scholarly journals 428 Values and perception: communicating controversial issues in animal agriculture

2019 ◽  
Vol 97 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. 69-70
Author(s):  
Jessica Eise
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Directional Bias ◽  
Animal Agriculture ◽  
Global Food Security ◽  
Public Debates

Abstract Animal agriculture is an important component of global food security, with animal products serving as a foundational component of many American diets as well as playing a crucial role the sustainability of food production and environmental well-being. Yet animal welfare is one of the most contentious issues in the United States, producing heated, polarizing public debates. Meanwhile, national trends across all major issues demonstrate an increasing loss of common ground between political parties, with no indication of an imminent turnaround. The contentious nature of animal welfare and animal science public debates, as well as indications of increasing polarization across the nation, presents a worrisome dilemma in the face of a growing need to make meaningful societal progress around food security. Research has long demonstrated that contentious arguments, disdainful debates or reiteration of facts often backfire and cause people to double down on their beliefs, with extensive literature in psychology showing that humans are goal-directed information processors who tend to evaluate information with a directional bias toward reinforcing pre-existing views. In this article, I demonstrate how research on the role of values in risk perception can provide a helpful frame for building understanding between competing groups around contentious animal agriculture issues, inform more effective communication efforts and build potential for progress-oriented collaboration.

scholarly journals Global Food Security Assessment during 1961–2019

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (24) ◽  
pp. 14005
Author(s):  
Jingpeng Guo ◽  
Kebiao Mao ◽  
Zijin Yuan ◽  
Zhihao Qin ◽  
Tongren Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Food System ◽  
System Security ◽  
The United States ◽  
Climate Change Scenarios ◽  
Food Trade ◽  
Global Food Security ◽  
Global Food System ◽  
Global Food

Quantified components of the global food system are used to assess long-term global food security under a series of socio-economic, epidemic normalization and climate change scenarios. Here, we evaluate the global food security including the global farming system as well as the global food trade, reserve and loss systems from 1961 to 2019, and analyze their temporal and spatial characteristics by using the global food vulnerability (GFV) model. The spatio–temporal patterns of the vulnerability of the global food system were consistent with the GFSI. As food production and consumption vary greatly in different countries which have continued for a long time, food exports from many developed agricultural countries have compensated for food shortages in most countries (about 120 net grain-importing countries). As a result, many countries have relied heavily on food imports to maintain their domestic food supplies, ultimately causing the global food trade stability to have an increasing impact on the food security of most countries. The impact of global food trade on global food security increased from 9% to 17% during 1961–2019, which has increased the vulnerability of the global food system. The food damage in the United States, Russia, China, and India has varied significantly, and global cereal stocks have fluctuated even more since 2000. From 1961 to 2019, the food system security of some Nordic countries significantly improved, while the food system security of most African countries significantly deteriorated. Most countries with high food insecurity are located in Africa and South Asia. In order to cope with extreme events, these countries need to strengthen and improve their own food production and storage systems, which will help the World Food and Agriculture Organization to formulate relevant food policies and maintain sustainable development.

Creating and Disrupting Othering During Policymaking in a Polarized Context

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan K Schraedley ◽  
Debbie S Dougherty
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Food Security ◽  
National Security ◽  
The United States ◽  
Political Polarization ◽  
Global Food Security ◽  
Opposing Party ◽  
Policy Proposals ◽  
Global Food

Abstract As the United States has become increasingly polarized, policymakers have had difficulty gaining bipartisan support for policy proposals. Political polarization can lead to the othering of individuals, a process characterized by the tendency to construct members of an opposing party in negative ways. In this article, we examine the creation and disruption of othering through the lens of language convergence/meaning divergence (LC/MD) and pragmatic ambiguity. LC/MD and pragmatic ambiguity framed our case study of the successful bipartisan passage of the Global Food Security Act (GFSA) in 2016. We found that othering was produced through a maestro Discourse of Polarization that structured interactions between other Discourses, including the Discourse of National Security and the Global Good Discourse. Discordant framings of the three Discourses created the ambiguity necessary to disrupt othering and achieve collective action. The findings provide new theoretical insights into othering processes while pragmatic ambiguity broadens LC/MD in important ways.

The Animal Welfare Act's Impact on the Scientist

1988 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 447-451
Author(s):  
James W. Glosser ◽  
Phyllis B. York
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Information Service ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
United States Department ◽  
Department Of Agriculture ◽  
States Department ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Animal Care

The bond between animals and humans has existed for a long time. Humans are entrusted with the stewardship for animal care and well-being as a part of their use. Legislation has addressed humane care of animals in the United States since 1873. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is responsible for administering many of these laws, including the Animal Welfare Act. Recent amendments to the Animal Welfare Act require regulations to be established for the exercise of dogs and the psychological well-being of primates. It also requires the establishment of an Institutional Animal Committee, training for scientists, consideration of alternatives by the principal investigator, and the establishment of an information service at the National Agricultural Library.

scholarly journals Institutional approaches for plant health provision as a collective action problem

Food Security ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Garcia-Figuera ◽  
Elizabeth E. Grafton-Cardwell ◽  
Bruce A. Babcock ◽  
Mark N. Lubell ◽  
Neil McRoberts
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Collective Action ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Design Principles ◽  
The United States ◽  
Plant Diseases ◽  
Plant Health ◽  
Collective Action Problem ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Global Food Security

AbstractThe provision of plant health has public good attributes when nobody can be excluded from enjoying its benefits and individual benefits do not reduce the ability of others to also benefit. These attributes increase risk of free-riding on plant health services provided by others, giving rise to a collective action problem when trying to ensure plant health in a region threatened by an emerging plant disease. This problem has traditionally been addressed by government intervention, but top-down approaches to plant health are often insufficient and are increasingly combined with bottom-up approaches that promote self-organization by affected individuals. The challenge is how to design plant health institutions that effectively deal with the spatial and temporal dynamics of plant diseases, while staying aligned with the preferences, values and needs of affected societies. Here, we illustrate how Ostrom’s design principles for collective action can be used to guide the incorporation of bottom-up approaches to plant health governance in order to improve institutional fit. Using the ongoing epidemic of huanglongbing (HLB) as a case study, we examine existing institutions designed to ensure citrus health under HLB in Brazil, Mexico, the United States and Argentina, and discuss potential implications of Ostrom’s design principles for the collective provision of plant health under HLB and other plant diseases that are threatening food security worldwide. The discussion leads to an outline for the interdisciplinary research agenda that would be needed to establish the link between institutional approaches and plant health outcomes in the context of global food security.

scholarly journals Development and Evaluation of a Higher Education Food Security Toolkit to Provide Ideas of Initiatives for Student Wellbeing: WISH4Campus (P04-049-19)

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Hagedorn ◽  
Alex Pampalone ◽  
Lanae Hood ◽  
Catherine Yura ◽  
Deana Morrow ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Farmers Markets ◽  
Campus Environment ◽  
Funding Sources ◽  
Initial Objective

Abstract Objectives Many universities are starting initiatives on campus to support food insecure students in receiving nutritious food. However, there is no comprehensive resource of these initiatives to help guide universities in starting a program on campus. The objective of this study is to describe the development and evaluation of a toolkit that can assist higher education institutions in promoting a campus environment, providing adequate resources for food insecure students. Methods The toolkit development was guided by the basis of the Normalization Process Theory (NPT) to evaluate factors that could facilitate or inhibit initiative success on campus. A review of literature was undertaken by two independent reviewers to gather all peer reviewed and grey literature on food insecurity programs currently available on college campuses in the United States. Findings were compiled into a toolkit that contained six initiative chapters: food pantries, campus gardens, farmers markets, dining and recovery programs, mobile applications, and policy initiatives. The toolkit was evaluated by experts from land-grant universities who work with food insecurity issues (n = 126). Experts completed a 27-question survey to determine demographics, perceptions of food insecurity and evaluation of specific toolkit components. Descriptive statistics and frequency analyses were performed on quantitative data and content analysis was used to analyze qualitative data. Results Thirty experts (23.8% response rate) completed the evaluation survey. Evaluation feedback covered four main topics: layout, overall content, initiatives, and application. Eight themes emerged from the coding and categorization of responses. They were visual appeal, organization, value, provoking, comprehensive, barriers, collaboration, and efficiency. Corrections and recommendations were provided for each topic. Conclusions The themes derived from expert feedback encompassed the initial objective of the toolkit. This toolkit serves as a comprehensive resource that can be utilized by student leaders, clubs or organizations, campus stakeholders or administrators to begin a food security initiative on campus to promote student well-being. Funding Sources Primary funding is from the West Virginia Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station WVA00689 and WVA00721. The first author is supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences T32 grant (GM081741).

scholarly journals A regional nuclear conflict would compromise global food security

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (13) ◽  
pp. 7071-7081 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonas Jägermeyr ◽  
Alan Robock ◽  
Joshua Elliott ◽  
Christoph Müller ◽  
Lili Xia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Food System ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Volcanic Eruptions ◽  
The United States ◽  
Crop Models ◽  
Global Food Security ◽  
Network Analyses ◽  
Global Mean Temperature ◽  
Global Food

A limited nuclear war between India and Pakistan could ignite fires large enough to emit more than 5 Tg of soot into the stratosphere. Climate model simulations have shown severe resulting climate perturbations with declines in global mean temperature by 1.8 °C and precipitation by 8%, for at least 5 y. Here we evaluate impacts for the global food system. Six harmonized state-of-the-art crop models show that global caloric production from maize, wheat, rice, and soybean falls by 13 (±1)%, 11 (±8)%, 3 (±5)%, and 17 (±2)% over 5 y. Total single-year losses of 12 (±4)% quadruple the largest observed historical anomaly and exceed impacts caused by historic droughts and volcanic eruptions. Colder temperatures drive losses more than changes in precipitation and solar radiation, leading to strongest impacts in temperate regions poleward of 30°N, including the United States, Europe, and China for 10 to 15 y. Integrated food trade network analyses show that domestic reserves and global trade can largely buffer the production anomaly in the first year. Persistent multiyear losses, however, would constrain domestic food availability and propagate to the Global South, especially to food-insecure countries. By year 5, maize and wheat availability would decrease by 13% globally and by more than 20% in 71 countries with a cumulative population of 1.3 billion people. In view of increasing instability in South Asia, this study shows that a regional conflict using <1% of the worldwide nuclear arsenal could have adverse consequences for global food security unmatched in modern history.

scholarly journals Obesity Prevention and National Food Security: A Food Systems Approach

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lila Finney Rutten ◽  
Amy Lazarus Yaroch ◽  
Heather Patrick ◽  
Mary Story
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Obesity Prevention ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
The United States ◽  
Sustainable Food Systems ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Improve Food Security

Interventions that cultivate sustainable food systems to promote health, prevent obesity, and improve food security have the potential for many large-scale and long-lasting benefits including improvements in social, environmental, health, and economic outcomes. We briefly summarize findings from previous research examining associations between obesity and food insecurity and discuss the need for greater synergy between food insecurity initiatives and national obesity prevention public health goals in the United States. The common ground between these two nutrition-related public health issues is explored, and the transformation needed in research and advocacy communities around the shared goal of improving population health through individual, environmental, and policy level changes to promote healthy sustainable food systems is discussed. We propose an ecological framework to simultaneously consider food insecurity and obesity that identifies levers for change to promote sustainable food systems to improve food security and prevent obesity.

scholarly journals COVID-19 pandemic-related changes in wellness behavior among older Americans

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elgloria Harrison ◽  
Lillie Monroe-Lord ◽  
Andrew D. Carson ◽  
Anne Marie Jean-Baptiste ◽  
Janet Phoenix ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Physical Activity ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Health And Well Being

Abstract Background COVID-19 has taken its toll on citizens in all 50 states of the United States. The United States (U.S.) leads the world with 30,291,863 confirmed reported cases and 549,664 deaths as of March 29, 2021 compared to globally confirmed cases at 127,442,926 and 2,787,915 deaths as of March 29, 2021. The U.S. federal government primarily left the response to the virus to individual states, and each implemented varying measures designed to protect health of citizens and the state’s economic well-being. Unintended consequences of the virus and measures to stop its spread may include decreased physical activity and exercise, shifting access and consumption of food, and lower quality-of-life. Therefore, our primary goal was to quantify the impact of COVID-19 on health and well-being by measuring changes in physical activity, mental health-quality of life, food security and nutrition in adults ages 40 and older. We believed shifts in health behaviors would be more prevalent in minorities, less educated, lower socio-economic status, older adults, and those with underlying health conditions, so a secondary goal was to determine the impact of COVID-19 on these sub-populations. Methods We conducted an online survey with 9969 adults 40 years and older between 9 August and 15 September 2020 in urban areas across the four U.S. census regions. The survey included questions about demographic variables, pre-existing health conditions, physical activity, access to food, quality-of-life, and nutritional food status and asked participants to respond with information from pre-pandemic and pandemic conditions. We used paired-sample t-tests to detect changes in variables after the start of the pandemic and Cohen’s d to determine effect sizes. Results Our main findings showed a decrease in physical activity since the onset of COVID-19 for minorities and non-minorities. Food security also slightly increased for minorities during the pandemic, but we found no other changes in food security, quality-of-life indicators, or nutritional status of those who responded to this survey. Conclusions It is concerning that physical activity declined. Such activity helps maintain physical and mental health, and it is also an important time to socialize for many older adults. In many ways, our data indicate that the older adult population in U.S. cities may be more resilient than expected during the pandemic. However, the pandemic could have negative impacts that we did not detect, either due to the survey instrument or the timing of our survey, so the health and well-being of older adults should continue to be monitored in order to mitigate potential negative impacts.

scholarly journals FRAMING GM CROPS AS A SOLUTION FOR GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (9SE) ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
P.B Reddy
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Genetically Modified Organisms ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Environmental Damage ◽  
Fruit Storage ◽  
Global Food Security ◽  
Adverse Health Effects ◽  
Global Food

Genetically Modified organisms (GMOs) are a tool of solution in helping to tackle the challenge of global food security for ever growing population. With global population expected to grow by 40% in the next few decades, agriculture will need to become more productive and more sustainable in order to keep pace with rapidly increasing demands. The current biotechnology permits to alter the genetic makeup of living organisms to produce much quicker and beneficial results. The present study is aimed to evaluate the economic, environmental and nutritive benefits of transgenic crops. We have reviewed many articles from various journals, blogs and media clips related to the subject. Results indicate that the use of GMOs have many potential benefits that include increased crop production, improved nutrition, and drought tolerance, reduced fertilizers and pesticides, better environmental condition, improved economic benefits and improvement in fruit storage. Conversely, there are few concerns about possible unpredicted adverse health effects, environmental damage, gene pollution and business exploitation. Results also indicate the towering costs and uncertainty about the guidelines of GMOs have slowed the rate of innovation of new qualities and prevented set ups and major corporate sectors from developing many second-generation varieties to facilitate the improvement of our well-being.

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