Assessment of Food Security in Russia in the Conditions of Global Changes

To study the problems of ensuring food security in Russia under the conditions of external restrictions, an analysis of the dynamic and structural characteristics of the functioning of the country's agri-food complex was carried out. The persistence of positive trends in self-sufficiency and the formation of the personal consumption fund for basic food products is revealed. Changes in foreign trade turnover of food, import substitution in the national food market are assessed. A high dependence of the coun-try's agri-food complex on imports of the main types of machinery and equipment, technologies and innovative developments has been revealed. Qualitative shifts in the sectoral structure of the agri-food complex should be aimed at transformation of crisis sectors and industries on a new technological basis, development and introduction of resource-saving and progressive technologies, and at leveling imbalances in the devel-opment of sectors. The risks of ensuring food security in Russia in modern conditions include a decrease in the effective demand of the population for food products, which is associated with a drop in income and an increase in prices for basic food products in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The necessity of strengthening protectionism and strategic orientation of management of the agri-food complex, formation of a manage-ment system that meets the long-term challenges of globalization has been substantiated.

FORMATION OF AGRO-FOOD SPECIALIZATION OF UKRAINE IN THE CONTEXT OF MODERN INVESTMENT PROCESSES

The influence of global food demand has become the main driver of the formation of specialization of the agro-food complex of Ukraine. Increasing the production and export of grain and oilseed crops has allowed farmers to improve their financial situation and create a basis for recovery processes. The deepening of such specialization intensified with the advent of large capital in agriculture, including non-agricultural and foreign. Over a long period of time, there has been an intensive increase in capital investment in agriculture, which has become one of the important factors in creating the basis for the formation of large farms with a significant bank of land and updated material and technical resources. Foreign investment also grew. It was carried out mainly by companies owned by foreign residents and those controlled by foreign companies resident in Ukraine and, in fact, are Ukrainian capital previously withdrawn from the country, as well as international financial institutions. Currently, the greatest interest for foreign and domestic investors in the domestic agricultural sector is financing the production of grain and oilseed crops with more than half of all FDI and more than two thirds of domestic investment. Data from the Land Matrix, an independent land monitoring initiative, show a broad presence in Ukraine's agricultural land use of both foreign capital and capital that positions itself as Ukrainian but has foreign registration. The most typical schemes of land use agreements are also highlighted. Emphasis is placed on the inclusion in the agreements of requirements for the issuance of permits for special use of water resources and the use of irrigation infrastructure, which poses threats to water degradation. The consequences of increasing the presence of large capital in agricultural land use are revealed. Emphasis is placed on the need to regulate large investments in agriculture to ensure sustainable, structurally balanced and ecologically balanced functioning of the domestic agro-food complex.

The Eurasian agricultural complex: capacity, results, trade, forecast of prospects

The article examines the problems of the development of the Eurasian agro-food complex: potential, current state and prospects. The article analyzes the problem of self – sufficiency in food, taking into account mutual trade and the possibility of concentrating the efforts of the EAEU member states on an innovative breakthrough in agriculture in order to increase exports and its share in world trade, an adequately available area of farmland.

Methodology for developing a forecast for the development of the agri-food complex of Belarus

The scientific article discusses the main directions of the development of the agro-food complex of the Republic of Belarus in the long term, taking into account the problems of food safety (“green” economy).

Comparison between In Vitro Chemical and Ex Vivo Biological Assays to Evaluate Antioxidant Capacity of Botanical Extracts

The anti-oxidative activity of plant-derived extracts is well-known and confers health-promoting effects on functional foods and food supplements. Aim of this work is to evaluate the capability of two different assays to predict the real biological antioxidant efficiency. At this purpose, extracts from five different plant-derived matrices and commercial purified phytochemicals were analyzed for their anti-oxidative properties by using well-standardized in vitro chemical method (TEAC) and an ex vivo biological assay. The biological assay, a cellular membrane system obtained from erythrocytes of healthy volunteers, is based on the capability of phytochemicals treatment to prevent membrane lipid peroxidation under oxidative stress by UV-B radiation. Plant extracts naturally rich in phenols with different structure and purified phytochemicals showed different in vitro and ex vivo antioxidant capacities. A high correlation between phenolic contents of the plant-derived extracts and their ability to prevent oxidative injuries in a biological system was found, thus underlying the relevance of this class of metabolites in preventing oxidative stress. On the other hand, a low correlation between the antioxidant capacities was shown between in vitro and ex vivo antioxidant assay. Moreover, data presented in this work show how food complex matrices are more effective in preventing oxidative damages at biological level than pure phytochemicals, even if for these latter, the antioxidant activity was generally higher than that observed for food complex matrices.

MILK FOOD OF THE NOMADS OF INNER ASIA: MEANING, FUNCTION AND SYMBOLISM

Целью данной работы является анализ практического и символического значения молочной пищи в культуре кочевников Внутренней Азии. Хронологические рамки работы охватывают конец XIX — середину XX в. Исследование основывается на историко-этнографических и фольклорных материалах. Сравнительно-исторический и сравнительно-типологический анализ мировоззрения, хозяйственных практик, обрядовой сферы кочевников, связанных с пищевым комплексом, позволили выявить общий мировоззренческий пласт, формировавший представления о практической и сакральной значимости молочной пищи, ее функций соционормативного регулирования жизни общества. Высокая значимость молока в пищевом комплексе, и его белый цвет предопределили сакральность молока и обосновали широкий спектр его ритуального использования. Исследование повседневных практик получения, переработки, хранения и употребления в молочной пищи в среде кочевников Внутренней Азии на длительном хронологическом срезе и в широких территориальных рамках показывает, что молочная пища обладала статусом «ритуальной» всегда, а не только в ситуациях сакрального порядка. Сакральный статус белой пищи, как символа изобилия определил систему особых ограничений и запретов, сопутствующих получению молока, его переработке и хранению. Именно с молочной пищей наиболее тесно связано понятие «пищевая норма», воплощенное в разных формах. В отличие от другой основной пищи кочевников — мяса, молочная пища была призвана объединять общество, уравнивая богатых и бедных, своих и чужих. Выявлено, что в бурятской культуре один из видов молочной пищи — кисломолочный продукт курунга, выступает одним из ключевых маркеров социальной общности — рода наравне с родовыми огнем, тамгой, с которым связываются представления о силе рода, его благополучии. The aim of this work is to analyze the practical and symbolic significance of milk food in the culture of the nomads of Inner Asia. The chronological framework of the work covers the late 19th — mid of 20th centuries. The research is based on historical, ethnographic and folklore materials. Comparative-historical and comparative-typological analysis of the worldview, economic practices, ritual sphere of nomads associated with the food complex, made it possible to identify a general worldview layer that formed the idea of the practical and sacred significance of dairy food, its functions of socio-normative regulation of society. The high importance of milk in the food complex and its white color predetermined the sacredness of milk and substantiated a wide range of its ritual use. The study of the daily practices of obtaining, processing, storing and consuming dairy food among the nomads of Inner Asia on a long chronological cut and in a wide territorial framework shows that dairy food has always had the status of “ritual”, and not only in situations of a sacred order. The sacred status of white food as a symbol of abundance determined the system of special restrictions and prohibitions accompanying the receipt of milk, its processing and storage. Milk food is the closest to the concept of “food norm” is most closely related, embodied in various forms. Unlike other main food of nomads — meat, milk food was intended to unite society, making the rich and the poor, insiders and outsiders equal. It was revealed that in the Buryat culture, one of the types of dairy food, the fermented milk product of kurunga (Buryat. kürenge), is one of the key markers of social community — the clan along with the ancestral fire, tamga, with which ideas about the power of the clan and its well-being are associated.

Principal directions for improving the mechanism for ensuring food security of the Republic of Belarus

Food security largely determines stability of the entire economic system. The Republic of Belarus overcame the deficiency and ensured food security, as well as formed a significant export potential in the agri-food sector of the economy. In this regard, outside views on the Belarusian model of ensuring food security are of particular interest. There is an objective need to ensure undeniable competitive advantages of domestic food products in terms of quality safety, expanding the marketing potential of Belarusian products in the domestic and foreign markets, and effectively integrating the national agro-industrial complex into the global market space. The paper presents conceptual directions for improving the mechanism for ensuring food security of the Republic of Belarus. Trends of physical and economic availability of food in the domestic market, some destructive factors and potential threats have been revealed. Feasibility of developing national plan for implementation of provisions of the Doctrine and the principles of its arrangement have been substantiated, including: consistency with the model of ensuring national food security and independence; compliance with the criteria for sustainable development of the social-and-economic system of the agri-food complex; stakeholder inclusiveness and accountability; operational and strategic monitoring of the efficiency of measures, etc. The main units of measures are proposed, which cover creation of an efficient monitoring and management system; ensuring quality and safety of food in the domestic market; promotion and implementation of principles of healthy diets among population; regulation of the domestic market balance; increasing the competitiveness of the domestic agri-food complex; creation of favorable competitive environment; development of scientific, innovation and investment potential. This development will increase the efficiency of the Doctrine of National Food Security as a strategic planning document, as well as substantiate and introduce the mechanisms required for solving the assigned tasks.