scholarly journals The Framework for Responsible Research With Australian Native Plant Foods: A Food Chemist's Perspective

2022 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Selina Fyfe ◽  
Heather E. Smyth ◽  
Horst Joachim Schirra ◽  
Michael Rychlik ◽  
Yasmina Sultanbawa

Australia is a rich source of biodiverse native plants that are mostly unstudied by western food science despite many of them being ethnofoods of Australian Indigenous people. Finding and understanding the relevant policy and legal requirements to scientifically assess these plants in a responsible way is a major challenge for food scientists. This work aims to give an overview of what the legal and policy framework is in relation to food chemistry on Australian native plant foods, to clarify the relationships between the guidelines, laws, policies and ethics and to discuss some of the challenges they present in food chemistry. This work provides the framework of Indigenous rights, international treaties, federal and state laws and ethical guidelines including key legislation and guidelines. It discusses the specific areas that are applicable to food chemistry: the collection of plant foods, the analysis of the samples and working with Indigenous communities. This brief perspective presents a framework that can be utilized by food chemists when developing responsible research involving plant foods native to northern Australia and can help them understand some of the complexity of working in this research area.

2012 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 471-481 ◽  
Author(s):  
H.E. Smyth ◽  
J.E. Sanderson ◽  
Y. Sultanbawa

Proceedings ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 111
Author(s):  
Yasmina Sultanbawa

The triple burden of malnutrition is identified with overnutrition, undernutrition and hidden hunger. Although global food production in terms of calories has kept pace with population growth, low-quality diets that lead to micronutrient deficiencies and chronic diseases have become a global problem. Over 2 billion people globally suffer from micronutrient deficiencies as a result of insufficient intake of vitamins and trace elements in the diet. Currently, about 60% of dietary calories come from staple foods such as rice, maize, wheat, potato and soybean. There is a clear relationship between the reliance on a few staple crops or low dietary diversity and malnutrition. Dietary diversity is increased when consumption of cereals is accompanied by a high intake of fruits, vegetables and pulses. The occurrence of antioxidants and important dietary phytochemicals in these underutilised fruits and vegetables further enhances their value as dietary interventions to promote health and wellbeing. Australian native plant foods are rich sources of micro nutrients. Some better known examples are, the Kakadu plum (Terminalia ferdinandiana) which is a good source of vitamin C, green plum (Buchanania obovata) which is rich in folates and the wattle seeds (Acacia spp.) which are high in protein, dietary fibre and trace elements. Therefore, there is a need to develop strategies to include these food crops in nutrition intervention programmes and promote them as healthy food choices to be incorporated into the diets of Australians. The introduction of Australian native plant foods among nutritionally vulnerable communities where undernutrition, hidden hunger and chronic diseases have been reported will help alleviate these health problems.


Author(s):  
Andrea Renda

This chapter assesses Europe’s efforts in developing a full-fledged strategy on the human and ethical implications of artificial intelligence (AI). The strong focus on ethics in the European Union’s AI strategy should be seen in the context of an overall strategy that aims at protecting citizens and civil society from abuses of digital technology but also as part of a competitiveness-oriented strategy aimed at raising the standards for access to Europe’s wealthy Single Market. In this context, one of the most peculiar steps in the European Union’s strategy was the creation of an independent High-Level Expert Group on AI (AI HLEG), accompanied by the launch of an AI Alliance, which quickly attracted several hundred participants. The AI HLEG, a multistakeholder group including fifty-two experts, was tasked with the definition of Ethics Guidelines as well as with the formulation of “Policy and Investment Recommendations.” With the advice of the AI HLEG, the European Commission put forward ethical guidelines for Trustworthy AI—which are now paving the way for a comprehensive, risk-based policy framework.


2014 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 1755-1762 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bita Zaferanloo ◽  
Trung D. Quang ◽  
Smita Daumoo ◽  
Mahmood M. Ghorbani ◽  
Peter J. Mahon ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
pp. 2631309X2110519
Author(s):  
Marcela Torres-Wong

For decades, Indigenous communities living in Mexico’s oil-producing state of Tabasco suffered violence, environmental contamination, and the destruction of their traditional livelihood. The administration of Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) taking office in 2018 promised to govern for the poorest people in Mexico, emphasizing the wellbeing of Indigenous peoples. However, as part of his nationalist agenda AMLO is pursuing aggressive exploitation of hydrocarbons upon the lead of state-owned company Pemex. This article argues that the Mexican government still denies Indigenous peoples living nearby oil reserves the right to self-determination. We examine this phenomenon through the Chontal community of Oxiacaque in the state of Tabasco suffering environmental contamination and health problems caused by the oil industry. We emphasize the government’s use of resource nationalism to legitimize violence against Indigenous communities and their natural environments. Further, the expansion of social programs and infrastructure building serves to obtain Indigenous compliance with the unsustainable fossil fuel industry.


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (8) ◽  
pp. e002442 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Browne ◽  
Mark Lock ◽  
Troy Walker ◽  
Mikaela Egan ◽  
Kathryn Backholer

IntroductionIndigenous Peoples worldwide endure unacceptable health disparities with undernutrition and food insecurity often coexisting with obesity and chronic diseases. Policy-level actions are required to eliminate malnutrition in all its forms. However, there has been no systematic synthesis of the evidence of effectiveness of food and nutrition policies for Indigenous Peoples around the world. This review fills that gap.MethodsEight databases were searched for peer-reviewed literature, published between 2000 and 2019. Relevant websites were searched for grey literature. Articles were included if they were original studies, published in English and included data from Indigenous Peoples from Western colonised countries, evaluated a food or nutrition policy (or intervention), and provided quantitative impact/outcome data. Study screening, data extraction and quality assessment were undertaken independently by two authors, at least one of whom was Indigenous. A narrative synthesis was undertaken with studies grouped according to the NOURISHING food policy framework.ResultsWe identified 78 studies from Canada, Australia, Aotearoa/New Zealand and the USA. Most studies evaluated targeted interventions, focused on rural or remote Indigenous communities. The most effective interventions combined educational strategies with policies targeting food price, composition and/or availability, particularly in retail and school environments. Interventions to reduce exposure to unhealthy food advertising was the only area of the NOURISHING framework not represented in the literature. Few studies examined the impact of universal food policies on Indigenous Peoples’ diets, health or well-being.ConclusionBoth targeted and universal policy action can be effective for Indigenous Peoples. Actions that modify the structures and systems governing food supply through improved availability, access and affordability of healthy foods should be prioritised. More high-quality evidence on the impact of universal food and nutrition policy actions for Indigenous Peoples is required, particularly in urban areas and in the area of food marketing.


2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 336-356
Author(s):  
Roberta Rice

What are the institutional arrangements required to implement a genuine process of free, prior and informed consent (fpic)? This article provides a comparative perspective on the politics of consent in the context of relations between Indigenous peoples, states and extractive industries in Canada and Latin America. The case of Ecuador is presented as an emblematic example of a hybrid regime in which Indigenous communities have the right to free, prior and informed consultation, not consent, concerning planned measures affecting them, such as mineral, oil and gas exploitation. In the case of Yukon, Canada, the settlement of a comprehensive land claim with sub-surface mineral rights has provided the institutional basis for the implementation of a genuine fpic process, one that includes participatory decision-making power over natural resource development projects. The article concludes with a discussion on the necessary conditions for moving governments from a consultation to a consent regime.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (18) ◽  
pp. 7472 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hsing-Sheng Tai

While the notion of social-ecological system resilience is widely accepted and applied, the issue of “resilience for whom” is clearly ignored. This phenomenon has also occurred in Taiwan. This article explores the roots of, and a possible solution to, this issue through a case study in the context of Taiwan’s indigenous peoples. The Danungdafu area, the focal social-ecological system, was studied. Qualitative research methods and an action-oriented research approach were employed. For a long period, the central government shaped the political, economic, social, institutional, and ecological contexts; dominated resilience discourses and determined the problem-framing and problem-solving agenda; defined the scale and levels at which social-ecological system governance issues were addressed; and determined the knowledge system used to define and solve problems. After 2011, a new participatory governance regime emerged. Multiple stakeholders, including indigenous communities, began to contribute to resilience discourses and influenced governance and trade-offs among differing governance goals. However, under the established structures dominated by Han people, indigenous views, rights, and well-being continue to be ignored. Affirmative action is required to recognize and safeguard indigenous rights. A practical institutional pathway is available to facilitate the transformation from “resilience for mainstream society” to “resilience for indigenous people” in indigenous territories.


2010 ◽  
Vol 50 (6) ◽  
pp. 449 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. G. Hutton ◽  
Z. Durmic ◽  
P. E. Vercoe

The Australian native plant Eremophila glabra was tested as a potential agent for preventing lactic acidosis in sheep after it was observed to be effective against acidosis in vitro. Ruminally fistulated wethers were infused via rumen cannula with single doses of kibbled wheat (14 g/kg bodyweight) and either virginiamycin (Eskalin500; AB, 80 mg/kg of wheat plus 100 g milled oaten hay/kg of wheat, n = 6), E. glabra (EG, 100 g freeze-dried and milled leaf material per kg of wheat, n = 10) or milled oaten hay (Control, 100 g milled oaten hay/kg of wheat, n = 16). Rumen samples were collected immediately before infusion and then 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16 and 24 h after the infusion. The samples were analysed for pH, D-lactate, volatile fatty acids (VFA) and osmolality. Rumen pH and D-lactate values indicative of acidosis were detected in the Control and EG groups. The pH nadir of the rumen was 12 h after the wheat infusion, at which time the values in the EG (pH = 4.87) and Control (pH = 5.09) groups were lower (P < 0.05) than in the AB group (pH = 5.63) and the D-lactate concentrations were higher (P < 0.05) in the EG and Control groups (24 mmol/L and 15 mmol/L, respectively) than in the AB group (0.9 mmol/L). At the same time, total VFA concentration was higher (P < 0.05) in the AB group (102 mmol/L) than in the Control (65 mmol/L) and the EG (14 mmol/L) groups. Rumen osmolality did not differ between groups. Virginiamycin was effective at preventing lactic acidosis. However, the inclusion of dried leaves from E. glabra at a similar level that was effective in vitro did not prevent lactic acidosis in vivo, and the reasons behind this remain unclear. The study demonstrates the difficulty in converting in vitro results to in vivo and highlights the need to test the plant at higher doses in vivo.


Taxon ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 932
Author(s):  
R. S. Cowan ◽  
Peter J. Langkamp

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