How COVID-19 Affects Agricultural Food Sales: Based on the Perspective of China’s Agricultural Listed Companies’ Financial Statements

Agricultural food is generally regarded as the basis of “national security” by most countries. Through marketing strategies, promoting the sales of agri-food products in the context of a pandemic is of great significance to national food security and economic growth. The purpose of our study is to understand how the COVID-19 crisis affects the sales of agri-food products as well as the organizational and management changes it brings. By understanding those points above, we can address the problem and policy challenges to better promote the recovery of the agri-food sector from the effects caused by COVID-19. The demand is today overwhelmingly urgent. Based on the data of China’s agricultural-listed companies from 2015 to 2020, this study adopted the perspective of financial statements and conducted empirical analysis through the translog revenue function, and the results showed that the COVID-19 pandemic has reduced the sales of agri-food products, and the sales of agri-food products by large agricultural companies have fallen more than those of small- and medium-sized ones. Based on the results of the study, the government can consider the policy of providing financial support and temporary subsidies to agri-food enterprises during the pandemic, while agri-food enterprises actively practice digital marketing to reduce the adverse impact of COVID-19 on agri-food sales.

The impact of shelf tags with Nutri-Score on consumer purchases: a difference-in-difference analysis of a natural experiment in supermarkets of a major retailer in Belgium

Background Delhaize, a major Belgian retailer, started implementing electronic shelf labels (ESL) with Nutri-Score since May 2019. Nutri-Score rates the healthfulness of packaged foods with five colours/letters from red/E (least healthy) to green/A (most healthy). This study evaluated the impact of ESL on consumer purchases, overall, and by food category. Methods For 43 intervention stores (implementing ESL in the period 27 May 2019–19 June 2019), a control store, from the same province and retailer-assigned cluster was matched. There were 14 unique control stores. By store, weekly non-food and food sales for 2018 and 2019 were received by Nutri-Score (A/B/C/D/E) and food category according to a retailer-assigned classification system. The primary outcomes were the proportion of food sales for Nutri-Score A,B,C,D,E. Difference-in-differences regression analysis was conducted to estimate the effect of the ESL intervention on proportion of overall food and food category sales for Nutri-Score A,B,C,D,E, using linear mixed models to account for clustering at store-level. We controlled for store characteristics (region, cluster, non-food sales) and week of the year. Analyses were weighted to re-balance discrepancy between the number of intervention and control stores. To account for multiple testing, a Bonferroni adjustment was applied. Results Comparing pre- and post-intervention periods, difference-in-differences for the proportion of Nutri-Score B and C product sales were more favourable in intervention than control stores (0.11 ± 0.04%, p = 0.007 and − 0.06 ± 0.03%, p = 0.026 respectively), while difference-in-differences for the proportion of Nutri-Score D product sales were less favourable in intervention than control stores (0.12 ± 0.04%, p = 0.002). For 17/58 food categories (representing 29% of total food sales) a positive impact [increase in healthier (Nutri-Score A, B) and/or decrease in less healthy (Nutri-Score D, E) food sales], and for 16/58 categories (representing 24% of total food sales) a negative impact was found. Positive impacts were found for vegetable, fruit and dairy products and confectionery. Negative impacts were found for bread and bakery products. Conclusion The impact of ESL on consumer purchases was mixed. Favourable difference-in-differences were found for Nutri-Score B and C products and unfavourable difference-in-differences for Nutri-Score D products. Shelf labeling on its own is unlikely to significantly influence consumer behaviours.

Categorizing Foods by Relative Healthfulness: A Scoping Review of Front of Pack Labelling

Worksites are a suitable platform for employees to engage in behavioral change towards a healthy lifestyle by the modification of the food environment. Grading canteen foods at worksites into categories of relative healthfulness is an important indicator in the planning of food environmental interventions. However, in the absence of mandatory front of pack (FOP) labelling in South Africa, categorizing packaged and cooked food at worksite canteens is challenging. A scoping review was conducted on FOP labelling schemes to inform the selection of a FOP labelling scheme best suited for canteen foods at worksites in South Africa. The results of the scoping study, tabulated into a narrative summary, showed that there are several well-developed approaches to classifying foods by relative healthfulness through nutrient profiling and different forms of expression. It is recommended that because worksite canteen food sales in South Africa include both packaged and cooked food, and that a general test of various labelling schemes should be conducted to determine if a directional change is made towards purchasing healthier foods. Grading foods using interpretational aides such as an adapted FOP nutrition label to the South African context into categories of relative healthfulness can be a practical tool to inform food environmental interventions at worksite canteens and beyond.

Drought and rain risks will persist for Russian farms

Significance The impact of excess rain in some farming regions and drought in others has been compounded by grain export tariffs introduced to control domestic food prices. That, and lack of insurance, threatens the sustainability of many farms. Impacts Dry ground conditions and export tariffs are expected to reduce this year's winter wheat planting. Online food sales are forecast to hit USD5.5bn this year and to grow to USD14.9bn by 2024. Belarusian hopes of expanding food sales to Russia depend in a planned common agricultural policy, but agreeing it will take time.

Food Sales Forecasting Using Machine Learning Techniques: A Survey

Food sales forecasting is concerned with predicting future sales of food-related businesses such as supermarkets, grocery stores, restaurants, bakeries, and patisseries. Companies can reduce stocked and expired products within stores while also avoiding missing revenues by using accurate short-term sales forecasting. This research examines current machine learning algorithms for predicting food purchases. It goes over key design considerations for a data analyst working on food sales forecasting’s, such as the temporal granularity of sales data, the input variables to employ for forecasting sales, and the representation of the sales output variable. It also examines machine learning algorithms that have been used to anticipate food sales and the proper metrics for assessing their performance. Finally, it goes over the major problems and prospects for applied machine learning in the field of food sales forecasting. Keywords: Food, Demand forecasting, Machine learning, Regression, Timeseries forecasting, Sales prediction

Examination Of The Relationship Between Sustainable Nutritional Behaviors With Nutritional Knowledge Level And Body Mass Index

Aim: The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between sustainable nutrition behaviors, nutritional knowledge levels and body mass index (BMI) of the students of the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics. Materials and Methods: A survey consisting of sociodemographic characteristics, nutritional status, questions about sustainable nutrition, frequency of food consumption and general nutrition knowledge questionnaire scale was applied to a total of 190 students studying at the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics at Istanbul Aydın University. Results: This study consisted of 190 students, 8.9% male and 91.1% female, with a mean age of 21.32±2.832 years. The rate of being overweight for male students is higher than female students (p<0.05). Majority of the students skip meals (p>0.05) and the most skipped main and snack meals is lunch (p>0.05) and mid-morning meal (p<0.05). The majority of students have heard the concept of sustainable nutrition (p<0.05), and have heard it mostly by a dietitian/nutritionist (p>0.05). Most of the students think that sustainable nutrition has a positive effect on health and economy (p>0.05). Students believe that sustainable nutrition is more suitable for healthy adults (p>0.05) and is applied due to environmental health protection (biodiversity and natural habitats) (p>0.05). Students think that the content of sustainable nutrition is mostly vegetables and fruits (p>0.05) and sustainable nutrition can contribute to agricultural economy, farmer income (p<0.05) and consumer consciousness (p>0.05). In sustainable food supply and consumption, students pay attention the most that packaged products is not damaged/opened/deformed (p>0.05). Students support the most seasonal food sales among sustainable food production incentive plans (p>0.05). The general nutritional knowledge levels of students with underweight is found to be higher (p>0.05). Conclusion: Students' level of hearing the concept of sustainable nutrition and their general nutritional knowledge status is high. Students with low BMI have higher nutritional knowledge levels.

First Wave Feminism: Craftswomen in Plato’s Republic

Ancient Athenian women worked in industries ranging from woolworking and food sales to metalworking and medicine; Socrates’ mother was a midwife. The argument for the inclusion of women in the guardian class must be read in light of this historical reality, not least because it allows us retain an important manuscript reading and construe the passage as relying on an inductive generalization rather than a possibly circular argument. Ultimately, Plato fails to fully capitalize on the resources he has for a more egalitarian conclusion than the one he settles on, which regards women as “lesser than” yet “similar to” men.

The COVID-19 Pandemic and Diet Change

COVID-19 is now considered one of the world’s greatest challenges. The sale of wild animals at the seafood market in Wuhan, China appears to be the source of this zoonotic disease. During the COVID-19 pandemic, plant-based diets became a preferred diet choice for many people. In this paper, we discuss that trend toward a plant-based diet across the globe and some of the reasons for the shift. We note that there was a rise in plant-based food sales and a simultaneous decline in animal-based meat sales. Sales of meat and seafood plummeted for many reasons, including distrust in meat due to fear of virus contamination, price increases, and also for ethical reasons. Marketing strategies used by meat-alternative companies may have also played a role. While there has been an ongoing trend toward plant-based diets in recent years, that trend seemed to accelerate during the pandemic with more available vegan venues and places with vegan options. Another reason that some people may have started exploring plant-based eating during the pandemic is because of the belief that such healthy eating will boost immunity or provide some other health-related benefit. Plant-based diets are also more cost-effective than diets containing meat, fish, and dairy. We conclude that significant changes need to be made regarding the use of wild animals and livestock in order to prevent future pandemics of zoonotic origin. As the world’s population grows, zoonoses may occur with greater frequency. Encouraging the adoption of healthy plant-based diets around the world with a simultaneous reduction in the use of animals as a food source are necessary and vital steps to prevent future pandemics due to zoonotic disease.