scholarly journals Less than half of the European dietary recommendations for fish consumption are satisfied by national seafood supplies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anneli Lofstedt ◽  
Baukje de Roos ◽  
Paul G. Fernandes
Keyword(s):  
Fish Consumption ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Distribution Systems ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
National Level ◽  
Dietary Recommendations ◽  
Balance Sheets ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Production And Distribution ◽  
Per Capita

Abstract Purpose To review the seafood dietary recommendations of European countries and compare them to national seafood supplies. Methods Current seafood dietary recommendations were collated from national health authorities across Europe. Food balance sheets were downloaded from the FAO, and appropriate conversion factors were applied to each seafood commodity. Average net per capita seafood supplies from 2007 to 2017 were derived from data on imports and production for food from both capture fisheries and aquaculture, accounting for exports. Results Both national dietary recommendations and seafood supplies varied considerably throughout Europe. At a national level, on a per capita basis, only 13 out of the 31 of European dietary recommendations for fish consumption were satisfied by national seafood supplies. Most of the countries with coastal access, as well as those with traditional fish-eating cultures, such as France and countries in Northern Europe, had adequate seafood supplies to meet their recommendations. The landlocked countries of Central and Eastern Europe did not have enough seafood supplies to satisfy their recommendations. Conclusions Our findings emphasise the need to not only consider consumer health outcomes when developing and advocating dietary recommendations, but also the sustainability of food production systems. As many foods are not necessarily locally sourced but traded as part of global production and distribution systems, it is important to consider greater consistency between national dietary recommendations to facilitate more sustainable marine food systems.

Life-cycle greenhouse gas assessment of Community Supported Agriculture in California's Central Valley

2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 393-405 ◽  
Author(s):  
Libby O. Christensen ◽  
Ryan E. Galt ◽  
Alissa Kendall
Keyword(s):  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Distribution Systems ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Central Valley ◽  
Community Supported Agriculture ◽  
Distribution Data ◽  
Production And Distribution

AbstractMany consumers are trying to reduce their food's environmental impact by purchasing more locally sourced food. One choice for local food is Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), in which farmers provide a share of produce on a regular basis to pre-paying farm members. The number of CSAs in the USA has grown from two in the mid-1980s to perhaps as many as 12,617 according to the latest US census of agriculture (2014). We use a case study approach to investigate the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with five CSA operations in the Sacramento Valley of California. By understanding the GHG emissions of CSAs and the practices that might be improved, we hope to support innovative strategies to reduce GHG emissions in these agricultural production systems. Input, production and distribution data were collected from each farm and reported in CO2e emissions for 1 kg CSA produce at the pickup location. Results show large variation in total emissions, ranging from 1.72 to 6.69 kg CO2e kg−1 of produce with an average of 3.94 kg CO2e kg−1 produce. The largest source of emissions was electricity, contributing over 70% of total CO2e emissions on average. Based on our findings, despite the seemingly similarities between these operations in terms of production site, acreage, customers and production practices, there is still a large amount of variability with regard to total GHG. Thus we argue coming up with a standardized production function for diversified production and deriving GHGs or calculating average total emissions overlooks the heterogeneity of the system. Food systems can never be reduced to a simple binary of local is better and conventional is worse, or its inverse local is worse and conventional is better, because of the complexities of the production and distribution systems and their relationship to GHG emissions. Yet, we can say that localized production systems that are low in electricity use (or use renewable energy sources) and use efficiently-produced compost use have lower GHG emissions than those that do not.

scholarly journals Applicability of Transaction Cost Economics to Understanding Organizational Structures in Solidarity-Based Food Systems in Germany

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 1095 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura A. Carlson ◽  
Vera Bitsch
Keyword(s):  
Transaction Cost ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Distribution Systems ◽  
Transaction Cost Economics ◽  
Organizational Structures ◽  
Governance Structures ◽  
Agricultural Producers ◽  
Form And Function ◽  
Production And Distribution ◽  
And Function

In response to consumer concerns about sustainability of food production and distribution systems, and the difficulties many agricultural producers face to self-sustain while providing the quality of products consumers desire, alternatives to market-based exchange are developing. Solidarity-based food systems (SFS) based on relationships of mutual trust, dependency and support between consumers and producers are an example. SFS are designed to insulate producers from market pressures and alleviate consumers’ mistrust in market-based mechanisms. A network of SFS has formed in Germany under the name Solidarische Landwirtschaft (Solawi). Theories based on economic principles that help explain the way alternatives to market-based transactions in agriculture are organized are still lacking. The article suggests Transaction Cost Economics (TCE) as helpful to gain a better understanding of how these organizations form and function. The governance structures Solawis create are considered hybrid organizations according to TCE. Qualitative research methods are used to generate detailed accounts of the governance structures of four Solawis and the reasons behind the decisions of individual actors to participate. Effectiveness of TCE in evaluating these structures is analyzed. Based on the results, the concept of transaction benefits is suggested as a potential augmentation of TCE to improve its applicability to SFS.

scholarly journals Design methodology for combined production and distribution for domestic hot water and space heating

2019 ◽  
Vol 111 ◽  
pp. 01089
Author(s):  
Ivan Verhaert
Keyword(s):  
Distribution Systems ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
District Heating ◽  
Local Heat ◽  
Hot Water ◽  
Space Heating ◽  
Heating Systems ◽  
Domestic Hot Water ◽  
Production And Distribution ◽  
Collective Housing

As local heat demand is reducing due to an increased insulation rate, investing in sustainable heat production becomes less interesting. Nevertheless a substantial demand of heat remains in which the thermal energy needed for the generation of domestic hot water grows relatively in importance. In the last two years standards to size production and distribution systems were revised and methods based on tap patterns were elaborated. Nevertheless, some aspects were not covered yet, e.g. how to deal with decentralized storage and how to use these results and new insights in combined heating systems, taking into account that modifications in standards for both space heating and domestic hot water installations are reducing the oversizing. In this paper, first some critical points of attention due to this evolution are illustrated with a case example. Next it is shown how different rules of thumb often developed by different manufacturers deal with these aspects, but lacking however compatibility with existing standards and/or new insights. Finally, a methodology is proposed and illustrated how to size distribution and production systems for combined heating systems taking into account central and decentralized storage and different kind of end users. The method can be used to size heating systems in collective housing or in district heating networks.

scholarly journals A systems approach to navigating food security during COVID-19: Gaps, opportunities, and policy supports

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Alesandros Glaros ◽  
Chloe Alexander ◽  
Jodi Koberinski ◽  
Steffanie Scott ◽  
Stephen Quilley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Distribution Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Food Distribution ◽  
Fine Tuning ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Production And Distribution ◽  
Community Organizers ◽  
Seasonal Labor

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted a series of concatenating problems in the global production and distribution of food. Trade barriers, seasonal labor shortages, food loss and waste, and food safety concerns combine to engender vulnerabili­ties in food systems. A variety of actors—from academics to policy-makers, community organizers, farmers, and homesteaders—are considering the undertaking of creating more resilient food sys­tems. Conventional approaches include fine-tuning existing value chains, consolidating national food distribution systems and bolstering inventory and storage. This paper highlights three alternative strategies for securing a more resilient food system, namely: (i.) leveraging underutilized, often urban, spaces for food production; (ii.) rethinking food waste as a resource; and (iii.) constructing produc­tion-distribution-waste networks, as opposed to chains. Various food systems actors have pursued these strategies for decades. Yet, we argue that the COVID-19 pandemic forces us to urgently con­sider such novel assemblages of actors, institutions, and technologies as key levers in achieving longer term food system resilience. These strategies are often centered around princi­ples of redistribution and reciprocity, and focus on smaller scales, from individual households to com­munities. We high­light examples that have emerged in the spring-summer of 2020 of household and community efforts to reconstruct a more resilient food system. We also undertake a policy analysis to sketch how government supports can facilitate the emergence of these efforts and mobilization beyond the immediate confines of the pandemic.

scholarly journals The zooarchaeological identification of a ‘Morisco’ community after the Christian conquest of Granada (Spain, early 16th century): sociocultural continuities and economic innovations

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcos García-García ◽  
Guillermo García-Contreras ◽  
Michelle M. Alexander ◽  
Rowena Y. Banerjea ◽  
Aleks Pluskowski
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Distribution Systems ◽  
Construction Materials ◽  
Meat Products ◽  
Early Modern Period ◽  
16Th Century ◽  
Existing Structures ◽  
Production And Distribution ◽  
Surrounding Landscape ◽  
The Middle Ages

AbstractThis article presents the results of the zooarchaeological analysis of an assemblage dating to the second quarter of the 16th century that was discovered on the current university campus of Cartuja, on the outskirts of Granada (Andalusia, Spain). During the Middle Ages, this area was largely used for agricultural purposes, including as estates owned by high officials of the Nasrid dynasty, the last Islamicate polity in the Iberian Peninsula. The Castilian conquest of Granada in 1492 brought significant changes to the area, with the construction of a Carthusian monastery and the transformation of the surrounding landscape, including changes in property structures, different agrarian regimes and the demolition of pre-existing structures. Among these transformations was the filling up of a well with construction materials, and its further use as a rubbish dump. This fill yielded an interesting and unique zooarchaeological assemblage, the study of which is presented here. The results advance our understanding of changing patterns in animal consumption during the formative transition from the Middle Ages to the Early Modern period at the heart of the former Nasrid Kingdom of Granada, and indicate the continuity of some Andalusi consumption patterns along with specialised production and distribution systems of meat products that have no archaeological precedent in the region, suggesting that the bones were dumped by a possible ‘Morisco’ community (autochthonous Muslims forced to convert to Christianity in 1502).

scholarly journals Cross-Docking Operations for Supply Chain Logistics in JIT Production and Distribution Systems

1970 ◽  
Vol 8 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 219-230
Author(s):  
Gyan Bahadur Thapa ◽  
Tanka Nath Dhamala ◽  
Shankar Raj Pant
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Distribution Systems ◽  
Operation Time ◽  
Just In Time ◽  
Sequencing Problem ◽  
Supply Chain Logistics ◽  
Research Areas ◽  
Cross Docking ◽  
Production And Distribution ◽  
Multi Level

The multi-level production problem is one of the challenging research areas in supply chain management. We present brief literature review and mathematical models of multi-level just-in-time sequencing problem with a view of cross-docking approach for supply chain logistics. Describing cross-docking operations, we propose a mathematical model for the cross-docking supply chain logistics problem to minimize the operation time as truck sequencing problem. We establish a proposition as the synthesis of the production and logistics.Key Words: Just-in-time; Supply chain; Logistics; Cross-dock; Operation timeDOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jie.v8i1-2.5114Journal of the Institute of Engineering Vol. 8, No. 1&2, 2010/2011Page: 219-230Uploaded Date: 20 July, 2011

Estimation of the amount of dietary starch available to different populations

1991 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Bright-See ◽  
Vartouhi Jazmaji
Keyword(s):  
Balance Sheets ◽  
Real Change ◽  
Different Populations ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Dietary Starch ◽  
Different Sources ◽  
Total Starch

The daily per capita availability of dietary starch was estimated for 38 selected countries using food disappearance data from the FAO provisional food balance sheets (1972–1974 average); starch availability was also estimated for Canada from 1960 to 1987 using Agriculture Canada disappearance data. Total starch availability varies fourfold among the different countries; the availability of different sources of starch vary up to 80-fold. Wheat and roots–tubers were the major sources of starch in countries with low total starch availability. Either corn and pulses, rice and pulses, or wheat and potatoes were the major sources of starch in those countries with high total starch availability. Starch availability in Canada, both total and by source, has been relatively constant over the 27 years examined. Slight increases in total starch and starch from cereals and pulses in 1987 will need to be followed to determine whether these represent the beginning of a real change in per capita starch availability.Key words: starch, availability.

An integrated approach to identifying and characterising resilient urban food systems to promote population health in a changing climate

2015 ◽  
Vol 18 (13) ◽  
pp. 2498-2508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah W James ◽  
Sharon Friel
Keyword(s):  
Population Health ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Mixed Methods Research ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Integrated Analysis ◽  
Climate Resilience ◽  
Urban Food Systems

AbstractObjectiveTo determine key points of intervention in urban food systems to improve the climate resilience, equity and healthfulness of the whole system.DesignThe paper brings together evidence from a 3-year, Australia-based mixed-methods research project focused on climate change adaptation, cities, food systems and health. In an integrated analysis of the three research domains – encompassing the production, distribution and consumption sectors of the food chain – the paper examines the efficacy of various food subsystems (industrial, alternative commercial and civic) in achieving climate resilience and good nutrition.SettingGreater Western Sydney, Australia.SubjectsPrimary producers, retailers and consumers in Western Sydney.ResultsThis overarching analysis of the tripartite study found that: (i) industrial food production systems can be more environmentally sustainable than alternative systems, indicating the importance of multiple food subsystems for food security; (ii) a variety of food distributors stocking healthy and sustainable items is required to ensure that these items are accessible, affordable and available to all; and (iii) it is not enough that healthy and sustainable foods are produced or sold, consumers must also want to consume them. In summary, a resilient urban food system requires that healthy and sustainable food items are produced, that consumers can attain them and that they actually wish to purchase them.ConclusionsThis capstone paper found that the interconnected nature of the different sectors in the food system means that to improve environmental sustainability, equity and population health outcomes, action should focus on the system as a whole and not just on any one sector.

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