scholarly journals Food System Resilience during COVID-19 Pandemic: The Case of Roman Solidarity Purchasing Groups

Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 156
Author(s):  
Simona Tarra ◽  
Giampiero Mazzocchi ◽  
Davide Marino
Keyword(s):  
Food Environment ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Food System ◽  
Limited Extent ◽  
Important Food ◽  
Food Sector ◽  
Supply Channel ◽  
Production And Distribution ◽  
System Resilience ◽  
Depth Interviews

The restriction measures linked to the COVID-19 shock suddenly highlighted the vulnerability of most socioeconomic systems, including the food sector. In a context in which the limitation to the movement of people and goods has put the longer and more structured supply chains in serious difficulty, many experiences and initiatives have emerged as viable alternatives. The aim of the research was to understand if and how the Solidarity Purchasing Groups (SPG) of Rome have contributed to the resilience of the food system of the metropolitan city during the lockdown. The research was based on the results of a questionnaire administered to the SPGs of Rome during the first period of the pandemic (April–July 2020), enriched by some in-depth interviews carried out by the authors. What emerged was that, despite the limited extent in terms of products conveyed within the whole food system, the SPGs represented an important food supply channel during the lockdown period, for two main reasons: a greater flexibility and agility in moving and in handling goods and the possibility of remunerating local farms, contributing to the resilience of the local agri-food fabric. The analysis of the results confirms the strong vitality of such Food Movements in Rome and, at the same time, allows for the identification of a series of interventions that the institutions could adopt to favor the spread of a food environment more compatible with more sustainable and fairer forms of food production and distribution.

scholarly journals A social innovation perspective on business model improvement in food related industries

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 767-772
Author(s):  
Xiao-Wei Wen ◽  
Sang-Luo Sun ◽  
Zhao-Hui Yang
Keyword(s):  
Food Safety ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Social Forces ◽  
Food Sector ◽  
Talent Pool ◽  
The Social ◽  
Production Distribution ◽  
Production And Distribution ◽  
Model Improvement

Food sector sustainability should not be discussed solely through an economic lens. On the contrary, social forces are critical in motivating and practicing high-quality food production and distribution in the supply chain context. This opinion addresses food sector imperatives from the social innovation perspective to preliminarily comment on social innovation’s potential influences on food production, distribution, and safety. Preliminary though, the purpose and contribution of this opinion paper are both stimulating future imagination in theory and practices for utilizing social innovation for food safety and sustainability. The main opinions are the employment of resources, sustainable development of resources, generation of finances and diversifying the talent pool for social innovative initiatives that promote food safety.

scholarly journals Politics Within Associations of Food Production and Distribution. Ethnography of an Alternative Food System in a City in Eastern France

2021 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 451-471
Author(s):  
Antoine Perrin
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Food System ◽  
Alternative Food ◽  
Production And Distribution ◽  
Definition Of

Abstract Alternative agri-food initiatives have the ambition to build an alternative to the market and industrialization, but these initiatives are nevertheless accused of depoliticization. Scarcely prone to subversion, allegedly they would only address the upper classes and fail to create a movement. An ethnographic survey among these initiatives in a city in eastern France, provides answers to these questions, showing a different definition of the economy re-embedded in politics and territory.

scholarly journals Identification of Risk Factors of Food Losses in Food Processing Plants

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 539
Author(s):  
Beata Bilska ◽  
Marzena Tomaszewska ◽  
Danuta Kołożyn-Krajewska
Keyword(s):  
Food Processing ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Food Industry ◽  
Food System ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Food Sector ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Processing Plants ◽  
Food Losses

Losses take place along the entire food chain and they need to be analysed and monitored due to their impact on the development of the food sector. In addition to quantitative losses, irrational use of food contributes to the depletion of natural resources (e. g. water and energy) and poses a threat to the environment, constituting a barrier to sustainable development of the food sector. The aim of this study was to establish the causes and effects of food losses in food industry plants and to propose measures for their mitigation. The material for the study was data on losses gathered in six food industry plants located in Poland. The study was conducted on the basis of a survey. In the studied plants, 20 causes of losses were found. A fundamental role in food production is played by access to raw materials of appropriate quality. In any enterprise, the key factor responsible for the commission of errors is human. Food losses affect the food system and its balance in three dimensions: economic, social and environmental - due to the waste of resources used to produce food that is never eaten and due to greenhouse gas emissions. In summary, the risk of food losses must be prevented by eliminating any errors that may result in a product of inadequate quality characteristics.

scholarly journals Rapid tool based on a food environment typology framework for evaluating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on food system resilience

Food Security ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 773-778 ◽  
Author(s):  
Selena Ahmed ◽  
Shauna M. Downs ◽  
Chunyan Yang ◽  
Long Chunlin ◽  
Noah ten Broek ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Environment ◽  
Food System ◽  
System Resilience ◽  
Rapid Tool

Food, Water and the Consequences of Society Not Valuing the Environment

2019 ◽  
pp. 858-878 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tony Allan
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Food System ◽  
Food Prices ◽  
The Political ◽  
Environmental Services ◽  
Accounting Systems ◽  
The Impact

The first purpose of this chapter is to highlight the impact of the food system on environmental and human health. The delivery of secure affordable food is a political imperative. Unfortunately, the food system that delivers it is environmentally blind. Food prices do not effectively reflect the value of food and often seriously mislead on the costs and impacts of food production. For example, actual food production takes place in a failed market—the value of environmental services such as water and the supporting ecosystems are not taken into account. The second purpose is to summarize and expose the political economy of the different ‘market’ modes of the food system. It is shown that there are weak players such as underrewarded and undervalued farmers who support society by producing food and stewarding our unvalued environment. The inadequacies of accounting systems are also critiqued.

scholarly journals Business Strategies in HR in Times of Crisis: The Case of Agri-Food Industry in Central Greece

Businesses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-50
Author(s):  
Konstantina Ragazou
Keyword(s):  
Food Industry ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Business Strategies ◽  
Food Sector ◽  
Central Greece ◽  
Internal Mobility ◽  
Modern Business ◽  
Mobility Training ◽  
A Company ◽  
Depth Interviews

Crisis, in whatever form it takes, is a challenge for modern business. The challenge lies in the fact that a company is prepared to balance the difficult conditions that are created, while preserving their business interest and efficiency. Thus, companies focus only on their perceived fixed bases, those that are in the internal environment such as the human capital. The need for better human resource management is more urgent than ever, and the burden on the business department is particularly great. The aim of this qualitative research is to highlight the strategies that were developed by agri-food companies in Greece and contribute to the maintenance and motivation of employees in the context of economic crisis. The methodology of this study is based on in depth interviews that were conducted in focus group discussion. Eleven companies from the agri-food sector in the region of Central Greece participated in the research. The executives highlighted three different strategies that were developed by agri-food companies in Greece, which focused on internal mobility, training and appraisal performance. Companies had to face different difficulties to use these strategies, but most of them proved that they can face their weaknesses and apply these strategies in a turbulent period like a financial crisis.

scholarly journals Shaping Physical, Economic, and Policy Components of the Food Environment to Create Sustainable Healthy Diets

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (2_suppl) ◽  
pp. 74S-86S
Author(s):  
Adam Drewnowski ◽  
Eva C. Monterrosa ◽  
Saskia de Pee ◽  
Edward A. Frongillo ◽  
Stefanie Vandevijvere
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Food Environment ◽  
Food System ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Food Environments ◽  
Healthy Foods ◽  
Equitable Access ◽  
Nutrition Labels ◽  
Healthy Diets ◽  
Physical Spaces

Background: Sustainable healthy diets are those dietary patterns that promote all dimensions of individuals’ health and well-being; have low environmental pressure and impact; are accessible, affordable, safe, and equitable; and are culturally acceptable. The food environment, defined as the interface between the wider food system and consumer’s food acquisition and consumption, is critical for ensuring equitable access to foods that are healthy, safe, affordable, and appealing. Discussion: Current food environments are creating inequities, and sustainable healthy foods are generally more accessible for those of higher socioeconomic status. The physical, economic, and policy components of the food environment can all be acted on to promote sustainable healthy diets. Physical spaces can be modified to improve relative availability (ie, proximity) of food outlets that carry nutritious foods in low-income communities; to address economic access certain actions may improve affordability, such as fortification, preventing food loss through supply chain improvements; and commodity specific vouchers for fruits, vegetables, and legumes. Other policy actions that address accessibility to sustainable healthy foods are comprehensive marketing restrictions and easy-to-understand front-of-pack nutrition labels. While shaping food environments will require concerted action from all stakeholders, governments and private sector bear significant responsibility for ensuring equitable access to sustainable healthy diets.

scholarly journals Promises of meat and milk alternatives: an integrative literature review on emergent research themes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annika Lonkila ◽  
Minna Kaljonen
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Consumer Preferences ◽  
Technological Development ◽  
Scientific Journal ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Journal Articles ◽  
Research Themes ◽  
Social Scientific

AbstractIncreasing concerns for climate change call for radical changes in food systems. There is a need to pay more attention to the entangled changes in technological development, food production, as well as consumption and consumer demand. Consumer and market interest in alternative meat and milk products—such as plant based milk, plant protein products and cultured meat and milk—is increasing. At the same time, statistics do not show a decrease in meat consumption. Yet alternatives have been suggested to have great transitional potential, appealing to different consumer segments, diets, and identities. We review 123 social scientific journal articles on cell-based and plant-based meat and milk alternatives to understand how the positioning of alternatives as both same and different in relation to animal-based products influences their role within the protein transition. We position the existing literature into three themes: (1) promissory narratives and tensions on markets, (2) consumer preferences, attitudes, and behavioral change policies, (3) and the politics and ethics of the alternatives. Based on our analysis of the literature, we suggest that more research is needed to understand the broader ethical impacts of the re-imagination of the food system inherent in meat and milk alternatives. There is also a need to direct more attention to the impacts of meat and milk alternatives to the practices of agricultural practices and food production at the farm-level. A closer examination of these research gaps can contribute to a better understanding of the transformative potential of alternatives on a systemic level.

Creating the Scratch Cooked School Food Framework: Qualitative Data Analysis of a Scratch Cooking Pilot

2021 ◽  
pp. 152483992110389
Author(s):  
Deeana Ijaz Ahmed ◽  
Raynika Trent ◽  
Pamela Koch
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Data Analysis ◽  
Food Environment ◽  
Food System ◽  
System Structure ◽  
Structural Elements ◽  
School Food ◽  
Intervention Level ◽  
Key Stakeholders ◽  
School Food Environment

The purpose of this study is to develop a novel framework that outlines the system required to implement scratch cooking in school kitchens. The data used in this study were 57 interviews with key stakeholders during the Return to Scratch Cooking Pilot that occurred in two New York City school kitchens in 2018–2019 and made significant modifications to many aspects of the existing school food system. The guiding framework for the data analysis was Meadows’s Intervention Level Framework. Intervention Level Framework describes analyzing systems by examining five layers: (1) paradigm shift, (2) goals, (3) system structure (4) feedback and delays, and (5) structural elements. It also provides a framework for describing a system by defining its elements, interconnections, and purpose. Data analysis revealed four elements of the school food system: ingredients and recipes, kitchen, cooking, and the community. The interconnections that played a role in each of these elements were policies, practice, people, and promotion. Together, these four elements and four interconnections comprise the Scratch Cooked School Food framework, which has the purpose of being a tool for researchers and practitioners to utilize when planning, implementing, and evaluating scratch cooking in the school food environment.

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