scholarly journals Human Values as Predictors of Agroecological Beliefs

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diane Ivanise Fiamoncini ◽  
Claudia Marcia Lyra Pato

Abstract Agroecology is indicated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations - FAO as a solution to the realization of the human right to food. This study investigated the relationship between human values and beliefs about Agroecology. A survey was answered by students and researchers in the agricultural sciences (n=388). Two models were tested with path analysis. The results revealed that values of Self-Transcendence (0.24) and Openness to Change (0.21) were positive predictors of proagroecology beliefs. These findings point to the importance of activating these values in the training of professionals prepared for the challenge of working towards sustainable agro-food systems.

2020 ◽  
pp. 13-33
Author(s):  
Michelle Jurkovich

This chapter examines how hunger evolved from a condition that is understood as an inevitable part of the natural landscape to a problem that is seen as something to be ameliorated. It sets the stage for the emergence of the contemporary international anti-hunger organizations and explores the origins of a human right to food in international law. It also serves to document how responding to global hunger was put on the political agenda as a problem to be solved. The chapter identifies key changes in how the international community has addressed the problem on hunger and highlights the essentials to understanding the contemporary international anti-hunger advocacy. It looks at archival research conducted at the archives of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Rome, as well as at the UK and U.S. National Archives.


Author(s):  
Hannah Lambie-Mumford

Chapter 3 sets out the key theories with which the book engages: food insecurity and the human right to food. Following on from a conceptualisation and definition of food insecurity, the right to food is introduced. Emphasis is placed on normative element of ‘adequacy and sustainability of food availability and access’ and on the state’s obligation to ‘respect, protect and fulfil the right to food’. Theories of ‘othering’ and ‘agency’ are employed to assess the social acceptability of emergency food systems as a means of acquiring food, and the power of providers to make sufficient food available through these systems and of potential recipients to access it. Theories of ‘care’ and ‘social protection’ are employed to explore the ways in which charitable providers are in practice taking responsibility for the duty to respect, protect and fulfil the right to food and how shifts in welfare policy are affecting need for this provision.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Michelle Jurkovich

This chapter focuses on one case of an economic and social right, the right to food. It mentions the development of an alternative model of advocacy, called the buckshot model, which explains the trajectories of campaigns in terms of the right to food. It also discusses international anti-hunger activism, which cites the fore advocacy surrounding the human right to food. The chapter emphasizes how the fulfillment of other human rights is either impossible or substantively meaningless without the realization of the right to food. It points out that more people die from hunger and related causes globally than in all wars, civil and international, combined.


Author(s):  
Shima Kheirinejad ◽  
Omid Bozorg-Haddad ◽  
Vijay P. Singh

Abstract Access to enough food to eliminate hunger is a fundamental right of society. Lack of food is an obstacle to social, political, economic, and cultural development of society. Investment in agriculture, support of education, and health development in the community can lead to food security. Water is fundamental to agriculture and hence to food and nutritional security. Water is also vital for plants and livestock. Agriculture has the largest share of water consumption, accounting for about 70% of all freshwater earmarked for human use, and good quality water is needed for production of a wide variety of non-food products, such as cotton, rubber, and industrial oils. In 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirmed everyone's right to adequate food. However, accessing adequate food in rural areas in many developing countries depends on access to natural resources, including water. On 28 July 2010, the UN General Assembly declared access to clean drinking water and sanitation as a human right. Significant changes in policy and management across the entire agricultural production chain are necessary to ensure the best use of available water resources to meet the growing need for food and other agricultural products. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) works with countries around the world to improve food security. It has been assisting member states in cooperation with public and private financial institutions since 1964, and has implemented numerous programs to invest in agriculture and rural development. In recent years, emergency aid to meet the urgent needs of people in Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) member states has been provided through these programs in times of crises, such as earthquakes, floods, droughts, and avian influenza.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip A. Loring ◽  
Palash Sanyal

Global food systems have increased in complexity significantly since the mid-twentieth century, through such innovations as mechanization, irrigation, genetic modification, and the globalization of supply chains. While complexification can be an effective problem-solving strategy, over-complexification can cause environmental degradation and lead systems to become increasingly dependent on external subsidies and vulnerable to collapse. Here, we explore a wide array of evidence of complexification and over-complexification in contemporary global food systems, drawing on data from the Food and Agriculture Organization and elsewhere. We find that food systems in developed, emerging, and least developed countries have all followed a trajectory of complexification, but that return on investments for energy and other food system inputs have significantly declined—a key indicator of over-complexification. Food systems in developed countries are further along in the process of over-complexification than least developed and emerging countries. Recent agricultural developments, specifically the introduction of genetically modified crops, have not altered this trend or improved return on investments for inputs into food systems. Similarly, emerging innovations belonging to the “digital agricultural revolution” are likewise accompanied by energy demands that may further exacerbate over-complexification. To reverse over-complexification, we discuss strategies including innovation by subtraction, agroecology, and disruptive technology.


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