‘Organic abundance’ report: fatally flawed

2007 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 321-323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Avery
Keyword(s):  
Organic Agriculture ◽  
Human Population ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Public Debate ◽  
Equal Weight ◽  
University Studies ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Agriculture And Food

AbstractFatal flaws in the recent report from Badgley et al. claiming that organic agriculture ‘could produce enough food on a global per capita basis to sustain the current human population, and potentially an even larger population, without increasing the agricultural land base’. Among the serious problems identified: over 100 non-organic yield studies were claimed as organic; organic yields were misreported; false comparisons were made to unrepresentative low non-organic yields; high organic yields were counted 2, 3, even 5 times by citing different papers that referenced the same data; favorable and unverifiable ‘studies’ from biased sources were given equal weight to rigorous university studies. This report is being submitted to the Editor of the journal, Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, for publication and response. It is only being released in the interest of public debate and discussion during the much-touted ‘organic fortnight’.

scholarly journals Implications of trade network structure and population dynamics for food security and equality

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathyrn R Fair ◽  
Chris Bauch ◽  
Madhur Anand
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Population Growth ◽  
Human Population ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Displacement Effect ◽  
Trade Networks ◽  
Natural Land ◽  
Per Capita

Given trade's importance to maintaining food security, it is crucial to understand the relationship between human population growth, land use, food supply, and trade. We develop a metapopulation model coupling human population dynamics to agricultural land use and food production in "patches" (regions and countries) connected via trade networks. Patches that import sparingly or fail to adjust their demand sharply in response to changes in food per capita experience food insecurity. They fall into a feedback loop between increasing population growth and decreasing food per capita, particularly if they are peripheral to the network. A displacement effect is also evident; patches that are more central and/or import more heavily preserve their natural land states. Their reliance on imports means other patches must expand their agricultural land. These results emphasize that strategies for improving food security and equality must account for the combined effects of network topology and patch-level characteristics.

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.

scholarly journals Enhancing the Glopan Food Systems Framework by Integrating Gender: Relevance for Women in African Agriculture

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 8564
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Mkandawire ◽  
Melody Mentz-Coetzee ◽  
Margaret Najjingo Mangheni ◽  
Eleonora Barusi
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Gender Inequalities ◽  
Gender Barriers ◽  
Nutrition Security ◽  
African Agriculture ◽  
Agriculture And Food ◽  
Systems Framework

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.

scholarly journals Application of Novel Non-Thermal Physical Technologies to Degrade Mycotoxins

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 395
Author(s):  
Mohammad Yousefi ◽  
Masoud Aman Mohammadi ◽  
Maryam Zabihzadeh Khajavi ◽  
Ali Ehsani ◽  
Vladimír Scholtz
Keyword(s):  
Electron Beam ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Plasma Electron ◽  
Pulsed Light ◽  
Beam Radiation ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Electron Beam Radiation ◽  
Non Thermal Plasma ◽  
Agriculture And Food

Mycotoxins cause adverse effects on human health. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance to confront them, particularly in agriculture and food systems. Non-thermal plasma, electron beam radiation, and pulsed light are possible novel non-thermal technologies offering promising results in degrading mycotoxins with potential for practical applications. In this paper, the available publications are reviewed—some of them report efficiency of more than 90%, sometimes almost 100%. The mechanisms of action, advantages, efficacy, limitations, and undesirable effects are reviewed and discussed. The first foretastes of plasma and electron beam application in the industry are in the developing stages, while pulsed light has not been employed in large-scale application yet.

Strategizing food security: Natural and economic environment for the agricultural sector's advancement

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 1034-1052
Author(s):  
Denis Yu. SAMYGIN
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Government Support ◽  
Climate Forcing ◽  
Economic Conditions ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Production Conditions

Subject. This article examines the impact of the natural and economic conditions and factors of Russia's regions on the development of agriculture. Objectives. The article aims to assess the role of climate forcing in the development of agriculture. Methods. For the study, I used the binning technique. An author-developed spatial database of Russia's regions for 2017–2019 was used as an information resource. The cadastral value of one hectare of agricultural land was used as an analytical expression of the natural and economic conditions of business activities. Results. The article describes a directly proportional dependence of and relationships between natural-and-economic conditions and achieved results in the production and consumption of quality products per capita. Conclusions. It is advisable to increase the amount of government support for regions with unfavorable production conditions, develop the competitive potential of the majority of farms in relation to products that are profitable for producers and consumers.

scholarly journals The role of citizen science in addressing grand challenges in food and agriculture research

2018 ◽  
Vol 285 (1891) ◽  
pp. 20181977 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. F. Ryan ◽  
N. L. Adamson ◽  
A. Aktipis ◽  
L. K. Andersen ◽  
R. Austin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Communities ◽  
Citizen Science ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
The United States ◽  
Food Science ◽  
Grand Challenges ◽  
Food Research ◽  
Food And Agriculture ◽  
Science Projects ◽  
Agriculture And Food

The power of citizen science to contribute to both science and society is gaining increased recognition, particularly in physics and biology. Although there is a long history of public engagement in agriculture and food science, the term ‘citizen science’ has rarely been applied to these efforts. Similarly, in the emerging field of citizen science, most new citizen science projects do not focus on food or agriculture. Here, we convened thought leaders from a broad range of fields related to citizen science, agriculture, and food science to highlight key opportunities for bridging these overlapping yet disconnected communities/fields and identify ways to leverage their respective strengths. Specifically, we show that (i) citizen science projects are addressing many grand challenges facing our food systems, as outlined by the United States National Institute of Food and Agriculture, as well as broader Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations Development Programme, (ii) there exist emerging opportunities and unique challenges for citizen science in agriculture/food research, and (iii) the greatest opportunities for the development of citizen science projects in agriculture and food science will be gained by using the existing infrastructure and tools of Extension programmes and through the engagement of urban communities. Further, we argue there is no better time to foster greater collaboration between these fields given the trend of shrinking Extension programmes, the increasing need to apply innovative solutions to address rising demands on agricultural systems, and the exponential growth of the field of citizen science.

scholarly journals Population Backfire: Hindsight to Malthusian Catastrophe

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-126
Author(s):  
R Ramya ◽  
C C Babu ◽  
P Akshay
Keyword(s):  
Food Supply ◽  
Human Population ◽  
Future Generation ◽  
Population Pressure ◽  
Basic Tenet ◽  
Sufficient Food Supply ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Sufficient Food ◽  
Global Population ◽  
Malthusian Trap

The basic tenet of Economics lies in the scarcity principle and unlimited nature of human wants, but allocating a definite amount of resources to satisfy the growing per capita needs in an economy is a difficult task. Things become more complicated when the population pressure generates backfire. The global population has increased to 7.8 billion, and it is essential to ensure sufficient food supply for the growing human population as well as for other species without destroying ecological balance is a serious matter to consider. An evaluation of Malthusian population theories has great importance in this context. This paper intends to analyze the Malthusian theory of population and what happens if population backfire happens and also looks into the intensity of positive checks on population along with the Malthusian trap and its effect on the present as well as the future generation.

scholarly journals Comparison and display on small-scale maps and diagrams of the territorial resources of the largest countries of the World and their major cities

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-157
Author(s):  
Olga Markova ◽  
Valentina Maslennikova
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
The State ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
World Heritage Sites ◽  
Heritage Sites ◽  
Area Efficiency ◽  
The World ◽  
Per Capita

The largest countries of the world are inevitably involved in various global processes, both natural and socio-economic. These countries have common features and characteristic differences in the state of their territorial resources; the study of these characteristics is of interest for the global prospects of sustainable development. A large territory provides a variety of natural conditions and resources for the country; however, not in all countries it is possible to effectively use them in the economy throughout the all country. An analysis of their territorial resources was carried out for the six largest countries of the world according to the following parameters: area, efficiency, environmental load on the territory of the country, number, density, forecast of population growth or decline for 2050, main agricultural land (arable land, pastures, the provision of the population, degradation and pollution of the soils), forest resources (including security per capita, share in the area of countries), fresh water resources (including per capita provision and availability), greenhouse gas emissions, including per capita, the proportion of mammals endangered, proportion of areas of preserved ecosystems. The data obtained was displayed on the maps; a common legend is built for them in tabular form. A number of other parameters of the state of territorial resources and the environment were also studied. In the process of research, the most important cities of these countries were also studied and diagrams showing their similarities and differences in a number of indicators were constructed: area, population and population density, time of foundation, climatic and landscape parameters, the presence of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, high-rise construction parameters. The developed methodology is effective for assessing a variety of data on territorial resources that can be used to build models of sustainable development of the largest countries and regions of the Earth.

scholarly journals An Overview of Near Infrared Spectroscopy and Its Applications in the Detection of Genetically Modified Organisms

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (18) ◽  
pp. 9940
Author(s):  
Soo-In Sohn ◽  
Subramani Pandian ◽  
Young-Ju Oh ◽  
John-Lewis Zinia Zaukuu ◽  
Hyeon-Jung Kang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Genetically Modified Organisms ◽  
Genetically Modified ◽  
Genetically Modified Crops ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Agriculture And Food ◽  
Non Destructive

Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) has become a more popular approach for quantitative and qualitative analysis of feeds, foods and medicine in conjunction with an arsenal of chemometric tools. This was the foundation for the increased importance of NIRS in other fields, like genetics and transgenic monitoring. A considerable number of studies have utilized NIRS for the effective identification and discrimination of plants and foods, especially for the identification of genetically modified crops. Few previous reviews have elaborated on the applications of NIRS in agriculture and food, but there is no comprehensive review that compares the use of NIRS in the detection of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). This is particularly important because, in comparison to previous technologies such as PCR and ELISA, NIRS offers several advantages, such as speed (eliminating time-consuming procedures), non-destructive/non-invasive analysis, and is inexpensive in terms of cost and maintenance. More importantly, this technique has the potential to measure multiple quality components in GMOs with reliable accuracy. In this review, we brief about the fundamentals and versatile applications of NIRS for the effective identification of GMOs in the agricultural and food systems.

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