Food Security and Food System Sustainability in North America

Author(s):  
Philip A. Loring ◽  
Cory Whitely
Author(s):  
Abiodun Elijah Obayelu ◽  
Simeon Olusola Ayansina

Policy plays significant role in defining the food system of any country, and a sustainable food system is necessary for food security. This chapter maps out the causal interactions between food systems, food security and policy, and the challenges in transition to a sustainable food system while respecting the rights of all people to have access to adequate food in Nigeria. Explicit, rigorous, and transparent literature search was undertaken and many articles were assessed and reviewed. Although the results established a mutual relationship between food system and food security, existing literature have widely failed to take interactions between food systems, food security and policy into account. While food production is used as an entry point to improving food system sustainability, the quest for food security are undermining transition towards sustainable food systems. It was found that without right policies in place, it may be difficult to have food systems that are sustainable and ensure food security. This chapter provides a useful contribution to policy, and research on transitions towards sustainable food system. Any policy intervention to address one part of the food systems will impact on other parts and will determine whether a country is food secure or not. Enabling policy environment is therefore essential in ensuring a sustainable food system and for the attainment of food security.


Author(s):  
Hamid El Bilali

Background: Food losses and food waste represent an emerging problem with enormous economic, environmental, and social implications. Therefore, the reduction of food wastage is considered a promising strategy, not only to achieve food security but also to improve the food system sustainability. Food wastage is a serious issue also in North Africa region. Aims: This paper provides an overview on research dealing with food losses and waste (FLW) in North Africa (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia). Methods and Material: A systematic review was carried out in January 2018 using Scopus database. Issues addressed in the systematic review include geography of research on FLW in North Africa (i.e. countries considered or underserved), bibliometric parameters (e.g. journals, institutions) as well as thematic focus (agricultural loss, food waste). Selected records were also interrogated to see if they address the extent of FLW, the relation between food wastage and food security, economic implications of FLW, and environmental footprints of FLW. Results: The results show that research on FLW is still marginal in North Africa in general and in Libya and Mauritania in particular. Moreover, while there are some interesting pieces of research on the amount of FLW, environmental and economic impacts of FLW as well as their implications in terms of food security are largely overlooked. Conclusions: Therefore, North African researchers should pay more attention to food wastage issue. Such an endeavor should be supported by research policy in North Africa. Keywords: Agricultural losses, Environment, Food losses, Food security, Food wastage, Food waste, North Africa.


Author(s):  
S.P. Kirilchuk ◽  
G.V. Olkhovaya

Food security at the regional level forms the basis of the economic security of the state. In the article the level of food self-sufficiency of the Republic of Crimea is assessed; the coefficients of sufficiency of food consumption and its availability for the population of the region are calculated; the indicators of food system sustainability are analyzed; on the basis of various methodological approaches, the assessment of the state of food security of the Republic is given.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 3643 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tarek Ben Hassen ◽  
Hamid El Bilali ◽  
Mohammed Al-Maadeed

Agri-food markets are vital in achieving food security, especially for resource-poor, food-importing countries such as Qatar. The paper provides an overview of the evolution of agri-food markets in Qatar and explores the implications of past and ongoing changes in terms of food security and food system sustainability. In particular, the review analyzes drivers of changes, trends, and challenges as well as policy responses to address the emerging challenges while ensuring the country’s food security. It draws upon a systematic review of scholarly literature indexed in the Web of Science as well as data from gray literature (e.g., reports) and databases (e.g., FAOSTAT). Different drivers (e.g., population growth with huge expatriate inflow, urbanization, income increase) affected the functioning of agri-food markets as well as the structure of the food chain (viz. production, processing, distribution, consumption) in Qatar. In addition to drivers, the food-related trends were also shaped by numerous environmental (e.g., land/water scarcity), economic, health, and trade challenges. To ensure long-term food and nutrition security for its population, Qatar implemented various policies and strategies (e.g., National Food Security Strategy 2018–2023). In this context, agri-food markets, as functional links between production and consumption, can foster transition towards sustainable food consumption and production patterns in Qatar.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 8564
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Mkandawire ◽  
Melody Mentz-Coetzee ◽  
Margaret Najjingo Mangheni ◽  
Eleonora Barusi

Globally, gender inequalities constrain food security, with women often disproportionately affected. Women play a fundamental role in household food and nutrition security. The multiple roles women play in various areas of the food system are not always recognised. This oversight emerges from an overemphasis on one aspect of the food system, without considering how this area might affect or be affected by another aspect. This study aimed to draw on international commitments and treaties using content analysis to enhance the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Security food systems framework by integrating a gender perspective. The study found that generally, there is a consensus on specific actions that can be taken to advance gender equality at specific stages of the food system. However, governance and social systems constraints that are not necessarily part of the food system, but have a significant bearing on men and women’s capacity to effectively participate in the food system, need to be addressed. While the proposed conceptual framework has some limitations, it offers a foundation on which researchers, policymakers and other stakeholders can begin conceptualising the interconnectedness of gender barriers in the food system.


Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 641
Author(s):  
Vânia Pôjo ◽  
Tânia Tavares ◽  
Francisco Xavier Malcata

One of the main goals of Mankind is to ensure food system sustainability—including management of land, soil, water, and biodiversity. Microalgae accordingly appear as an innovative and scalable alternative source in view of the richness of their chemical profiles. In what concerns lipids in particular, microalgae can synthesize and accumulate significant amounts of fatty acids, a great fraction of which are polyunsaturated; this makes them excellent candidates within the framework of production and exploitation of lipids by various industrial and health sectors, either as bulk products or fine chemicals. Conventional lipid extraction methodologies require previous dehydration of microalgal biomass, which hampers economic feasibility due to the high energy demands thereof. Therefore, extraction of lipids directly from wet biomass would be a plus in this endeavor. Supporting processes and methodologies are still limited, and most approaches are empirical in nature—so a deeper mechanistic elucidation is a must, in order to facilitate rational optimization of the extraction processes. Besides circumventing the current high energy demands by dehydration, an ideal extraction method should be selective, sustainable, efficient, harmless, and feasible for upscale to industrial level. This review presents and discusses several pretreatments incurred in lipid extraction from wet microalga biomass, namely recent developments and integrated processes. Unfortunately, most such developments have been proven at bench-scale only—so demonstration in large facilities is still needed to confirm whether they can turn into competitive alternatives.


2020 ◽  
Vol 277 ◽  
pp. 124040 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alireza Amiri ◽  
Yahia Zare Mehrjerdi ◽  
Ammar Jalalimanesh ◽  
Ahmad Sadegheih

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 319-337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hilary K. Seligman ◽  
Seth A. Berkowitz

Food insecurity affects 1 in 8 US households and has clear implications for population health disparities. We present a person-centered, multilevel framework for understanding how individuals living in food-insecure households cope with inadequate access to food themselves and within their households, communities, and broader food system. Many of these coping strategies can have an adverse impact on health, particularly when the coping strategies are sustained over time; others may be salutary for health. There exist multiple opportunities for aligning programs and policies so that they simultaneously support food security and improved diet quality in the interest of supporting improved health outcomes. Improved access to these programs and policies may reduce the need to rely on individual- and household-level strategies that may have negative implications for health across the life course.


2021 ◽  
pp. 31-41
Author(s):  
С.А. РОДОМАНСКАЯ

Актуальность данных исследований обусловлена недостаточной проработанностью механизма управления процессами в сфере обеспечения продовольственной безопасности территории, что значительно снижает эффективность их регулирования и приводит к нерациональному использованию ресурсов (природных, трудовых и др.), возникновению негативных последствий и угроз. В рамках данных исследований разработан управленческий цикл продовольственной безопасности территории в виде структурно-функциональной модели, которая, наряду с субъектным и объектным блоками, состоит из комплекса взаимосвязанных подсистем. Оценку регионального уровня продовольственной безопасности предполагается проводить с помощью общепринятых критериев и показателей самообеспеченности, независимости (зависимости), достаточности, доступности и качества продукции. Основу метода моделирования в цикле составляет неотъемлемая его часть – наличие условий проверки, что не только способствует изучению сложившейся ситуации в продовольственной системе, но и позволяет спрогнозировать развитие этой системы при заданных условиях в кратко-, средне- и долгосрочной перспективе. В статье определено основное содержание, смысл и функциональное назначение подсистем, которые в совокупности создают все предпосылки для проведения системного мониторинга, выработки управленческих решений, определения текущей ситуации в обеспечении продовольственной безопасности и возможной координации действий в сфере ее обеспечения. Разработанный цикл имеет практическую значимость при выборе взаимоприемлемых мер и действий по устранению или смягчению критических ситуаций в сфере продовольственной безопасности. В данном цикле для каждой подсистемы определена специфика географических знаний, объединенных пространственным аспектом исследования. В заключение отмечается, что логическая взаимосвязь подсистем в цикле позволила получить целостное представление о потребностях управления продовольственной системой территории в геоэкологических знаниях, которые имеют экспертное и предметное значение. The relevance of these studies is due to the insufficient elaboration of the mechanism for managing food processes in the field of ensuring food security of the territory, which significantly reduces the effectiveness of their regulation and, in turn, leads to the irrational use of resources (natural, labor, etc.) and the emergence of negative consequences and threats. Within the framework of these studies, a management cycle of food security of the territory has been developed in the form of a structural and functional model, which, along with the subject and object blocks, consists of a complex of interconnected subsystems. As a method for assessing conditions, the use of modeling and foresight methods, an integral assessment of the level of food security and methods of strategic planning, in particular the situational method of SWOT analysis, is proposed. The assessment of the level of food security at the regional level is supposed to be carried out using generally accepted criteria and indicators of self-sufficiency, independence (dependence), sufficiency, availability and quality of products. The basis of the modeling method in the cycle is its integral part – the presence of conditions for checking the situation, which contributes not only to the study of the current situation in the food system, but also makes it possible to predict the development of this system under given conditions in the short, medium and long term. The article defines the main content, meaning and functional purpose of the subsystems, which together create all the prerequisites for conducting system monitoring, developing management decisions to enhance food security resulting from the iterative food process, to determine the current situation in ensuring food security and possible coordination of actions in the sphere of ensuring food security. The developed cycle is of practical importance in choosing mutually acceptable measures and actions to eliminate or mitigate critical situations in the field of food security or to enhance food security. In this cycle, for each subsystem, the specificity of geographical knowledge of natural-social relations, united by the spatial aspect of the study, is determined. In conclusion, it is noted that the logical interconnection of subsystems in the cycle made it possible to obtain a holistic idea of ​​the needs of managing the food system of the territory in geoecological knowledge, which have expert and substantive significance.


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