scholarly journals Recent Trends in Dietary Habits of the Italian Population: Potential Impact on Health and the Environment

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 476
Author(s):  
Marilena Vitale ◽  
Annalisa Giosuè ◽  
Olga Vaccaro ◽  
Gabriele Riccardi
Keyword(s):  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Food System ◽  
Dietary Habits ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Emission ◽  
Human Consumption ◽  
Italian Population ◽  
Environmentally Sustainable ◽  
Animal Fat ◽  
Sustainable Diet ◽  
Population Potential

Population growth, globalization, urbanization, and economic pressures are causing changes in food consumption all over the world. The study’s aims are (1) to evaluate trends in food habits in Italy to highlight deviations from the traditional Mediterranean diet, (2) to analyze the features of the present Italian diet that should be modified to meet evidence-based global scientific targets for a healthy and sustainable diet proposed by the EAT–Lancet Commission. Trends in food availability for human consumption during the period 2000–2017 were assessed using the food balance sheets (FBSs). Greenhouse gas (GHG) emission was estimated according to life cycle assessment (LCA) analyses. During the study period, the availability of animal fat and beef meat greatly declined (−58% and −32%, respectively), followed by fruit, potatoes, vegetables, milk, and non-tropical oils (−20%, −15%, −13%, −14%, and −11%, respectively). A substantial increase has occurred for tropical oils, fish, and nuts (+156, +26%, and +21%, respectively). In order to meet the targets of consumption proposed by the EAT–Lancet Commission, the consumption of legumes and nuts should be almost doubled, whereas the consumption of meat, eggs, dairy products, animal fat, tropical oils, and sugars should be reduced by proportions ranging from 60% to 90%. If implemented, these changes would reduce the diet-related greenhouse gas emission by nearly 50%. In conclusion, these data call for nutritional education programs and interventions on the food system aimed at promoting a healthier and more environmentally sustainable diet. To this end, the availability and affordability of products with a better impact on human health and the environment should be promoted.

scholarly journals Carbon Smart Strategies for Enhanced Food System Resilience Under a Changing Climate

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Yeboah ◽  
Eric Owusu Danquah ◽  
Patricia Oteng-Darko ◽  
Kennedy Agyeman ◽  
Erasmus Narteh Tetteh
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Sustainable Agriculture ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Food System ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Emission ◽  
Crop Productivity ◽  
World Population ◽  
Gas Emission ◽  
Smart Technologies

There is an urgent need to match food production with increasing world population through identification of sustainable land management strategies. However, the struggle to achieve food security should be carried out keeping in mind the soil where the crops are grown and the environment in which the living things survive, especially under rainfed agricultural system. Rainfed agricultural ecosystem is extremely fragile, improving soil fertility and reducing greenhouse gas emission are key factors for developing sustainable agriculture. Moreover, society increasingly expects agriculture to be more sustainable, by decreasing irrigation and mineral fertilizer inputs. Increasing food production sustainably through efficient use of resources will strongly contribute to food security, sustainable agriculture development, and increased climate change resilience. This paper addresses the effects of carbon smart technologies on greenhouse gas emission, soil quality and crop productivity in rainfed agro ecological environment. This paper hypothesized that application of carbon smart technologies could improve soil physical and chemical properties to enhance GHG mitigation and crop production. Carbon smart technologies highlighted in this paper include minimum tillage, crop residue retention, agroforestry, biofuels, integrated nutrient management and land use management systems. This paper review and discusses the work done on carbon smart technologies in different agro-ecological regions so as to understand its impact from the perspectives of the soil, the crop and the environment. The impact of conservation agriculture on greenhouse gas emissions and the underlying mechanism in different agroecological environments have been discussed. A detailed case study and tremendous advancements on the strength of integration of trees and shrub as carbon smart technologies in improving soil and crop productivity is highlighted immensely. The paper concludes with recommendations for encouraging and improving adoption by smallholder farmers to ensure more efficient and sustainable food system. This systematic review will primarily contribute to the achievement of the following Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG1 (No poverty), SDG2 (Zero hunger), SDG5 (Gender equality) and SDG13 (Climate action).

scholarly journals Solutions for subsidence in the California Delta, USA, an extreme example of organic-soil drainage gone awry

2020 ◽  
Vol 382 ◽  
pp. 837-842
Author(s):  
Steven J. Deverel ◽  
Sabina Dore ◽  
Curtis Schmutte
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Water Supply ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Emission ◽  
Animal Feed ◽  
Organic Matter Content ◽  
Organic Soil ◽  
Organic Soils ◽  
Human Consumption ◽  
Land Uses

Abstract. The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is at the heart of California's water supply system that provides water for irrigation and human consumption. It is also home to subsiding organic soils, decreasing native aquatic species populations, water quality degradation, vulnerable levees (levees are equivalent to dikes) and decreasing agricultural viability. There has been substantial progress in the interdisciplinary understanding and quantification of the nature and effects of subsidence and its mitigation. Because of the need for a drained rootzone, farming of crops such as vegetables, trees, vines, corn and alfalfa, results in an ongoing unsustainable cycle of continuing peat oxidation and deepening of drainage ditches to compensate for elevation loss. Despite substantial evidence for the increasing risks to the State's economy and water supply, the unsustainability of the status quo, and evidence for the benefits of alternatives, there has been limited progress in converting to land uses that can reduce, stop and reverse subsidence. Our overall approach has been to measure land-surface elevation changes; understand, quantify and model subsidence and greenhouse gas emissions from drained organic soil, and evaluate alternate land uses. Subsidence rates vary from less than 0.5 to over 2 cm yr−1, depending primarily on depth to groundwater and soil organic matter content. The primary cause of subsidence is the oxidation of organic matter, which has resulted in elevations of −3 to −9 m on about 100 000 ha. Using the results from micrometeorological measurements and modelling, we estimate that organic-matter oxidation causes an annual emission of over 2×106 t of CO2-equivalent which represents about 21 % of the State's plant-based agricultural emissions. Rewetting of the peat soils is emerging as a viable solution. Rice and wetlands stop and (in the case of wetlands) reverse the effects of subsidence and result in a net greenhouse-gas emission reduction benefit. Wetlands accrete about 3 cm of soil per year, can break the unsustainable subsidence/drainage cycle, reverse the trajectory of increasing hydraulic pressures on levees, reduce the probability of levee failure and seepage onto islands (islands are equivalent to polders), and may provide material for biofuels and animal feed. The recent implementation of a methodology for quantification of the GHG benefit is facilitating land use conversion and participation in the carbon market.

Eating NAFTA

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alyshia Gálvez
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Chronic Disease ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Food System ◽  
Dietary Habits ◽  
Trade Agreement ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
The North ◽  
The World

In the two decades since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) went into effect, Mexico has seen an epidemic of diet-related illness. While globalization has been associated with an increase in chronic disease around the world, in Mexico, the speed and scope of the rise has been called a public health emergency. The shift in Mexican foodways is happening at a moment when the country’s ancestral cuisine is now more popular and appreciated around the world than ever. What does it mean for their health and well-being when many Mexicans eat fewer tortillas and more instant noodles, while global elites demand tacos made with handmade corn tortillas? This book examines the transformation of the Mexican food system since NAFTA and how it has made it harder for people to eat as they once did. The book contextualizes NAFTA within Mexico’s approach to economic development since the Revolution, noticing the role envisioned for rural and low-income people in the path to modernization. Examination of anti-poverty and public health policies in Mexico reveal how it has become easier for people to consume processed foods and beverages, even when to do so can be harmful to health. The book critiques Mexico’s strategy for addressing the public health crisis generated by rising rates of chronic disease for blaming the dietary habits of those whose lives have been upended by the economic and political shifts of NAFTA.

Quantifying the Greenhouse Gas Emission Reductions Associated with Recycling Hot Mix Asphalt

2011 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-77
Author(s):  
James W Lewis ◽  
Morton A Barlaz ◽  
Akhtar Tayebali ◽  
S Ranji Ranjithan
Keyword(s):  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Hot Mix Asphalt ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Emission ◽  
Gas Emission ◽  
Emission Reductions

Growth of housing sector in India - application of Cost-effective Construction Technologies to reduce Greenhouse Gas Emission

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nilanjan Sengupta
Keyword(s):  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Emission ◽  
High Growth ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Construction Technology ◽  
Gas Emission ◽  
Sustainable Building ◽  
Skilled Manpower ◽  
Energy Consuming

Building construction sector can play a major role in reducing Greenhouse Gas emission through application of technologies aimed at reduction of use of building materials. Energy consumed during production of building materials and components plays a crucial role in creating environmental pollution. India is witnessing high growth in urban and rural housing, which needs more production of building materials. Permanent or semi-permanent type buildings which consume easily available conventional materials like brick, reinforced cement concrete etc. can be made Economic and Eco-friendly by lowering use of energy-consuming building materials through Cost-effective Construction Technologies. Buildings with Cost-effective Construction Technology can be designed within the parameters of the existing Indian Standards. Awareness generation among the users, proper technical and architectural guidance and easy availability of skilled manpower are of utmost importance for promotion of cost-effective technologies in India and to make them as the most acceptable case of sustainable building technologies both in terms of cost and environment.

Greenhouse gas emission from integrated farming system models : A comparative study

Green Farming ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 696
Author(s):  
MEERA A.V. ◽  
JOHN J. ◽  
SUDHA B. ◽  
SAJEENA A. ◽  
JACOB D. ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Study ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Emission ◽  
Farming System ◽  
Gas Emission ◽  
System Models ◽  
Integrated Farming
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