate bacterial cells and many enzymes. All this makes HHP very attractive, with very good acceptance by consumers, who value the organoleptic characteristics of products processed by this non-thermal food preservation technology because they associate these products with fresh-like. On the other hand, this technology reduces the need for non-natural synthetic additives of low consumer acceptance. PMID:28234332

High Pressure Treatment in Foods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Edwin Fabian Torres Bello

2014-08-01

Full Text Available High hydrostatic pressure (HHP, a non-thermal technology, which typically uses water as a pressure transfer medium, is characterized by a minimal impact on food characteristics (sensory, nutritional, and functional. Today, this technology, present in many food companies, can effectively inactivate bacterial cells and many enzymes. All this makes HHP very attractive, with very good acceptance by consumers, who value the organoleptic characteristics of products processed by this non-thermal food preservation technology because they associate these products with fresh-like. On the other hand, this technology reduces the need for non-natural synthetic additives of low consumer acceptance.

Fermilab Today

Science.gov (United States)

registration due today Women's Initiative: "Guiltless: Work/Life Balance" - Aug. 13 Nominations for ; -Leah Hesla In Brief Women's Initiative presents 'Guiltless: Work-Life Balance' - Thursday in One West Cowperthwaite-O'Hagan present "Guiltless: Work-Life Balance" on Thursday, Aug. 13, at 3 p.m. in One

Food irradiation: Applications, public acceptance and global trade

African Journals Online (AJOL)

USER

2010-05-17

May 17, 2010 ... Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Nuclear Science and Technology ... “the irradiation of any food commodity up to an overall average dose of 10 KGy presents no ... years in the wake of food-borne disease caused by pathogenic organisms. In fact ... quality of food consumed within the region (Ahari and.

Differential returns from globalization to women smallholder coffee and food producers in rural Uganda.

Science.gov (United States)

Kanyamurwa, J M; Wamala, S; Baryamutuma, R; Kabwama, E; Loewenson, R

2013-09-01

Globalization-related measures to liberalize trade and stimulate export production were applied in Uganda in the late 1980s, including in the coffee production sector, to revitalize agricultural production, increase incomes to farmers and improve rural food security. To explore the different effects of such measures on the health and dietary outcomes of female coffee and food small holder farmers in Uganda. We gathered evidence through a cross-sectional comparative interview survey of 190 female coffee producers and 191 female food producers in Ntungamo district. The study mostly employed quantitative methods of data collection, targeting the sampled households. We also utilized qualitative data; collected three months after the household survey data had been collected and their analysis had been accomplished. Using qualitative interviews based on an unstructured interview guide, extra qualitative information was collected from key informants at national, district and community levels. This was among other underlying principles to avoid relying on snapshot information earlier collected at household level in order to draw valid and compelling conclusions from the study. We used indicators of production, income, access to food and dietary patterns, women's health and health care. Of the two groups selected from the same area, female coffee producers represented a higher level of integration into liberalised export markets. Document review suggests that, although Uganda's economy grew in the period, the household economic and social gains after the liberalization measures may have been less than expected. In the survey carried out, both food and coffee producers were similarly poor, involved in small-scale production, and of a similar age and education level. Coffee producers had greater land and livestock ownership, greater access to inputs and higher levels of income and used a wider variety of markets than food producers, but they had to work longer hours to obtain

IN TODAY'S INFORMATION AGE ORGANISATIONS EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT PROFESSION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bekir DEĞİRMENCİ

2015-07-01

Full Text Available It's as old as human history in the Executive Office and of the concept has caused the unborn. From the industrial revolution, they perform the organizational activities of all employees in the area are the name of the Office. Businesses are not just places that made production. Businesses also allows the production of all kinds of people have seen the need, the important strategic decisions, increase the quali ty of production and employees must work efficiently and effectively - conscious upon arrival places always have been offices. Marketing, management, human resources, accounting, as units have been operating in all offices within the organization. In today' s information age, information offices are produced, distributed to individuals and corporations concerned, but also has been the destruction of redundant information and important information later when needed has been used places. Today's globalization i s rapid change in knowledge and technology organizations in the management of business owners and managers will help many professions on WikiMapia. Office; Administrator, officer, Secretary, will serve the objectives of the business class ser vices help kin d of elements are needed. Businesses in maintaining vital activities, production and service provision of the activities of the Organization in ensuring an effective and efficient manner within the framework of the team spirit in the conduct of managers with the most important requirements for an Assistant Manager's position has been. Most modern - day organizations close to the administrator should be looking to key features of the Administrative Assistant; the Office of the administrator, who knows how t o keep a secret is not a characteristic of people who best represent the Bureau. When a business can stand in straight execution activities Administrative Assistant has important tasks to. Executive Assistants are indispensable ingredients of today's mode rn office.

Mercury. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Pt. 4; Quecksilber gestern, heute, morgen. Mercury ''revisited'' (ein letztes Wiedersehen mit Quecksilber). T. 4

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schweinsberg, Fritz

2011-07-01

Mercury is a global pollutant since ancient times - and a priority pollutant today. Concentration and residence time of Hg in the atmosphere especially from coal-fired power plants is assessed diversely; new sources were disclosed, e.g. Athabasca oil sands, Canada. The global Hg cycle is influenced by a warming climate and after polar sunrise: Gaseous elemental mercury is photochemically oxidized to Hg(II). Of special relevance is the formation of methyl-Hg by anaerobic microorganisms in aqueous systems, followed by accumulation in the food-chain. The toxicological effect of methyl-Hg is well documented: Minamata Disease, the Iraqi outbreak, the Faroer and Seychellen-Islands studies. In consuming fish risk and benefits have to be balanced: methyl-Hg vs. omega-3 fatty acids (negative confounding). It is of special importance that the prenatal life is more sensitive to methyl-Hg than is adult life. Methyl-Hg is a well-known neurotoxin, but it also may conceal cardiovascular risk. Anyway, healthy eating includes fish low in methyl-Hg and high in omega-3 fatty acids, e.g. salmon, herring, shrimp. Vaccination may not cause infection, even without Thimerosal. Energy-saving bulb shine thank Hg, and we see sharp. (orig.)

Introduction: The Continued Importance of Smallholders Today

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jacqueline M. Vadjunec

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Smallholders remain an important part of human-environment research, particularly in cultural and political ecology, peasant and development studies, and increasingly in land system and sustainability science. This introduction to the edited volume explores land use and livelihood issues among smallholders, in several disciplinary and subfield traditions. Specifically, we provide a short history of smallholder livelihood research in the human-environment tradition. We reflect on why, in an age of rapid globalization, smallholder land use and livelihoods still matter, both for land system science and as a reflection of concerns with inequality and poverty. Key themes that emerge from the papers in this volume include the importance of smallholder farming and land-use practices to questions of environmental sustainability, the dynamic reality of smallholder livelihoods, the challenges of vulnerability and adaptation in contemporary human-environment systems, and the structural and relative nature of the term “smallholder.” Overall these contributions show that smallholder studies are more pertinent than ever, especially in the face of global environmental change. Additionally, we argue that questions of smallholder identity, social difference, and teleconnections provide fertile areas of future research. We conclude that we need to re-envision who the smallholder is today and how this translates into modern human-environment smallholder studies.

Changes in climate extremes, fresh water availability and vulnerability to food insecurity projected at 1.5°C and 2°C global warming with a higher-resolution global climate model

Science.gov (United States)

Alfieri, Lorenzo; Bradshaw, Catherine; Caesar, John; Feyen, Luc; Friedlingstein, Pierre; Gohar, Laila; Koutroulis, Aristeidis; Lewis, Kirsty; Morfopoulos, Catherine; Papadimitriou, Lamprini; Richardson, Katy J.; Tsanis, Ioannis; Wyser, Klaus

2018-01-01

We projected changes in weather extremes, hydrological impacts and vulnerability to food insecurity at global warming of 1.5°C and 2°C relative to pre-industrial, using a new global atmospheric general circulation model HadGEM3A-GA3.0 driven by patterns of sea-surface temperatures and sea ice from selected members of the 5th Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) ensemble, forced with the RCP8.5 concentration scenario. To provide more detailed representations of climate processes and impacts, the spatial resolution was N216 (approx. 60 km grid length in mid-latitudes), a higher resolution than the CMIP5 models. We used a set of impacts-relevant indices and a global land surface model to examine the projected changes in weather extremes and their implications for freshwater availability and vulnerability to food insecurity. Uncertainties in regional climate responses are assessed, examining ranges of outcomes in impacts to inform risk assessments. Despite some degree of inconsistency between components of the study due to the need to correct for systematic biases in some aspects, the outcomes from different ensemble members could be compared for several different indicators. The projections for weather extremes indices and biophysical impacts quantities support expectations that the magnitude of change is generally larger for 2°C global warming than 1.5°C. Hot extremes become even hotter, with increases being more intense than seen in CMIP5 projections. Precipitation-related extremes show more geographical variation with some increases and some decreases in both heavy precipitation and drought. There are substantial regional uncertainties in hydrological impacts at local scales due to different climate models producing different outcomes. Nevertheless, hydrological impacts generally point towards wetter conditions on average, with increased mean river flows, longer heavy rainfall events, particularly in South and East Asia with the most extreme

Changes in climate extremes, fresh water availability and vulnerability to food insecurity projected at 1.5°C and 2°C global warming with a higher-resolution global climate model.

Science.gov (United States)

Betts, Richard A; Alfieri, Lorenzo; Bradshaw, Catherine; Caesar, John; Feyen, Luc; Friedlingstein, Pierre; Gohar, Laila; Koutroulis, Aristeidis; Lewis, Kirsty; Morfopoulos, Catherine; Papadimitriou, Lamprini; Richardson, Katy J; Tsanis, Ioannis; Wyser, Klaus

2018-05-13

We projected changes in weather extremes, hydrological impacts and vulnerability to food insecurity at global warming of 1.5°C and 2°C relative to pre-industrial, using a new global atmospheric general circulation model HadGEM3A-GA3.0 driven by patterns of sea-surface temperatures and sea ice from selected members of the 5th Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) ensemble, forced with the RCP8.5 concentration scenario. To provide more detailed representations of climate processes and impacts, the spatial resolution was N216 (approx. 60 km grid length in mid-latitudes), a higher resolution than the CMIP5 models. We used a set of impacts-relevant indices and a global land surface model to examine the projected changes in weather extremes and their implications for freshwater availability and vulnerability to food insecurity. Uncertainties in regional climate responses are assessed, examining ranges of outcomes in impacts to inform risk assessments. Despite some degree of inconsistency between components of the study due to the need to correct for systematic biases in some aspects, the outcomes from different ensemble members could be compared for several different indicators. The projections for weather extremes indices and biophysical impacts quantities support expectations that the magnitude of change is generally larger for 2°C global warming than 1.5°C. Hot extremes become even hotter, with increases being more intense than seen in CMIP5 projections. Precipitation-related extremes show more geographical variation with some increases and some decreases in both heavy precipitation and drought. There are substantial regional uncertainties in hydrological impacts at local scales due to different climate models producing different outcomes. Nevertheless, hydrological impacts generally point towards wetter conditions on average, with increased mean river flows, longer heavy rainfall events, particularly in South and East Asia with the most extreme

Changes in climate extremes, fresh water availability and vulnerability to food insecurity projected at 1.5°C and 2°C global warming with a higher-resolution global climate model

Science.gov (United States)

Betts, Richard A.; Alfieri, Lorenzo; Bradshaw, Catherine; Caesar, John; Feyen, Luc; Friedlingstein, Pierre; Gohar, Laila; Koutroulis, Aristeidis; Lewis, Kirsty; Morfopoulos, Catherine; Papadimitriou, Lamprini; Richardson, Katy J.; Tsanis, Ioannis; Wyser, Klaus

2018-05-01

We projected changes in weather extremes, hydrological impacts and vulnerability to food insecurity at global warming of 1.5°C and 2°C relative to pre-industrial, using a new global atmospheric general circulation model HadGEM3A-GA3.0 driven by patterns of sea-surface temperatures and sea ice from selected members of the 5th Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) ensemble, forced with the RCP8.5 concentration scenario. To provide more detailed representations of climate processes and impacts, the spatial resolution was N216 (approx. 60 km grid length in mid-latitudes), a higher resolution than the CMIP5 models. We used a set of impacts-relevant indices and a global land surface model to examine the projected changes in weather extremes and their implications for freshwater availability and vulnerability to food insecurity. Uncertainties in regional climate responses are assessed, examining ranges of outcomes in impacts to inform risk assessments. Despite some degree of inconsistency between components of the study due to the need to correct for systematic biases in some aspects, the outcomes from different ensemble members could be compared for several different indicators. The projections for weather extremes indices and biophysical impacts quantities support expectations that the magnitude of change is generally larger for 2°C global warming than 1.5°C. Hot extremes become even hotter, with increases being more intense than seen in CMIP5 projections. Precipitation-related extremes show more geographical variation with some increases and some decreases in both heavy precipitation and drought. There are substantial regional uncertainties in hydrological impacts at local scales due to different climate models producing different outcomes. Nevertheless, hydrological impacts generally point towards wetter conditions on average, with increased mean river flows, longer heavy rainfall events, particularly in South and East Asia with the most extreme

Global land use change, economic globalization, and the looming land scarcity.

Science.gov (United States)

Lambin, Eric F; Meyfroidt, Patrick

2011-03-01

A central challenge for sustainability is how to preserve forest ecosystems and the services that they provide us while enhancing food production. This challenge for developing countries confronts the force of economic globalization, which seeks cropland that is shrinking in availability and triggers deforestation. Four mechanisms-the displacement, rebound, cascade, and remittance effects-that are amplified by economic globalization accelerate land conversion. A few developing countries have managed a land use transition over the recent decades that simultaneously increased their forest cover and agricultural production. These countries have relied on various mixes of agricultural intensification, land use zoning, forest protection, increased reliance on imported food and wood products, the creation of off-farm jobs, foreign capital investments, and remittances. Sound policies and innovations can therefore reconcile forest preservation with food production. Globalization can be harnessed to increase land use efficiency rather than leading to uncontrolled land use expansion. To do so, land systems should be understood and modeled as open systems with large flows of goods, people, and capital that connect local land use with global-scale factors.

Global land use change, economic globalization, and the looming land scarcity

Science.gov (United States)

Lambin, Eric F.; Meyfroidt, Patrick

2011-01-01

A central challenge for sustainability is how to preserve forest ecosystems and the services that they provide us while enhancing food production. This challenge for developing countries confronts the force of economic globalization, which seeks cropland that is shrinking in availability and triggers deforestation. Four mechanisms—the displacement, rebound, cascade, and remittance effects—that are amplified by economic globalization accelerate land conversion. A few developing countries have managed a land use transition over the recent decades that simultaneously increased their forest cover and agricultural production. These countries have relied on various mixes of agricultural intensification, land use zoning, forest protection, increased reliance on imported food and wood products, the creation of off-farm jobs, foreign capital investments, and remittances. Sound policies and innovations can therefore reconcile forest preservation with food production. Globalization can be harnessed to increase land use efficiency rather than leading to uncontrolled land use expansion. To do so, land systems should be understood and modeled as open systems with large flows of goods, people, and capital that connect local land use with global-scale factors. PMID:21321211

Companies' contribution to sustainability through global supply chains.

Science.gov (United States)

Thorlakson, Tannis; de Zegher, Joann F; Lambin, Eric F

2018-02-27

Global supply chains play a critical role in many of the most pressing environmental stresses and social struggles identified by the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Responding to calls from the global community, companies are adopting a variety of voluntary practices to improve the environmental and/or social management of their suppliers' activities. We develop a global survey of 449 publicly listed companies in the food, textile, and wood-products sectors with annual reports in English to provide insight into how the private sector contributes to advancing the SDGs via such sustainable-sourcing practices. We find that while 52% of companies use at least one sustainable-sourcing practice, these practices are limited in scope; 71% relates to only one or a few input materials and 60.5% apply to only first-tier suppliers. We also find that sustainable-sourcing practices typically address a small subset of the sustainability challenges laid out by the SDGs, primarily focusing on labor rights and compliance with national laws. Consistent with existing hypotheses, companies that face consumer and civil society pressure are associated with a significantly higher probability of adopting sustainable-sourcing practices. Our findings highlight the opportunities and limitations of corporate sustainable-sourcing practices in addressing the myriad sustainability challenges facing our world today. Copyright © 2018 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.

Food packaging history and innovations.

Science.gov (United States)

Risch, Sara J

2009-09-23

Food packaging has evolved from simply a container to hold food to something today that can play an active role in food quality. Many packages are still simply containers, but they have properties that have been developed to protect the food. These include barriers to oxygen, moisture, and flavors. Active packaging, or that which plays an active role in food quality, includes some microwave packaging as well as packaging that has absorbers built in to remove oxygen from the atmosphere surrounding the product or to provide antimicrobials to the surface of the food. Packaging has allowed access to many foods year-round that otherwise could not be preserved. It is interesting to note that some packages have actually allowed the creation of new categories in the supermarket. Examples include microwave popcorn and fresh-cut produce, which owe their existence to the unique packaging that has been developed.

Africa's Competitiveness In The Global Economy and The Tourism ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

PROF. OLIVER OSUAGWA

2014-12-01

Dec 1, 2014 ... only 3.4 percent of global tourism receipts and 5.2 percent of tourist arrivals, despite accounting for almost ... The business environment and infrastructure are not favorable to ... Globally, today's generation of young people are ...

Tracking and Tracing Cyber-Attacks: Technical Challenges and Global Policy Issues

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Lipson, Howard

2002-01-01

.... The anonymity enjoyed by today's cyber-attackers poses a grave threat to the global information society, the progress of an information-based international economy, and the advancement of global...

Global warming and economic growth

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gonand, Frederic

2015-01-01

The macro-economic impacts of climate change and of policies to reduce carbon content should be moderate on a global basis for the planet - a few hundredths of a % of world GDP on an annual basis, but significant for some regions (Asia-Pacific notably). The probability of extreme climatic events justifies with effect from today the implementation of measures that will carry a cost in order to limit global warming. (author)

Alternative Food Networks and Social Media in Marketing : A multiple case study exploring how Alternative Food Networks use social media in order to help small local food producers reach the market

OpenAIRE

Puranen, Niklas; Jansson, Markus

2017-01-01

The food provision system of today has been argued to be unsustainable with large scale production, price-pressure and outbreaks of diseases. Many consumers in the EU and Sweden are reacting to these issues and are becoming increasingly interested in finding local food alternatives that they consider to be safer and of higher quality. However, the small local food producers due to scarce budgets and marketing skills have problems in reaching this target market. Partly due to this, there has b...

Biodegradable PLA composites with different fillers for food packaging application

OpenAIRE

Marra, Antonella

2015-01-01

The food packaging initially born as a "container" of food for the sale of quantities defined in adequate conditions of hygiene, then had to perform the function of "protection" of the food in respect of environment. Today, in fact, the most important function of the packaging, when it comes to preservation technology, is to prevent deterioration of the food, to extend the duration of use of a food and to maintain and /or to increase its quality and integrity. So the main purpose of food pa...

Coping with the Global Economic Crisis: A Challenge to Technical ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

gold

2012-07-26

Jul 26, 2012 ... Global Economic Crisis may as well be referred to as. Global ... utilization, household incomes and business profits all fall during recessions. Governments ..... In Nigeria today, education is in crisis, teachers' salaries are.

The transition of new technology to solve today`s problems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kamin, R.A. [Naval Air Warfare Center, Trenton, NJ (United States); Martin, C.J.; Turner, L.M. [Defense Fuel Supply Center, Alexandria, VA (United States)

1995-05-01

Extensive research has been conducted in the development of methods to predict the degradation of F-44 in storage. The Low Pressure Reactor (LPR) has greatly enhanced the stability prediction capabilities necessary to make informed decisions concerning aviation fuel in storage. This technique has in the past been primarily used for research purposes. The Naval Air Warfare Center, Aircraft Division, Trenton, NJ, has used this technique successfully to assist the Defense Fuel Supply Center, Cameron Station, Alexandria, VA, in stability assessments of F-44. The High Performance Liquid Chromatography/Electrochemical Detector (HPLC/EC) antioxidant determination technique has also aided in making stability predictions by establishing the amount of inhibitor currently in the product. This paper will address two case studies in which the above new technology was used to insure the rapid detection and diagnosis of today`s field and logistic problems.

Managing the Global Supply Chain

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skjøtt-Larsen, Tage; Schary, Philip B.; Mikkola, Juliana Hsuan

The world today faces global competition. The supply chain is vital part of the globalization process. Presenting a global view of the scope and complexity of supply chain management, this book reflects the rapid change that has taken place within the supply chain and its environment. This new...... edition has been fully updated with recent changes in concepts, technology and practice. Integration and collaboration are keywords in future competition. Firms must be agile and lean at the same time. The book gives an insightful overview of the conceptual foundations of the global supply chain, as...... well as current examples of best practice of managing supply chains in a global context....

Managing the Global Supply Chain

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hsuan, Juliana; Skjøtt-Larsen, Tage; Kinra, Aseem

The world today faces global competition. The supply chain is vital part of the globalization process. Presenting a global view of the scope and complexity of supply chain management, this book reflects the rapid change that has taken place within the supply chain and its environment. This new...... well as current examples of best practice of managing supply chains in a global context....... edition has been fully updated with recent changes in concepts, technology and practice. Integration and collaboration are keywords in future competition. Firms must be agile and lean at the same time. The book gives an insightful overview of the conceptual foundations of the global supply chain, as...

Global Food Security Problems in the Modern World Economy

Science.gov (United States)

Abdulkadyrova, Madina A.; Dikinov, Andzor H.; Tajmashanov, Hassan È.; Shidaev, Lomali A.; Shidaeva, Eliza A.

2016-01-01

Importance: Food problem at the present stage of development of mankind is that due to improper and overly intensive use of natural resources, increasing demand for livestock products, increasing per capita food consumption and other factors, there has been a steady rise in food prices, represents a threat to food security in the countries with…

[Review of food policy approaches: from food security to food sovereignty (2000-2013)].

Science.gov (United States)

López-Giraldo, Luis Alirio; Franco-Giraldo, Álvaro

2015-07-01

Food policies have attracted special interest due to the global food crisis in 2008 and promotion of the Millennium Development Goals, leading to approaches by different fields. This thematic review aims to describe the main theoretical and methodological approaches to food security and food sovereignty policies. A search was performed in databases of scientific journals from 2000 to 2013. 320 complete articles were selected from a total of 2,699. After reading the articles to apply the inclusion criteria, 55 items were maintained for analysis. In conclusion, with the predominance of food security as a guiding policy, food sovereignty has emerged as a critical response to be included in designing and researching food policies. Food policies are essential for achieving public health goals. Public health should thus take a leading role in linking and orienting such policies.

Convenience foods. What, why, and when.

Science.gov (United States)

Scholliers, Peter

2015-11-01

An attempt is made to assess the academic interest in convenience foods in the past decades in order to introduce this special section on historical dimensions of convenience foods, prepared by FOST, a unit that investigates the history and culture of food (up to today). First, the rise of academic interest is trailed since the appearance of the concept in the 1920s and, next, themes in connection to this interest are considered (e.g., time, health, or gender). Then, definitions of convenience foods are tracked since the 1950s, which leads to suggesting a clear focus (linking convenience foods to home cooking of meals and industrially produced foods). The conclusion stresses the changing definition of the concept, as well as the need to gain historical insight in present-day issues related to convenience foods. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Barriers experienced in the supermarket by parents and children during family food buying

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nørgaard, Maria Kümpel; Brunsø, Karen

Children today are gaining an increasing level of influence in family decision-making during food buying, and they assist their parents in carrying out various tasks during food buying. However, involving several active participants in decision-making is not always a walk in the park. The purpose...... other to make healthy food choices; and that food marketing should further develop points-of-purchase and food packaging initiatives in order to lower the barriers experienced among families with children.......Children today are gaining an increasing level of influence in family decision-making during food buying, and they assist their parents in carrying out various tasks during food buying. However, involving several active participants in decision-making is not always a walk in the park. The purpose...... of this paper is to broaden up the understanding of barriers experienced in the interaction between parents and children during family food buying. Assumptions are explored in a qualitative empirical study of 12 Danish tweens and their parents combining participant observation with semi-structured interviews...

The past and future of food stocks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laio, Francesco; Ridolfi, Luca; D’Odorico, Paolo

2016-01-01

Human societies rely on food reserves and the importation of agricultural goods as means to cope with crop failures and associated food shortage. While food trade has been the subject of intensive investigations in recent years, food reserves remain poorly quantified. It is unclear how food stocks are changing and whether they are declining. In this study we use food stock records for 92 products to reconstruct 50 years of aggregated food reserves, expressed in caloric equivalent (kcal), at the regional and global scales. A detailed statistical analysis demonstrates that the overall regional and global per-capita food stocks are stationary, challenging a widespread impression that food reserves are shrinking. We develop a statistically-sound stochastic representation of stock dynamics and take the stock-halving probability as a measure of the natural variability of the process. We find that there is a 20% probability that the global per-capita stocks will be halved by 2050. There are, however, some strong regional differences: Western Europe and the region encompassing North Africa and the Middle East have smaller halving probabilities and smaller per-capita stocks, while North America and Oceania have greater halving probabilities and greater per-capita stocks than the global average. Africa exhibits low per-capita stocks and relatively high probability of stock halving by 2050, which reflects a state of higher food insecurity in this continent. (letter)

DaimlerChrysler - powertrain-strategy. Global requirements - global solutions; DaimlerChrysler - Powertrain-Strategie. Globale Anforderungen - Globale Loesungen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mikulic, L. [Mercedes Car Group, DaimlerChrysler AG, Mercedes-Benz Technology Center, Stuttgart (Germany); Lee, R. [DaimlerChrysler Corporation, Auburn Hills, MI (United States)

2007-07-01

'Globalization' - few concepts have shaped the last fifteen years like this has. For some it is a synonym for unexpected economic and social revolution, a threatening change in familiar arrangements, whilst others see the coalescence of global structures as, more than anything, a challenge - which, if mastered, offers endless possibilities for success. The challenges facing an automotive manufacturer in a globalized world are of quite a different nature. Not least, the constantly increasing competitive pressure has reduced the number of independent automotive manufacturers, in what is known as the Triad (Europe, Japan and North America), from 42 at the beginning of the 1960's to just 15 today. Also in Europe, consolidation has led, on the one hand, to a reduction in individual brands and on the other, to a number of collaborative projects between companies. Even in the dynamically growing East Asia markets, where the number of independent carmakers is still large, such collaborations have already occurred. In the near future much dynamics can be expected within the two fastest growing markets, China and India. Within these competitive markets, a globally operating company like DaimlerChrysler is faced with new challenges. (orig.)

Examining the value of global seasonal reference evapotranspiration forecasts tosupport FEWS NET's food insecurity outlooks

Science.gov (United States)

Shukla, S.; McEvoy, D.; Hobbins, M.; Husak, G. J.; Huntington, J. L.; Funk, C.; Verdin, J.; Macharia, D.

2017-12-01

The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) team provides food insecurity outlooks for several developing countries in Africa, Central Asia, and Central America. Thus far in terms of agroclimatic conditions that influence food insecurity, FEWS NET's primary focus has been on the seasonal precipitation forecasts while not adequately accounting for the atmospheric evaporative demand, which is also directly related to agricultural production and hence food insecurity, and is most often estimated by reference evapotranspiration (ETo). This presentation reports on the development of a new global ETo seasonal reforecast and skill evaluation with a particular emphasis on the potential use of this dataset by the FEWS NET to support food insecurity early warning. The ETo reforecasts span the 1982-2009 period and are calculated following ASCE's formulation of Penman-Monteith method driven by seasonal climate forecasts of monthly mean temperature, humidity, wind speed, and solar radiation from NCEP's CFSv2 and NASA's GEOS-5 models. The skill evaluation using deterministic and probabilistic scores focuses on the December-February (DJF), March-May (MAM), June-August (JJA) and September-November (SON) seasons. The results indicate that ETo forecasts are a promising tool for early warning of drought and food insecurity. The FEWS NET regions with promising level of skill (correlation >0.35 at lead times of 3 months) include Northern Sub-Saharan Africa (DJF, dry season), Central America (DJF, dry season), parts of East Africa (JJA, wet Season), Southern Africa (JJA, dry season), and Central Asia (MAM, wet season). A case study over parts of East Africa for the JJA season shows that, in combination with the precipitation forecasts, ETo forecasts could have provided early warning of recent severe drought events (e.g., 2002, 2004, 2009) that contributed to substantial food insecurity in the region.

Sustainable Sourcing of Global Agricultural Raw Materials: Assessing Gaps in Key Impact and Vulnerability Issues and Indicators.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nathaniel P Springer

Full Text Available Understanding how to source agricultural raw materials sustainably is challenging in today's globalized food system given the variety of issues to be considered and the multitude of suggested indicators for representing these issues. Furthermore, stakeholders in the global food system both impact these issues and are themselves vulnerable to these issues, an important duality that is often implied but not explicitly described. The attention given to these issues and conceptual frameworks varies greatly--depending largely on the stakeholder perspective--as does the set of indicators developed to measure them. To better structure these complex relationships and assess any gaps, we collate a comprehensive list of sustainability issues and a database of sustainability indicators to represent them. To assure a breadth of inclusion, the issues are pulled from the following three perspectives: major global sustainability assessments, sustainability communications from global food companies, and conceptual frameworks of sustainable livelihoods from academic publications. These terms are integrated across perspectives using a common vocabulary, classified by their relevance to impacts and vulnerabilities, and categorized into groups by economic, environmental, physical, human, social, and political characteristics. These issues are then associated with over 2,000 sustainability indicators gathered from existing sources. A gap analysis is then performed to determine if particular issues and issue groups are over or underrepresented. This process results in 44 "integrated" issues--24 impact issues and 36 vulnerability issues--that are composed of 318 "component" issues. The gap analysis shows that although every integrated issue is mentioned at least 40% of the time across perspectives, no issue is mentioned more than 70% of the time. A few issues infrequently mentioned across perspectives also have relatively few indicators available to fully represent

Sustainable Sourcing of Global Agricultural Raw Materials: Assessing Gaps in Key Impact and Vulnerability Issues and Indicators.

Science.gov (United States)

Springer, Nathaniel P; Garbach, Kelly; Guillozet, Kathleen; Haden, Van R; Hedao, Prashant; Hollander, Allan D; Huber, Patrick R; Ingersoll, Christina; Langner, Megan; Lipari, Genevieve; Mohammadi, Yaser; Musker, Ruthie; Piatto, Marina; Riggle, Courtney; Schweisguth, Melissa; Sin, Emily; Snider, Sara; Vidic, Nataša; White, Aubrey; Brodt, Sonja; Quinn, James F; Tomich, Thomas P

2015-01-01

Understanding how to source agricultural raw materials sustainably is challenging in today's globalized food system given the variety of issues to be considered and the multitude of suggested indicators for representing these issues. Furthermore, stakeholders in the global food system both impact these issues and are themselves vulnerable to these issues, an important duality that is often implied but not explicitly described. The attention given to these issues and conceptual frameworks varies greatly--depending largely on the stakeholder perspective--as does the set of indicators developed to measure them. To better structure these complex relationships and assess any gaps, we collate a comprehensive list of sustainability issues and a database of sustainability indicators to represent them. To assure a breadth of inclusion, the issues are pulled from the following three perspectives: major global sustainability assessments, sustainability communications from global food companies, and conceptual frameworks of sustainable livelihoods from academic publications. These terms are integrated across perspectives using a common vocabulary, classified by their relevance to impacts and vulnerabilities, and categorized into groups by economic, environmental, physical, human, social, and political characteristics. These issues are then associated with over 2,000 sustainability indicators gathered from existing sources. A gap analysis is then performed to determine if particular issues and issue groups are over or underrepresented. This process results in 44 "integrated" issues--24 impact issues and 36 vulnerability issues--that are composed of 318 "component" issues. The gap analysis shows that although every integrated issue is mentioned at least 40% of the time across perspectives, no issue is mentioned more than 70% of the time. A few issues infrequently mentioned across perspectives also have relatively few indicators available to fully represent them. Issues in the

Recent achievements in food composition information of traditional foods from Europe

OpenAIRE

Costa, H.S.; Sanches-Silva, A.; Albuquerque, T.G.; Trichopoulou, A.; Vasilopoulou, E.; D'Antuono, L.F.; Finglas, P.

2013-01-01

Comunicação oral a convite. Objectives: A trend towards the rediscovering of traditional foods has emerged as a reaction to the impact of globalization, in order to protect and maintain the diversity of regional food and agricultural traditions. Research in food composition, particularly traditional foods, is essential to understand their implications in human health and trace recommendations for an improved diet. One of the aims within EuroFIR (European Food Information Resource) and BaSe...

Antioxidant capacity of some plants foods and beverages consumed ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Today plant foods and beverages are receiving more scientific attention because of their potential to curb the effect of free radicals in the human system. The present study reports on the antioxidant potentials of some plants foods and beverages consumed in the Eastern Region of Nigeria. The study made use of the ferric ...

Attribution of global foodborne disease to specific foods: Findings from a World Health Organization structured expert elicitation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sandra Hoffmann

Full Text Available Recently the World Health Organization, Foodborne Disease Burden Epidemiology Reference Group (FERG estimated that 31 foodborne diseases (FBDs resulted in over 600 million illnesses and 420,000 deaths worldwide in 2010. Knowing the relative role importance of different foods as exposure routes for key hazards is critical to preventing illness. This study reports the findings of a structured expert elicitation providing globally comparable food source attribution estimates for 11 major FBDs in each of 14 world subregions.We used Cooke's Classical Model to elicit and aggregate judgments of 73 international experts. Judgments were elicited from each expert individually and aggregated using both equal and performance weights. Performance weighted results are reported as they increased the informativeness of estimates, while retaining accuracy. We report measures of central tendency and uncertainty bounds on food source attribution estimate. For some pathogens we see relatively consistent food source attribution estimates across subregions of the world; for others there is substantial regional variation. For example, for non-typhoidal salmonellosis, pork was of minor importance compared to eggs and poultry meat in the American and African subregions, whereas in the European and Western Pacific subregions the importance of these three food sources were quite similar. Our regional results broadly agree with estimates from earlier European and North American food source attribution research. As in prior food source attribution research, we find relatively wide uncertainty bounds around our median estimates.We present the first worldwide estimates of the proportion of specific foodborne diseases attributable to specific food exposure routes. While we find substantial uncertainty around central tendency estimates, we believe these estimates provide the best currently available basis on which to link FBDs and specific foods in many parts of the world

Attribution of global foodborne disease to specific foods: Findings from a World Health Organization structured expert elicitation.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoffmann, Sandra; Devleesschauwer, Brecht; Aspinall, Willy; Cooke, Roger; Corrigan, Tim; Havelaar, Arie; Angulo, Frederick; Gibb, Herman; Kirk, Martyn; Lake, Robin; Speybroeck, Niko; Torgerson, Paul; Hald, Tine

2017-01-01

Recently the World Health Organization, Foodborne Disease Burden Epidemiology Reference Group (FERG) estimated that 31 foodborne diseases (FBDs) resulted in over 600 million illnesses and 420,000 deaths worldwide in 2010. Knowing the relative role importance of different foods as exposure routes for key hazards is critical to preventing illness. This study reports the findings of a structured expert elicitation providing globally comparable food source attribution estimates for 11 major FBDs in each of 14 world subregions. We used Cooke's Classical Model to elicit and aggregate judgments of 73 international experts. Judgments were elicited from each expert individually and aggregated using both equal and performance weights. Performance weighted results are reported as they increased the informativeness of estimates, while retaining accuracy. We report measures of central tendency and uncertainty bounds on food source attribution estimate. For some pathogens we see relatively consistent food source attribution estimates across subregions of the world; for others there is substantial regional variation. For example, for non-typhoidal salmonellosis, pork was of minor importance compared to eggs and poultry meat in the American and African subregions, whereas in the European and Western Pacific subregions the importance of these three food sources were quite similar. Our regional results broadly agree with estimates from earlier European and North American food source attribution research. As in prior food source attribution research, we find relatively wide uncertainty bounds around our median estimates. We present the first worldwide estimates of the proportion of specific foodborne diseases attributable to specific food exposure routes. While we find substantial uncertainty around central tendency estimates, we believe these estimates provide the best currently available basis on which to link FBDs and specific foods in many parts of the world, providing guidance

Lagged life cycle structures for food products: Their role in global marketing, their determinants and some problems in their estimation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Baadsgaard, Allan; Gede, Mads Peter; Grunert, Klaus G.

cycles for different product categories may be lagged (type II lag) because changes in economic and other factors will result in demands for different products. Identifying lagged life cycle structures major importance in global marketing of food products. The problems in arriving at such estimates...

Structure and evolution of the global seafood trade network

Science.gov (United States)

Gephart, Jessica A.; Pace, Michael L.

2015-12-01

The food production system is increasingly global and seafood is among the most highly traded commodities. Global trade can improve food security by providing access to a greater variety of foods, increasing wealth, buffering against local supply shocks, and benefit the environment by increasing overall use efficiency for some resources. However, global trade can also expose countries to external supply shocks and degrade the environment by increasing resource demand and loosening feedbacks between consumers and the impacts of food production. As a result, changes in global food trade can have important implications for both food security and the environmental impacts of production. Measurements of globalization and the environmental impacts of food production require data on both total trade and the origin and destination of traded goods (the network structure). While the global trade network of agricultural and livestock products has previously been studied, seafood products have been excluded. This study describes the structure and evolution of the global seafood trade network, including metrics quantifying the globalization of seafood, shifts in bilateral trade flows, changes in centrality and comparisons of seafood to agricultural and industrial trade networks. From 1994 to 2012 the number of countries trading in the network remained relatively constant, while the number of trade partnerships increased by over 65%. Over this same period, the total quantity of seafood traded increased by 58% and the value increased 85% in real terms. These changes signify the increasing globalization of seafood products. Additionally, the trade patterns in the network indicate: increased influence of Thailand and China, strengthened intraregional trade, and increased exports from South America and Asia. In addition to characterizing these network changes, this study identifies data needs in order to connect seafood trade with environmental impacts and food security outcomes.

Are Customers Satisfied With Healthier Food Options At South African Fast-Food Outlets?

OpenAIRE

Michael C. Cant; Ricardo Machado; Melanie Gopaul

2014-01-01

Fast-food consumption has been a staple for many people; however, due to rising health concerns, there has been an increasing interest in the consumption of healthier food both in South Africa and elsewhere. Many consumers are demanding better quality foods that offer nutritional benefits. This global trend has led to fast-food outlets adding healthier food options to their menus. Limited literature exists on customer satisfaction with regards to the food quality of these healthier food optio...

Prospects of eliminating pathogens by the process of food irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kampelmacher, E.H.

1981-01-01

Food-borne diseases are an increasing health hazard throughout the world. Some of these diseases, such as salmonellosis, staphylo-entero-toxicosis, botulism, vibriosis and parasitic infections have always played an important role, whereas some other food-borne pathogens, such as Campylobacter, Vibrio parahaemolyticus and toxin-producing fungi have only been recognised in recent decades. Changing food-production methods, food processing and especially food habits, together with the enormous trade in foods and feeds from one part of the world to the other, are responsible for the increase of these diseases. To meet this situation, prevention and control of food-borne diseases, which involve large groups of persons and play a major socio-economic role in many parts of the world, are of utmost importance. In prevention and control programmes food irradiation can be applied successfully and may solve some of the food and feed contamination problems. The author summarizes to-day's most important food-borne diseases, the type of foods which are responsible for infections in man and animals, and the commodities in which low-dose food irradiation may be of great value in preventing these diseases. The advantages of irradiation versus the use of chemical additives and pesticides and with respect to the prevention of cross-contamination (which plays a very important role in initiating food-borne diseases) by pre-packaging, are emphasized. The required irradiaton doses to eliminate or reduce the number of pathogenic organisms which may be present in foods, the problem of radioresistance and the acceptability of irradiated food are discussed. Finally to-day's situation of irradiated foods with regard to legislation, consumers' information and economic feasibility is summarized. (author)

Prediction of seasonal climate-induced variations in global food production

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Iizumi, Toshichika; Sakuma, Hirofumi; Yokozawa, Masayuki

2013-01-01

attention to the cropping forecasts of important food-exporting countries as well as to their own domestic food production. Given the increased volatility of food markets and the rising incidence of climatic extremes affecting food production, food price spikes may increase in prevalence in future years(2......Consumers, including the poor in many countries, are increasingly dependent on food imports(1) and are thus exposed to variations in yields, production and export prices in the major food-producing regions of the world. National governments and commercial entities are therefore paying increased...

Towards a New Cosmopolitanism: Global Reflexive Interactive Democracy as a New Mechanism for Civil Society Participation in Agri-food Governance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Duncan, J.A.B.; Bevilaqua, D.

2010-01-01

In an increasingly interconnected world, where the widespread travel of goods highlights our interconnectedness, who has the power to decide the global regulations that shape the production, processing and exchange of agri-food products? How are such decisions made and by whom? Who decides what is

Economic liberalization and globalization vs. India's poor

OpenAIRE

Oschinski, Matthias

2003-01-01

Today, many in the national and international NGO community perceive globalization and economic liberalization as a threat claiming that it widens inequalities and increases overall poverty. While it is true that inequality is on the rise in a rapidly globalizing world the real culprit is not globalization itself but rather a lack of economic reforms and economic liberalization. This paper aims to show that many in the international NGO community confuse cause and effect. The root cause of po...

Food security and sustainable resource management

Science.gov (United States)

McLaughlin, Dennis; Kinzelbach, Wolfgang

2015-07-01

The projected growth in global food demand until mid-century will challenge our ability to continue recent increases in crop yield and will have a significant impact on natural resources. The water and land requirements of current agriculture are significantly less than global reserves but local shortages are common and have serious impacts on food security. Recent increases in global trade have mitigated some of the effects of spatial and temporal variability. However, trade has a limited impact on low-income populations who remain dependent on subsistence agriculture and local resources. Potential adverse environmental impacts of increased agricultural production include unsustainable depletion of water and soil resources, major changes in the global nitrogen and phosphorous cycles, human health problems related to excessive nutrient and pesticide use, and loss of habitats that contribute to agricultural productivity. Some typical case studies from China illustrate the connections between the need for increased food production and environmental stress. Sustainable options for decreasing food demand and for increasing production include reduction of food losses on both the producer and consumer ends, elimination of unsustainable practices such as prolonged groundwater overdraft, closing of yield gaps with controlled expansions of fertilizer application, increases in crop yield and pest resistance through advances in biotechnology, and moderate expansion of rain fed and irrigated cropland. Calculations based on reasonable assumptions suggest that such measures could meet the food needs of an increasing global population while protecting the environment.

Neutrinos today

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pontecorvo, B.; Bilen'kij, S.

1987-01-01

After the famous 1983 discovery of intermediate W, Z 0 bosons it may be stated with certainty that W, Z 0 are entirely responsible for the production of neutrinos and for their interactions. Neutrino physics notions are presented from this point of view in the first four introductory, quite elementary, paragraphs of the paper. The following seven paragraphs are more sophisticated. They are devoted to the neutrino mass and neutrino mixing question, which is the most actual problem in today neutrino physics. Vacuum neutrino oscillations, matter neutrino oscillations and netrinoless double-decay are considered. Solar neutrino physics is discussed in some detail from the point of view of vacuum and matter neutrino oscillations. The role played by neutrinos in the Universe is briefly considered. In the last paragraph there discussed the probable observation by different groups of neutrinos connected with the Supernova 1987 A: the first observation of gravitational star collapse (at least the general rehearsal of such observation) opens up a new era in astronomy of today exerimental physics and astrophysics is presented at the end of the paper in the form of a Table

Combined effects of global climate change and regional ecosystem drivers on an exploited marine food web

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Niiranen, S.; Yletyinen, J.; Tomczak, M.T.

2013-01-01

approach to project how the interaction of climate, nutrient loads, and cod fishing may affect the future of the open Central Baltic Sea food web. Regionally downscaled global climate scenarios were, in combination with three nutrient load scenarios, used to drive an ensemble of three regional...... biogeochemical models (BGMs). An Ecopath with Ecosim food web model was then forced with the BGM results from different nutrient-climate scenarios in combination with two different cod fishing scenarios. The results showed that regional management is likely to play a major role in determining the future......Changes in climate, in combination with intensive exploitation of marine resources, have caused large-scale reorganizations in many of the world's marine ecosystems during the past decades. The Baltic Sea in Northern Europe is one of the systems most affected. In addition to being exposed...

Eatability of the irradiated food

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luna C, P.C.

1992-05-01

A food is eatable and innocuous when it has an acceptable nutritional quality, it is toxicological and microbiologically safe for the human consumption. Not one preservation treatment allows to assure this in absolute form. As it happens with other conservation methods, the irradiation produce biological, chemical and physical changes in the treated food. For to check if such changes could cause damages to the health of the consumer, its have been carried out extensive studies to evaluate the inoculate of the irradiated foods. Analyzing diverse toxicity studies to prove the eatability of the irradiated foods, in this work those are presented but important in chronological order. In summary, until today it exists a great heap of tests that they demonstrate without place to doubts that the foods irradiated with a dose up to 10 KGy its are capable for the human consumption, for what can to be concluded that a safety margin exists to consume foods irradiated. (Author)

Production of Food Grade Yeasts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Argyro Bekatorou

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Yeasts have been known to humans for thousands of years as they have been used in traditional fermentation processes like wine, beer and bread making. Today, yeasts are also used as alternative sources of high nutritional value proteins, enzymes and vitamins, and have numerous applications in the health food industry as food additives, conditioners and flavouring agents, for the production of microbiology media and extracts, as well as livestock feeds. Modern scientific advances allow the isolation, construction and industrial production of new yeast strains to satisfy the specific demands of the food industry. Types of commercial food grade yeasts, industrial production processes and raw materials are highlighted. Aspects of yeast metabolism, with respect to carbohydrate utilization, nutritional aspects and recent research advances are also discussed.

[Globalization and infectious diseases: the past and future].

Science.gov (United States)

Scotto, Gaetano

2011-03-01

Globalization is a widely-used term that can be defined in a number of different ways. When used in an economic context, it refers to the reduction and removal of barriers between national borders in order to facilitate the flow of goods, capital, services and labour. Globalization is not a new phenomenon. Today the concept of globalization can be extended to include global exposure to infectious diseases, which is becoming more apparent. The aim of this article is to examine the influence of globalization on the outbreak and spread of infections in the world.

Global Expanded Nutrient Supply (GENuS Model: A New Method for Estimating the Global Dietary Supply of Nutrients.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthew R Smith

Full Text Available Insufficient data exist for accurate estimation of global nutrient supplies. Commonly used global datasets contain key weaknesses: 1 data with global coverage, such as the FAO food balance sheets, lack specific information about many individual foods and no information on micronutrient supplies nor heterogeneity among subnational populations, while 2 household surveys provide a closer approximation of consumption, but are often not nationally representative, do not commonly capture many foods consumed outside of the home, and only provide adequate information for a few select populations. Here, we attempt to improve upon these datasets by constructing a new model--the Global Expanded Nutrient Supply (GENuS model--to estimate nutrient availabilities for 23 individual nutrients across 225 food categories for thirty-four age-sex groups in nearly all countries. Furthermore, the model provides historical trends in dietary nutritional supplies at the national level using data from 1961-2011. We determine supplies of edible food by expanding the food balance sheet data using FAO production and trade data to increase food supply estimates from 98 to 221 food groups, and then estimate the proportion of major cereals being processed to flours to increase to 225. Next, we estimate intake among twenty-six demographic groups (ages 20+, both sexes in each country by using data taken from the Global Dietary Database, which uses nationally representative surveys to relate national averages of food consumption to individual age and sex-groups; for children and adolescents where GDD data does not yet exist, average calorie-adjusted amounts are assumed. Finally, we match food supplies with nutrient densities from regional food composition tables to estimate nutrient supplies, running Monte Carlo simulations to find the range of potential nutrient supplies provided by the diet. To validate our new method, we compare the GENuS estimates of nutrient supplies against