scholarly journals Use of Mechanistic Nutrition Models to Identify Sustainable Food Animal Production

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 355-376
Author(s):  
Mark D. Hanigan ◽  
Veridiana L. Daley
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Food System ◽  
Growth Curves ◽  
Animal Production ◽  
Mechanistic Models ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Nutrient Excretion ◽  
Food Animal ◽  
Global Food ◽  
Insight Into

To feed people in the coming decades, an increase in sustainable animal food production is required. The efficiency of the global food production system is dependent on the knowledge and improvement of its submodels, such as food animal production. Scientists use statistical models to interpret their data, but models are also used to understand systems and to integrate their components. However, empirical models cannot explain systems. Mechanistic models yield insight into the mechanism and provide guidance regarding the exploration of the system. This review offers an overview of models, from simple empirical to more mechanistic models. We demonstrate their applications to amino acid transport, mass balance, whole-tissue metabolism, digestion and absorption, growth curves, lactation, and nutrient excretion. These mechanistic models need to be integrated into a full model using big data from sensors, which represents a new challenge. Soon, training in quantitative and computer science skills will be required to develop, test, and maintain advanced food system models.

Sustainable Food Consumption in the Neoliberal Order

2021 ◽  
pp. 1036-1061
Author(s):  
Henry E. Alapiki ◽  
Luke A. Amadi
Keyword(s):  
Political Ecology ◽  
Food Consumption ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Food System ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
World Systems Theory ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Sustainability Challenges ◽  
Global Food

In recent decades, we have seen the rise of the sustainable food consumption field and its push for disciplinary space in development studies. This chapter turns to the original impetus of sustainable food consumption and the question of how neoliberal order can be reconciled with the need to save the ecology. Beyond the fundamental objectives, there is a need to assess the links between the global food system, as influenced by neoliberal order, and the signs that it leads to adversity for low-income countries. A review of relevant literature in the sustainable consumption field is explored using content analysis to examine links between neoliberal food consumption dynamics, the logic of global food politics, and the emerging terminological shifts from food consumption to food system. The world systems theory and the Marxian political ecology framework are used to show that sustainability is notable for emphasizing resource efficiency and equitability, which can be useful when sustainability challenges are matched with ecological policies. This chapter makes some policy recommendations.

Issues in Global Food Politics and Options for Sustainable Food Consumption

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-29
Author(s):  
Luke Amadi
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
Food Consumption ◽  
Food System ◽  
International Order ◽  
Food Politics ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Common Assumption ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Global Food

This chapter reviews key issues in global food politics. The aim is to investigate the character and trajectories of the prevailing food system in the liberal international order and, in particular, explore implications of global food politics on sustainable food consumption. Dominant theorizations of food consumption leverage on a common assumption of its essentially profit-oriented character based on the capitalist appropriation, social construction of consumption, and value augmentation leaving behind the more pressing problem of sustainability.

scholarly journals The Impact of Resource and Nutritional Resilience on the Global Food Supply System

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 751 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wayne Martindale ◽  
Mark Swainson ◽  
Sonal Choudhary
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chains ◽  
Food Supply ◽  
Food System ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Food Supply Chains ◽  
Critical Control Points ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Global Food ◽  
Global Food Supply

Pressure points in global food supply where resilience in supply chains can be limited or controlled are the equivalent of Critical Control Points in food safety systems. The approach of using critical control in supply chains can provide insights for nutritional improvement, sustainable food trade and food waste reduction. The pressure points determine the provision of a secure and sustainable food system where the outcomes of reducing their criticality are identified in the UN Sustainable Development Goals and other international programmes. These seek to reduce climate change impact and improve public health provision. While policy makers are rightly focussed on these targets, the data analysis methods required to rank and associate resource flow pressure points with commercial food supply chains and nutritional goals remain untested. Here, we show how methodologies can identify where opportunities to tackle future criticality exist, and where they are currently being overlooked for food categories that have the greatest consumer and dietary protein demand. The analysis provides insights that identify where latent restrictions in resilience can occur, so that the future risk of food insecurity is reduced.

Energy efficiency in small-scale biointensive organic onion production in Pennsylvania, USA

2010 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 181-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen R. Moore
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Food System ◽  
Energy Output ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Efficiency Ratio ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Fossil Energy ◽  
Sustainable Food System

AbstractModern agriculture relies heavily on fossil energy for food production. Reducing fossil energy and replacing that energy with renewable energy is critical in attaining a sustainable food system. Hand-scale intensive food production offers a reduction in fossil energy and an increased use of renewable human-based energy. Using biointensive production techniques, onions (Allium cepa) were grown in Pennsylvania, USA. A life-cycle analysis was performed to monitor energy utilization. Individual human labor tasks were evaluated using the factor method. This method accounts for the type and duration of physical activity. The average yield of eight onion varieties utilizing biointensive production in standard-sized beds (9.3 m2;100 ft2) was 160.2 kg. The US average for mechanical onion production is 46.1 kg/9.3 m2 (100 ft2). The energy efficiency ratio, specific energy and energy productivity were 51.5, 0.03 MJ kg−1 and 32.2 kg MJ−1 (MJ=megajoule), respectively. When defined within common boundaries, these three relationships: energy input, energy output and yield productivity allow researchers, farmers and policy-makers to select production systems and/or practices that better manage fossil and renewable energy for food production. Current mechanized agriculture has an energy efficiency ratio of 0.9. With most energy being supplied by fossil fuels. The energy efficiency for biointensive production of onions in our study was over 50 times higher than this value (51.5) and 83% of the total energy required is renewable energy. Biointensive production offers a viable energy use alternative to current production practices and may contribute to a more sustainable food system.

scholarly journals Experiences and Lessons from Agri-Food System Transformation for Sustainable Food Security: A Review of China’s Practices

Foods ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 137
Author(s):  
Yujia Lu ◽  
Yongxun Zhang ◽  
Yu Hong ◽  
Lulu He ◽  
Yangfen Chen
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Food System ◽  
Security Studies ◽  
System Transformation ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Healthy Diets ◽  
Emerging Issues ◽  
Production Technologies ◽  
Food Reserves

Food system transformation has been a widely discussed topic in international society over time. For the last few decades, China has made remarkable achievements in food production and has contributed greatly to the reduction in global hunger and poverty. Examining experiences and lessons from China’s food security practices over the years is helpful to promote a national food system transformation for China, as well as other developing countries. This study systematically reviews the literature on Chinese food security studies, with the aim of assessing China’s food security achievements and examining the remaining and emerging issues in the pursuit of food system transformation. The results show that China has continuously promoted food system transformation in land consolidation, agri-food production technologies, management and organization modes, food reserves, trade governance, and food consumption. These transformations ensure not only food availability, timeliness, and nutrition, but also in terms of the ecological, social, and economic sustainability, feasibility, and justice of food security. However, China is also confronting new challenges in food security, for example, malnutrition, environmental unsustainability, and reductions in diversified agri-food. In the future, China is expected to be committed to promoting healthy diets, sustainable agricultural production, climate change mitigation, and the reduction of food waste and loss to enhance its agri-food system’s resilience.

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.

scholarly journals Overcoming undesirable resilience in the global food system

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom H. Oliver ◽  
Emily Boyd ◽  
Kelvin Balcombe ◽  
Tim G. Benton ◽  
James M. Bullock ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Academic Disciplines ◽  
Global Food System ◽  
Major Reform ◽  
Lock In ◽  
Global Food

Non-technical summaryOur current global food system – from food production to consumption, including manufacture, packaging, transport, retail and associated businesses – is responsible for extensive negative social and environmental impacts which threaten the long-term well-being of society. This has led to increasing calls from science–policy organizations for major reform and transformation of the global food system. However, our knowledge regarding food system transformations is fragmented and this is hindering the development of co-ordinated solutions. Here, we collate recent research across several academic disciplines and sectors in order to better understand the mechanisms that ‘lock-in’ food systems in unsustainable states.

Balancing food security and AMR

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ziping Wu
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Impact Evaluation ◽  
Animal Production ◽  
Growth Promoter ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Global Food Security ◽  
Farm Production ◽  
Food Animal ◽  
Global Food ◽  
Research And Policy

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to focus on economics literature on antimicrobial and alternative uses in food animal production on its current state, its drivers, impacts and policy, and provides a general picture of the research for this special agricultural input and future directions for the research and policy. Design/methodology/approach Reduction of antimicrobial uses in food animal production is relevant to both preventing antimicrobial resistance and ensuring global food security. This study focuses on reviewing antimicrobial impact on global food security, particularly in farm production by documenting the main drivers, functions and alternatives of antimicrobial animal uses, comparing different approaches used in evaluating its production effects and providing recommendations for future research and policy development. Findings Three main approaches, controlled animal experiments, comparisons between with and without using antimicrobials at the farm level and comparisons before and after antimicrobial ban as growth promoter, have been used in measuring food security effects of antimicrobial uses in food animal production. They are, however, answering different questions with different measuring conditions. The positive production impact of antimicrobial use is often associated to its functions as a growth promoter and in preventing and treating diseases. In this review the author question the technical legitimacy for antimicrobials as a growth promoter and argue that antimicrobials should be treated as a special class of conditional and supportive input in farm production instead of using it as a normal input in its impact evaluation. Research limitations/implications An approach of combining damage control function and disease epidemiological model instead of a simplified production function should be used in its impact evaluation including in evaluating those used as antimicrobial growth promoters. Practical implications In reducing antimicrobial uses in animal production, apart from more active adoption of the alternatives, we call for a better understanding for the decision makings of antimicrobial use in the production process including government-veterinarian-farm links. Originality/value This study examines the main issues in current economic research in antimicrobial food animal production, clarifies ambiguities in antimicrobial production functions and in different approaches used in impact evaluation, provides a roadmap for reduction of antimicrobial uses and a new approach for the policy evaluation.

scholarly journals The DELTA Model: Understanding the Ability of the Global Food System to Deliver Nutrition

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. 689-689
Author(s):  
Nick Smith ◽  
Andrew Fletcher ◽  
Lakshmi Dave ◽  
Jeremy Hill ◽  
Warren McNabb
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Food System ◽  
Food Distribution ◽  
Population Increase ◽  
Nutritional Adequacy ◽  
Global Food System ◽  
Global Nutrition ◽  
Global Food ◽  
Delta Model

Abstract Objectives While the environmental, social and economic sustainability of the current global food system attracts increasing research, its ability to nourish the global population must be prioritised. Our objective was to produce a computational model illustrating the nutritional adequacy of the current global food system and allow investigation of proposed global food system scenarios. Methods Data from several public databases was collected to describe food production, processing and waste in the global food system. Data was also sourced for global demographics and human nutritional requirements for 29 nutrients. These data were used to construct the DELTA Model. The model takes global food production scenarios as its input and calculates the nutrients available for human consumption, after consideration of animal feed uses, waste and non-food use. This amount of available nutrients was then compared to demographically weighted target daily intakes, allowing the nutritional adequacy of the food system to be quantified. The DELTA Model also includes nutrient bioavailability adjustments for protein and essential amino acids to ensure accurate conclusions are drawn for these nutrients, demonstrated to be pressure points in global nutrition previously. The model is freely available online. Results Modelling the 2018 global food system showed that neither energy nor protein are limiting under conditions of equal food distribution, even with a population increase of 1 billion. Halving food waste between farm and consumer allows for sufficient energy and protein availability to nourish the forecast 2050 population of 9.7 billion using current production volumes. However, numerous micronutrient insufficiencies emerge in these future scenarios. Considering the bioavailability of protein and amino acids reduced the availability of these nutrients by between 2% and 17% compared to simply considering the content of foods, emphasizing the importance of this consideration. Conclusions It is essential that nutritional adequacy is at the forefront of the sustainable food system debate. The DELTA Model allows both experts and non-experts to better understand food system dynamics in global nutrition, aiding the discussion of what changes to the food system may be appropriate. Funding Sources Funding from the Riddet Institute Centre of Research Excellence.

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