Food

2021 ◽  
pp. 43-82
Author(s):  
Nicholas Freudenberg

In recent decades, a growing portion of the world’s population has adopted a diet in which increasing calories come from foods high in fat, sugar, and salt that is highly processed by industrial food companies. These ultra-processed products have become the primary determinants of the rising burden of diet-related diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and stroke, now the world’s leading killers. This chapter shows how food retailers, restaurant and fast food chains, food manufacturers, and agricultural producers have changed in response to changes in capitalism to make the ultra-processed diet the global norm. The agricultural production for these products is also a leading cause of climate change. The chapter further describes an emerging yet uncoordinated popular response that includes farmers and food workers, consumer cooperatives, local governments, and food justice activists that are seeking alternatives strategies for making healthy food affordable to all.

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (15) ◽  
pp. 4455
Author(s):  
Thao Thi Phuong Bui ◽  
Suzanne Wilkinson ◽  
Niluka Domingo ◽  
Casimir MacGregor

In the light of climate change, the drive for zero carbon buildings is known as one response to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Within New Zealand, research on climate change mitigation and environmental impacts of buildings has received renewed attention. However, there has been no detailed investigation of zero carbon building practices. This paper undertakes an exploratory study through the use of semi-structured interviews with government representatives and construction industry experts to examine how the New Zealand construction industry plans and implements zero carbon buildings. The results show that New Zealand’s construction industry is in the early stage of transiting to a net-zero carbon built environment. Key actions to date are focused on devising a way for the industry to develop and deliver zero carbon building projects. Central and local governments play a leading role in driving zero carbon initiatives. Leading construction firms intend to maximise the carbon reduction in building projects by developing a roadmap to achieve the carbon target by 2050 and rethinking the way of designing and constructing buildings. The research results provide an insight into the initial practices and policy implications for the uptake of zero carbon buildings in Aotearoa New Zealand.


2010 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-183
Author(s):  
Kola Odeku ◽  
Edson Meyer

AbstractThis article examines how the South African government, realizing the country's vulnerability to climate change, deemed it necessary to strengthen adaptation and mitigation measures and put in place legal and institutional frameworks to ensure implementation and compliance. Government must take responsibility for industry's inaction by implementing policies on climate change and, more importantly, through a visible change in government policy to hold industry accountable. The stringent policies and strategies being put in place are reducing vulnerability and also enhancing a broad spectrum of capacity in responding to environmental, climatic, resource and economic perturbations. The article further reviews state of the art methods and tools available to strengthen mitigation and adaptation strategies and measures in the areas of the existing frameworks regarding climate change. It also considers various measures by Eskom in particular, and strategies embarked upon by South Africa's national and local governments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Busca ◽  
Roberto Revelli

<p>In recent years, safeguarding approaches and environmental management initiatives have been adopted both by international institutions and local governments , aimed at sustainable use of natural resources and their restoration, in order to manage hazard level of climate change consequences (urban flooding, droughts and water shortages, sea level rise, issues with food security).</p><p>Cities represent the main collectors of these effects, consequently they need to implement specific adaptation plans mitigating consequences of such future events: Green Infrastructures (G.I.) fall within the most effective tools for achieving the goal. In the urban context, they also identify themselves as valid strategies for biodiversity recovery and ecological functions.</p><p>This work analyzes the role of a G.I. in an urban environment, with the aim of quantifying Ecosystem Services (E.S.) provided by vegetation: through usage of <em>i-Tree</em>, specific software suite for E.S. quantification, the sustainability offered by “Le Vallere” park, a 34-hectares greenspace spread between municipalities of Turin and Moncalieri (Italy), was analyzed, in collaboration with the related management institution (<em>Ente di gestione delle Aree Protette del Po torinese</em>). The study, carried out using two specific tools (<em>i-Tree Eco and i-Tree Hydro</em>), focuses on different aspects: carbon sequestration and storage, atmospheric pollutants reduction, avoided water runoff and water quality improvement are just some of the environmental benefits generated by tree population. Tools enable to carry out the analysis also from an economic point of view, evaluating monetary benefits brought by the green infrastructure both at present day and in the future,  taking into account climate change effects through projections based on the regional climatic model COSMO-CLM (RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 scenarios).</p><p>The work led to deepen potential held by the greenspace, helping the cooperating management institution  to plan future territorial agenda and to find innovative approaches for an integrated and sustainable hazard control.</p>


2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (06) ◽  
pp. 1037-1047 ◽  
Author(s):  
MGM Pinho ◽  
JD Mackenbach ◽  
J-M Oppert ◽  
H Charreire ◽  
H Bárdos ◽  
...  

AbstractObjectiveTo explore the associations of absolute and relative measures of exposure to food retailers with dietary patterns, using simpler and more complex measures.DesignCross-sectional survey.SettingUrban regions in Belgium, France, Hungary, the Netherlands and the UK.ParticipantsEuropean adults (n 4942). Supermarkets and local food shops were classified as ‘food retailers providing healthier options’; fast-food/takeaway restaurants, cafés/bars and convenience/liquor stores as ‘food retailers providing less healthy options’. Simpler exposure measures used were density of healthy and density of less healthy food retailers. More complex exposure measures used were: spatial access (combination of density and proximity) to healthy and less healthy food retailers; density of healthier food retailers relative to all food retailers; and a ratio of spatial access scores to healthier and less healthy food retailers. Outcome measures were a healthy or less healthy dietary pattern derived from a principal component analysis (based on consumption of fruits, vegetables, fish, fast foods, sweets and sweetened beverages).ResultsOnly the highest density of less healthy food retailers was significantly associated with the less healthy dietary pattern (β = −129·6; 95 % CI −224·3, −34·8). None of the other absolute density measures nor any of the relative measures of exposures were associated with dietary patterns.ConclusionsMore complex measures of exposure to food retailers did not produce stronger associations with dietary patterns. We had some indication that absolute and relative measures of exposure assess different aspects of the food environment. However, given the lack of significant findings, this needs to be further explored.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 26-35
Author(s):  
Ayanda Pamella Deliwe ◽  
Shelley Beryl Beck ◽  
Elroy Eugene Smith

Objective – This paper sets out to assess perceptions of food retailers regarding climate change, greenhouse gas emission and sustainability in the Nelson Mandela Bay region of South Africa. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the food retailers’ greenhouse gas emissions strategies. Climate change catastrophic potential and the harmful effect that it has had on the community and businesses has led to it being given attention from social media and in literature. Methodology/Technique – This paper covered a literature review that provided the theoretical framework. The empirical study that was carried out included self-administered questionnaires which were distributed to 120 food retailers who were selected from the population using convenience sampling. Findings - The results revealed that most of the respondents were neutral towards the impact of operational factors regarding GHG emission in the food retail sector. Novelty - There is limited research that has been conducted among food retailers from the designated population. The study provided guidelines that will be of assistance to food retailers when dealing with climate change and greenhouse gas emissions impact in the food retail sector. Type of Paper: Empirical. JEL Classification: L66, Q54, Q59. Keywords: Climate Change; Food Retailers; Greenhouse Gas Emissions; Perceptions; Strategies; Sustainability Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Deliwe, A.P; Beck, S.B; Smith, E.E. (2021). Perceptions of Food Retailers Regarding Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Journal of Business and Economics Review, 5(4) 26–35. https://doi.org/10.35609/jber.2021.5.4(3)


2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 259-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christy Smith ◽  
Jessica Terman

Scholars and practitioners have come to understand the important role of local governments in the causes and effects of climate change. The literature has examined both the substantive and symbolic determinants of urban sustainability policies in addition to the implementation issues associated with those policies. At the heart of these policies is the idea that local governments have the desire and ability to engage in socially and environmentally responsible practices to mitigate climate change. While important, these studies are missing a key component in the investigation of local government involvement in sustainability policies: government purchasing power. This study examines the effect of administrative professionalism and interest group presence on the determinants of green procurement in the understudied context of counties in the United States.


Author(s):  
Andrii Panteleimonenko ◽  
◽  
Vladyslav Honcharenko ◽  
Svitlana Kasyan ◽  
◽  
...  

It is emphasized that at the beginning of the XXI century application of cooperative lending experience of F.W. Raiffeisen cooperatives model in Ukrainian practice allowed credit unions to abandon collateral as the main form of credit security. For many small agricultural producers, especially farmers, signing of a group agreement on joint and several liability (formation of the so-called loan circle) was almost the only opportunity to obtain loans. The main reason for stopping this practice is indicated. It was caused by the consequences of the global financial and economic crisis, the first appearances of which have been felt in Ukrainian economy since 2008. It is discovered that the content of publications presented in scientific professional journals of Ukraine only to some extent reveals the essence of F.W. Raiffeisen approaches on lending to small rural producers. The need for in-depth study of such experiences is emphasized. It is proposed to establish rural credit societies in Ukraine, which are based on the experience of F.W. Raiffeisen credit cooperatives. The important role of state and local governments in the financial support of this process is emphasized. The external financing mechanism for such cooperatives, especially at the initial stage of their activity, with the use of F.W. Raiffeisen loan circles practice is described. Establishing rural credit societies to finance peasants and farmers are indicated as promising. A model of a rural credit society is proposed. It was successfully functioning in Germany, as well as on the territory of other European countries, including Ukrainian provinces, starting from the end of the 19th century. And provided that appropriate changes are made to current Ukrainian legislation, these rural credit societies can become a source of affordable loans for the development of farming. The expediency of detailing the proposed model of a credit cooperative is indicated, taking into account all the principles typical for cooperatives of F.W. Raiffeisen model.


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