scholarly journals Consuming insects: are there health benefits?

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 225-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Roos ◽  
A. van Huis
Keyword(s):  
Bioactive Compounds ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Fruits And Vegetables ◽  
Health Benefits ◽  
Health Claims ◽  
Insect Species ◽  
Food Groups ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Varied Diet ◽  
Enormous Number

How healthy are insects? This is a highly relevant question in view of the global interest in the potential of insects as a sustainable food source in food systems and diets. Edible insects, like other foods, can provide nutrients and dietary energy to meet the requirements of the human body as a part of a varied diet. They also have the potential to provide bioactive compounds that have health benefits beyond simple nutritional values, as is the case for other food groups such as fruits and vegetables. Various recent studies have indicated such bioactivity in different insect species. The enormous number of edible insect species may be a source of novel bioactive compounds with health benefits addressing global health challenges. However, any identified health benefits need to be confirmed in human studies or in standardised assays accepted in health research prior to making health claims.

scholarly journals Boundary Negotiations in a Self-Organized Grassroots-Led Food Network: The Case of REKO in Finland

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (15) ◽  
pp. 4137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Ehrnström-Fuentes ◽  
Hanna Leipämaa-Leskinen
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Self Organization ◽  
Food Groups ◽  
Sustainable Food Systems ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Self Organized ◽  
Food Network

Self-organization is a term that is increasingly used to describe how engaged citizens come together to create sustainable food systems at the local community level. Yet, there is a lack of understanding of what this self-organizing activity actually means. While previous literature has addressed self-organization as an outcome of building consensus and a collective intentionality shared by the members of a group, we focus on the complex social processes involved when people with a diverse set of interests and motivations interact in the food network. In this study, we analyze what kinds of boundary negotiations emerge when grassroots-led food networks scale up. Our embedded single case study focuses on a REKO (‘REjäl KOnsumtion’, meaning ‘fair consumption’ in English) network in Finland comprising distributed local food groups and three types of actors: consumers, producers, and local administrators. We examine a conflict that arose within the REKO network in May–June 2016 when a small group of actors demanded that all local groups should implement similar rules, principles, and ethical standards. Our findings illustrate how moral, geographic, market, and power boundaries emerge in a self-organized grassroots-led food network. We further explicate the challenges that may appear within a self-organized grassroots-led food network, as it grows in scale and scope.

scholarly journals Vegetarianism and other eating practices among youth and young adults in major Canadian cities

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 609-619 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Vergeer ◽  
Lana Vanderlee ◽  
Christine M White ◽  
Vicki L Rynard ◽  
David Hammond
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Fruits And Vegetables ◽  
Food Groups ◽  
Dietary Practices ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Animal Products ◽  
Dietary Practice ◽  
Logistic Regression Models ◽  
Youth And Young Adults ◽  
Eating Practices

AbstractObjective:To estimate the prevalence and sociodemographic characteristics of youth and young adults in major Canadian cities with self-reported vegetarian dietary practices and examine efforts to alter their diets.Design:Data were collected in autumn 2016 via web-based surveys. Respondents reported vegetarian dietary practices (vegan, vegetarian or pescatarian) and efforts in the preceding year to consume more or less of several nutrients, food groups and/or foods with particular attributes. Logistic regression models examined sociodemographic correlates of each vegetarian dietary practice and differences in other eating practices by diet type.Setting:Participants were recruited from five major Canadian cities.Participants:Youth and young adults, aged 16–30 years (n 2566).Results:Overall, 13·6 % of respondents reported vegetarian dietary practices: 6·6 % vegetarian, 4·5 % pescatarian and 2·5 % vegan. Sex, race/ethnicity, self-reported frequency of using the Nutrition Facts table and health literacy were significantly correlated with self-reported vegetarian dietary practice (P < 0·01 for all). Efforts to consume more fruits and vegetables (66·8 %) and protein (54·8 %), and less sugar (61·3 %) and processed foods (54·7 %), were prevalent overall. Respondents with vegetarian dietary practices were more likely to report efforts to consume fewer carbohydrates and animal products, and more organic, locally produced, ethically sourced/sustainably sourced/fair trade and non-GM foods (P < 0·01 for all), compared with those without these reported dietary practices.Conclusions:Nearly 14 % of the sampled youth and young adults in major Canadian cities reported vegetarian dietary practices and may be especially likely to value and engage in behaviours related to health-conscious diets and sustainable food production.

scholarly journals Affordability of Healthy and Sustainable Diets in Nigeria

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel A. Mekonnen ◽  
Dare Akerele ◽  
Thom Achterbosch ◽  
Thijs de Lange ◽  
Elise F. Talsma
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Research Policy ◽  
Food Preferences ◽  
Food Groups ◽  
Dietary Recommendations ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Healthy Diets ◽  
Southern Nigeria ◽  
Protein Rich ◽  
Food Systems Sustainability

This study examines the cost and affordability of healthy diets in Nigeria. Using the 2015/16 and 2018/19 waves of Nigeria General Household Surveys, we find that, generally, the least-cost options to meet dietary recommendations for vegetables, dairy, and protein-rich foods are more expensive to meet than that of other food groups. Despite improvements during the survey years, the challenges of affordability of healthy diets appear more pronounced in rural than urban, among poorest household groups, and in northern than southern Nigeria. Results suggest that it will be more expensive to meet the dietary recommendation for dairy foods if priority will be given for food systems sustainability over concerns for food preferences of the households. It will however be cheaper to achieve dietary recommendations for vegetables, fruits and starchy staples even when households give more consideration to food systems sustainability than tastes and preferences in their choice of healthy foods. Relative affordability of protein-rich foods are less affected by whether (or not) tastes/preferences or food systems sustainability drives healthy food choices. Key implication is that interventions targeting on affordability of healthy diets should give greater attention to the poorest of the poor, to rural than urban, and to northern than southern Nigeria. Implications relevant for research, policy, and other actors that focus on transformation of the food systems toward achieving healthier diets in a sustainable food systems are discussed.

Designing a healthy, low-cost and environmentally sustainable food basket: an optimisation study

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Hassan Eini-Zinab ◽  
Seyyed Reza Sobhani ◽  
Arezoo Rezazadeh
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Footprint ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Fruits And Vegetables ◽  
Water Footprint ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
Food Groups ◽  
Fish Eggs ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Food Basket

Abstract Objective: Sustainable diets are diets with low environmental impacts and high affordability which contribute to food and nutrition security. The present study aimed to develop a healthy, low-cost and environmental-friendly food basket for Iran based on current consumption. Design: The Households Income and Expenditure Survey data were used. Linear Programming was utilised to obtain the optimal diets, separately, for each goal of the sustainable food basket: (1) Diet with maximum Nutrient Rich Food (NRF) index, (2) Diet with minimum cost, (3) Diet with the minimum water footprint and (4) Diet with the minimum carbon footprint. Goal Programming techniques were used to optimise the sustainable food basket by considering all goals simultaneously. Setting: Iran. Participants: Households (n 100 500) in urban and rural areas of Iran, nationally representative. Results: In the ‘optimal model’, compared with the usual consumption, the amount of the ‘bread, cereal, rice, and pasta’, ‘meat, poultry, fish, eggs, legumes, and nuts’ and ‘fats, oils, sugars, and sweets’ groups was decreased. Inside those food groups, cereals, poultry and vegetable oil subgroups were increased. Also, dairy, fruits and vegetable groups were increased. In this model, there was a 14 % reduction in the total water footprint, a 14 % decrease in the total carbon footprint, a 23 % decrease in the cost and a 7 % increase in NRF of diet compared with the usual consumption. Conclusions: Increasing the consumption of dairy, fruits and vegetables and reducing the consumption of bread, rice, pasta, meat, fish, eggs, legumes, nuts, hydrogenated fats and sugars are required to achieve a sustainable food basket.

scholarly journals Food Safety in Local Farming of Fruits and Vegetables

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (18) ◽  
pp. 9733
Author(s):  
Ariana Macieira ◽  
Joana Barbosa ◽  
Paula Teixeira
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Food Safety ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Fruits And Vegetables ◽  
National Scale ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Foodborne Outbreaks ◽  
Production Practices ◽  
Vegetables And Fruits

The world’s population will be around 9 billion people by 2050. Humans need to feed in order to survive and thus the high demographic growth may impact the sustainability of our food systems. Sustainable food production practices such as local farming have been explored. Consumption of vegetables and fruits has been increasing due to their health benefits, but this increase is also related to a significant number of foodborne outbreaks. Foodborne outbreaks pose a threat to public health and the economy on a local and national scale. Food safety begins on the farm and proceeds over the supply chain. Thus, to provide safe products, food producers must follow specific procedures to avoid food hazards along the supply chain. This work aimed to present the importance of food safety in vegetables and fruits in local farming, as this form of production and consumption has increased in several countries of the northern hemisphere and as these are considered a form of providing more sustainable food products.

scholarly journals Global Trends (1961–2017) in Human Dietary Potassium Supplies

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1369
Author(s):  
Diriba B. Kumssa ◽  
Edward J.M. Joy ◽  
Martin R. Broadley
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Fruits And Vegetables ◽  
Temporal Trends ◽  
Reference Value ◽  
Institute Of Medicine ◽  
Food Groups ◽  
Global Trends ◽  
Geographical Regions ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
K Deficiency

Background: Potassium (K) is an essential mineral and major intracellular electrolyte involved in the regulation of blood pressure, muscle contraction and nerve transmission in humans. Major dietary sources of K include fruits and vegetables, starchy roots and tubers, and whole grains. The aim of this study was to assess and report: (i) the sufficiency of K in national food systems globally, (ii) to quantify the contribution from food groups, and (iii) to explore spatial and temporal trends in the period of 1961–2017. Methods: Food supply and demography (1961–2017), K composition and K requirement data were combined to estimate per capita human dietary supplies of potassium (DSK), adequate intake of K (AIK) and K sufficiency ratio (KSR) at national, regional, continental and global levels. Results and Discussion: Globally, the mean ± SD. DSK (mg capita−1 d−1) increased from 2984 ± 915 in 1961 to 3796 ± 1161 in 2017. There was a wide range in DSK between geographical regions and across years, with particularly large increases in east Asia, where DSK increased from <3000 to >5000 mg capita−1 day−1. Roots and tubers contributed the largest dietary source of K, providing up to 80% of DSK in most regions. At the global level, throughout the 57-year period, the population-weighted KSR was <1 based on the 2006 Institute of Medicine AIK recommendation, while it was >1 based on the 2019 National Academies of Science and the 2016 European Union AIK recommendation. While KSR ≥1 shows sufficiency of DSK, KSR <1 does not indicate K deficiency risk. Conclusion: Due to the absence of a Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for K, this study used the ratio of DSK:AIK (i.e., KSR) to assess dietary K sufficiency. Estimates of dietary K sufficiency are, therefore, highly sensitive to the AIK reference value used and this varied greatly based on different institutions and years. To quantify the risk of dietary K deficiency, bridging the data gap to establish an RDA for K should be a global research priority.

scholarly journals A comparison of the Indian Diet with the EAT-Lancet Reference Diet

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manika Sharma ◽  
Avinash Kishore ◽  
Devesh Roy ◽  
Kuhu Joshi New
Keyword(s):  
Urban Poor ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Fruits And Vegetables ◽  
Food System ◽  
Sample Survey ◽  
Calorie Intake ◽  
Consumption Expenditure ◽  
Food Groups ◽  
Income Groups ◽  
Nationally Representative

Abstract Background The 2019 EAT-Lancet Commission report recommends healthy diets that can feed 10 billion people by 2050 from environmentally sustainable food systems. This study compares food consumption patterns in India, from different income groups and regions and sectors(rural/urban), with the EAT-Lancet reference diet and highlights the deviations. Methods The analysis was done using data from consumption expenditure survey of a nationally representative sample of 0.102 million households from 7469 villages and 5268 urban blocks of India by the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) in 2011-12. This is the most recent nationally representative data on household consumption in India. Calorie intake (kcal/capita/day) of food groups was calculated using quantity of consumption and nutritional values of food items from the NSSO report. Diet across rural and urban, poor and rich households across different regions were compared with EAT-Lancet reference diet. Results Average daily calorie consumption in India is below the recommended 2503 kcal/capita/day across all groups compared, except for the richest 5% of the population. Calorie share of whole grains is significantly higher than the EAT-Lancet recommendations while those of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and meat, fish & eggs are significantly lower. The share of calories from protein sources is only 6-8% in India compared to 29% in the reference diet. The imbalance is highest for the households in the lowest decile of consumption expenditure, but even the richest households in India do not consume adequate amounts of fruits, vegetables and non-cereal proteins in their diets. An average Indian household consumes more calories from processed foods than fruits. Conclusions Indian diets, across states and income groups, are unhealthy. Indians also consume excessive cereals and not enough proteins, fruits and vegetables. Importantly, unlike many countries, excess consumption of animal protein is not a problem in India. Indian policy-makers need to accelerate food system wide efforts to make healthier and sustainable diets more affordable, accessible and acceptable.

scholarly journals A comparison of the Indian Diet with the EAT-Lancet Reference Diet

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manika Sharma ◽  
Avinash Kishore ◽  
Devesh Roy
Keyword(s):  
Urban Poor ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Fruits And Vegetables ◽  
Food System ◽  
Sample Survey ◽  
Calorie Intake ◽  
Consumption Expenditure ◽  
Food Groups ◽  
Income Groups ◽  
Nationally Representative

Abstract Background The 2019 EAT-Lancet Commission report recommends healthy diets that can feed 10 billion people by 2050 from environmentally sustainable food systems. This study compares food consumption patterns in India, from different income groups and regions and sectors(rural/urban), with the EAT-Lancet reference diet and highlights the deviations.Methods The analysis was done using data from consumption expenditure survey of a nationally representative sample of 0.102 million households from 7469 villages and 5268 urban blocks of India by the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) in 2011-12. This is the most recent nationally representative data on household consumption in India. Calorie intake (kcal/capita/day) of food groups was calculated using quantity of consumption and nutritional values of food items from the NSSO report. Diet across rural and urban, poor and rich households across different regions were compared with EAT-Lancet reference diet.Results Average daily calorie consumption in India is below the recommended 2503 kcal/capita/day across all groups compared, except for the richest 5% of the population. Calorie share of whole grains is significantly higher than the EAT-Lancet recommendations while those of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and meat, fish & eggs are significantly lower. The share of calories from protein sources is only 6-8% in India compared to 29% in the reference diet. The imbalance is highest for the households in the lowest decile of consumption expenditure, but even the richest households in India do not consume adequate amounts of fruits, vegetables and non-cereal proteins in their diets. An average Indian household consumes more calories from processed foods than fruits.Conclusions Indian diets, across states and income groups, are unhealthy. Indians also consume excessive cereals and not enough proteins, fruits and vegetables. Importantly, unlike many countries, excess consumption of animal protein is not a problem in India. Indian policy-makers need to accelerate food system wide efforts to make healthier and sustainable diets more affordable, accessible and acceptable.

Effect of Food Processing on Antioxidant Potential, Availability, and Bioavailability

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Martha Verghese ◽  
Shantrell Willis ◽  
Judith Boateng ◽  
Ahmed Gomaa ◽  
Rajwinder Kaur
Keyword(s):  
Bioactive Compounds ◽  
Fruits And Vegetables ◽  
Health Benefits ◽  
Antioxidant Potential ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Potential Availability ◽  
Effect Of Food ◽  
Processing Effects ◽  
Plant Sources

Antioxidants are understood to play a key role in disease prevention; because of this, research and interest in these compounds are ever increasing. Antioxidative phytochemicals from natural sources are preferred, as some negative implications have been associated with synthetic antioxidants. Beans, nuts, seeds, fruits, and vegetables, to name a few, are important sources of phytochemicals, which have purported health benefits. The aforementioned plant sources are reportedly rich in bioactive compounds, most of which undergo some form of processing (boiling, steaming, soaking) prior to consumption. This article briefly reviews selected plants (beans, nuts, seeds, fruits, and vegetables) and the effects of processing on the antioxidant potential, availability, and bioavailability of phytochemicals, with research from our laboratory and other studies determining the health benefits of and processing effects on bioactive compounds. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Food Science and Technology, Volume 12 is March 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Food Fads: Safe Feeding of Children

1980 ◽  
Vol 1 (7) ◽  
pp. 207-210
Author(s):  
Gilbert B. Forbes
Keyword(s):  
Fruits And Vegetables ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Nutritional Deficiencies ◽  
Deficiency Anemia ◽  
Food Groups ◽  
Young Infants ◽  
Scientific Approach ◽  
Varied Diet ◽  
Food Variety ◽  
And Storage

... in some important aspects, our rational scientific approach fails to fulfill the desperate needs of suffering people, and it is to these needs that quacks and cultists address themselves. Strong emotions have a profound effect fect on one's well-being ... if they are aroused in a setting of massive human and supernatural encouragement, and in a context of hopefulness, they can be healing ....A cult gains its power from its culturally determined symbolic meaning.1 When it comes to food, variety is literally the spice of life. It is the large variety of foods available, taken together with our efficient transportation and storage facilities, and food fortification techniques that render the average American diet so nutritious. Young infants will thrive if they are provided with sufficient milk, and dietary deficiencies are rare in children whose diets include the "basic four" food groups: (1) meat, fish, poultry, and eggs; (2) milk, cheese, and milk products; (3) fruits and vegetables; (4) cereal grains, potatoes, and rice. Dietary surveys have shown that the vast majority of Americans have a varied diet and are free of overt nutritional deficiencies, with the possible exception of iron deficiency anemia. Americans consume large quantities of meat, milk, and eggs. Set in the midst of this sea of abundance are growing numbers of citizens who have chosen to deviate from modern dietary norms by adopting so-called "fad diets."

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