Role of Nutrition in Human Adaptation to Microgravity in Space: Emerging Trends

2020 ◽  
pp. 141-146
Author(s):  
Monika Suri ◽  
Rohit Dutt ◽  
Payal Mahajan
Keyword(s):  
Dietary Intake ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Outer Space ◽  
Genetically Modified Crops ◽  
Space Flights ◽  
Emerging Trends ◽  
Dietary Nutrients ◽  
Micro Gravity

<p>Moving on from the profile suggesting dietary intake levels for maintaining healthiness to counteracting the effects of micro gravity, the nutritional sciences research is observing a compounding challenge given the space flights getting longer and complexity of the missions getting intensely greater. Nutritional research in space and ground based protocols has largely studied the intake of energy, protein, water, iron, calcium, sodium, potassium and vitamin D. Determining the dietary intake and corresponding role of dietary nutrients in counteracting the adverse physiological effects of micro gravity has paved a way for the formulation of optimal dietary needs of various macro and micro nutrients under the arena of scientific study. Concurrently, the space food menu has experienced an evolution from unappetizing, difficult to process and limited food options to a prolific and elaborate food system. The achievable food systems for the crew and their constructiveness in ensuring the healthiness, productiveness and spirit play an essential role in the prosperity of space missions. Scaling the height of inquisitiveness, the space scientists of today’s age are charting the mars missions which may last up to 3 years, novel food systems are imperative for the success of the future space exploration missions. Endeavors to grow the fresh produce on the space platters have already sprouted fruitfully and genetically modified crops are being looked at as potential alternative food system in outer space.</p>

The Role of Research and Innovation in the Transformation of Agri-Food Systems

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 60-63
Author(s):  
Mariana Sandu ◽  
Stefan Mantea
Keyword(s):  
Technological Progress ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Research And Innovation ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Determinant Factor ◽  
Rapid Transformation

Abstract Agri-food systems include branching ramifications, which connect in the upstream the input suppliers with farmers, and downstream farmers, processors, retailers and consumers. In the last decades, at the level of the regions, food systems have undergone rapid transformation as a result of technological progress. The paper analyzes the changes made to the structure, behavior and performance of the agri-food system and the impact on farmers and consumers. Also, the role of agricultural research as a determinant factor of transformation of agri-food system is analyzed. The research objective is to develop technologies that cover the entire food chain (from farm to fork) and meet the specific requirements of consumers (from fork to farm) through scientific solutions in line with the principles of sustainable agriculture and ensuring the safety and food safety of the population.

scholarly journals “Who Has the Power to Adapt?” Frameworks for Resilient Agriculture Must Contend With the Power Dynamics of Land Tenure

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Calo
Keyword(s):  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Land Tenure ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Ecosystem Dynamics ◽  
Agrarian Change ◽  
Resilience Thinking ◽  
Capacity Formulation

This special issue aims to develop how Diversified Farming Systems (DFS) may contribute to adaptive capacity in order to confer resilience to agricultural systems. In this perspective article, I argue that a framework for DFS and adaptive capacity must adequately contend with the role of farmland tenure on the shape of food systems to be both internally coherent and socially redistributive. Yet, both DFS and adaptive capacity scholarship deemphasize or mischaracterize the role of farmland tenure in favor of ecosystem dynamics. In this paper, I bring together lessons from the agrarian change literature and established critiques of resilience thinking to demonstrate core problems with a framework aimed at linking DFS to adaptive capacity without adequately addressing the role of farmland tenure. Namely, applying resilience thinking as a framework to understand food systems change prioritizes concern over final “states” or processes of farming systems and may ignore who has the power to adapt or who derives benefits from adaptation. The critiques of resilience thinking inform that the result of this apolitical elision is (1) entrenchment of neoliberal logics that place responsibility to cultivate adaptation on individual farmers and (2) provisioning of legitimacy for land tenure systems that can most readily adopt DFS, without understanding how well these systems distribute public benefits. Resilience reformers call for ways to include more power aware analysis when applying resilience thinking to complex socio-technical systems. I suggest that centering the role of land tenure into the frameworks of DFS and adaptive capacity provides a lens to observe the power relations that mediate any benefits of agricultural diversification. Integrating analysis of the social and legal structures of the food system into the DFS for adaptive capacity formulation is a crucial step to transforming resilience thinking from an apolitical tool to transformative and power-aware applied science.

scholarly journals Indicators of Complexity and Over-Complexification in Global Food Systems

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip A. Loring ◽  
Palash Sanyal
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Genetically Modified Crops ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Disruptive Technology ◽  
Least Developed Countries ◽  
Food And Agriculture ◽  
Agricultural Revolution ◽  
Food And Agriculture Organization ◽  
Global Food

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.

scholarly journals Seafood in Food Security: A Call for Bridging the Terrestrial-Aquatic Divide

2022 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stacia Stetkiewicz ◽  
Rachel A. Norman ◽  
Edward Hugh Allison ◽  
Neil L. Andrew ◽  
Gulshan Ara ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approach ◽  
Plant Production ◽  
Relative Role ◽  
Global Food Security ◽  
Global Food

The contribution of seafood to global food security is being increasingly highlighted in policy. However, the extent to which such claims are supported in the current food security literature is unclear. This review assesses the extent to which seafood is represented in the recent food security literature, both individually and from a food systems perspective, in combination with terrestrially-based production systems. The results demonstrate that seafood remains under-researched compared to the role of terrestrial animal and plant production in food security. Furthermore, seafood and terrestrial production remain siloed, with very few papers addressing the combined contribution or relations between terrestrial and aquatic systems. We conclude that far more attention is needed to the specific and relative role of seafood in global food security and call for the integration of seafood in a wider interdisciplinary approach to global food system research.

Agricultural food system transformation and its implications for tertiary agricultural education.

2021 ◽  
pp. 31-45
Author(s):  
John Lynam ◽  
Kay Muir Leresche
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Education ◽  
Rural Economy ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Food System ◽  
System Transformation ◽  
Systems Perspective ◽  
System P ◽  
Development Outcomes

Abstract This chapter assesses the achievement of African development outcomes through market-led rural transformation within the context of agri-food systems. Sections discuss: (1) rural development from a food systems perspective; (2) the drivers of change in the food system; (3) the changing structure of food demand; (4) the generation of a production and productivity response; (5) structural changes in the market supply chain and the growth in the non-farm rural economy; and (6) the role of tertiary agricultural education in a transforming African food system.

scholarly journals Urban Food Strategy in the Making: Context, Conventions and Contestations

Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 177
Author(s):  
Mattia Andreola ◽  
Angelica Pianegonda ◽  
Sara Favargiotti ◽  
Francesca Forno
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Food Policy ◽  
System Failures ◽  
Direct Observations ◽  
Food Policy Councils ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
The City ◽  
Depth Interviews

Contemporary food systems face several paradoxes regarding equity and sustainability. Considering food production—an issue that simultaneously affects both the supply (production) and demand (consumption) sides—several cities have begun to implement new strategies, called Urban Food Policies. These approaches aim to address the various challenges presented by food system failures, while also involving the existing network of grassroot initiatives. For this reason, these have established Food Policy Councils, arenas where institutions can engage with supply chain actors and food activists, deciding through the processes of participatory democracy their Urban Food Strategies. This article investigates the evolution of a new Urban Food Strategy in a middle-sized Italian town, Trento. Despite a growing number of case studies discussing the promises and problematic aspects of UFS, empirical research and analysis tend to overlook the role of the context in which these processes are embedded and how the system of political, economic, cultural, and environmental opportunities weigh upon the success of these policies. The paper draws upon a multi-method qualitative approach combining in-depth interviews, document analysis, and direct observations of the construction process of an Urban Food Strategy for the city of Trento.

scholarly journals Serving Social Justice: The Role of the Commons in Sustainable Food Systems

2011 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Sumner
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Local Economies ◽  
Sustainable Food Systems ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Clean Air ◽  
The Commons

Food is a source of sustenance, a cause for celebration, an inducement to temptation, a vehicle for power, an indicator of well-being, a catalyst for change and, above all, a life good.  Along with other life goods such as potable water, clean air, adequate shelter and protective clothing, food is something we cannot live without.  The global corporate food system, however, allows 800 million to go hungry, while an even larger number of people grow obese.  Based in money-values, this food system promotes accumulation first and foremost, enriching a few while creating economic, social and environmental externalities that are destroying local economies, devastating individuals, families and communities and degrading the planet. What would a food system look like that was based in life-values, centred on the commons and anchored by social justice?  This paper will focus on the creation of sustainable food systems, beginning with the crises of the global corporate food system and then moving to the heart of sustainable food systems – the civil commons.

scholarly journals Introduction

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Colin Ray Anderson ◽  
Janneke Bruil ◽  
M. Jahi Chappell ◽  
Csilla Kiss ◽  
Michel Patrick Pimbert
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Ecological Economic ◽  
Sustainable Food System

AbstractIn this introductory chapter, we introduce agroecology as an urgent alternative paradigm for food and farming in a time of growing ecological, economic and social crises. We briefly outline the role of food systems in these intersecting crises and introduce how agroecology is much more than a ‘technical fix’ that calls to tweak the existing system. It is rather a framework for transformation that can be adopted in pursuit of a more just and sustainable food system. The chapter describes the origin of the book and provides a roadmap to help the reader navigate the flow of the manuscript.

scholarly journals Ecologically Intermediate and Economically Final: The Role of the Ecosystem Services Framework in Measuring Sustainability in Agri-Food Systems

Land ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 84
Author(s):  
Alessandra La Notte
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Food System ◽  
Ecological Resilience ◽  
Economic Perspective ◽  
Holistic View ◽  
Accounting Approaches

Ecosystem services can be defined as the ecosystem’s contribution to human activities. According to recent assessments, the agricultural sector is one of the most important economic users of ecosystem services in Europe. To assess, value, and account for ecosystem services related to the agri-food system offers the possibility to measure and investigate how agricultural management practices together with changing environmental conditions can affect ecological resilience. However, the accounting of ecosystem services’ flows needs to be carefully addressed, because the overlapping of services and benefits and the overlapping of what are considered intermediate and final services could create dangerous misunderstandings about the role and importance of ecosystem services in agriculture. This paper reports on the possible accounting approaches that can be used to assess crop provision, as well as their meanings and implications from an ecological to an economic perspective. The results demonstrate that an economic accounting-based assessment of ecosystem services needs to move from an ecological holistic view to a one-by-one disaggregation of ecosystem services in order to avoid underestimates that would ultimately affect the policy perception of the role of ecosystems with respect to the agri-food systems’ resilience.

The Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Various Dietary Practices and Intervention Possibilities to Reduce This Impact

2016 ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Celia Green ◽  
Andrew Joyce ◽  
Jonathan Hallett ◽  
Toni Hannelly ◽  
Gemma Carey
Keyword(s):  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Systems Science ◽  
Dietary Practices ◽  
Animal Products ◽  
Dietary Choices ◽  
The Impact

This chapter examines the link between dietary choices and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and possible interventions to reduce this impact. The connections between climate change, food systems and public health are explored. It is shown that there is variance in the impact of different food types on GHG emissions, with animal products having the greatest impact. The role of food system activities in the production of GHG emissions is also explored. Dietary choices and GHG emissions are examined using case studies from a variety of countries. Results show that reduced animal food production has increased potential to reduce GHG emissions compared to technological mitigation or increased productivity measures. Finally, a systems science approach is used to explore possible interventions aimed at reducing consumption of animal products.

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