Mediterranean Diet as a Healthy, Sustainable, and Secure Food Pattern

Despite the recognized advantages of Mediterranean Diet (MD), the adherence to it decreased with modern lifestyle, where the time dedicated to acquisition, preparation/confection of food and meals diminished. At the same time, Mediterranean regions face a growth in the levels of non-communicable diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, and hypertension, sometimes together with undernutrition that affects other parts of the population. This chapter make a presentation about MD as a sustainable food system, essential to promote food security, at the same time that the methods of food production and consumption must respect the environment, maintain biodiversity, and economic society valorisation. Also, it shows MD associated with several factors such as gender, marital status, education level, lifestyle, and body weight. Maintaining the traditional MD pattern is crucial for public health, particularly in pandemic contexts such as COVID-19 where it shows the opportunity and relevance of adopt and promote MD as a healthy and sustainable diet.

Agriculture 4.0 for a Sustainable Food System

This chapter aims to analyse the concept and implementation strategies of Agriculture 4.0 within the framework of the study of disruptive technologies and eco-innovation, which allows facing the needs derived from a sustainable food system. To do this, it strategically reflects on the design requirements of a holistic model for the transformation of agricultural holdings, aimed at the implementation of sustainable agrotechnology. The Third Green Revolution, its antecedents, orientations, and purposes, as well as the concept and functional aspects of sustainable food systems are analysed. Finally, a model of transformation of agricultural holdings towards the implementation of Sustainable Agriculture 4.0 is proposed, as well as a generic methodology applicable to specific projects located in specific areas, through formula for change and cost-benefit analysis.

Steering the Nexus: iZindaba Zokudla and Governing for Sustainability

“iZindaba Zokudla” means we talk about the food that we eat. iZindaba Zokudla is a public innovation lab that uses stakeholder-engagement methods to create “opportunities for urban agriculture in a sustainable food system.” iZindaba Zokudla is presented as an extra-institutional means to govern the water, land, energy, and waste nexus. This reflective essay critically describes iZindaba Zokudla and applies this to the design of institutional steering mechanisms to govern the food, water, land, and energy nexus towards sustainability. Governance is an intersubjective and interactive process between the subjects of governance and governance itself. Sustainability, as an interactive process, implies the creation of autocatalytic and symbiotic communities in society that integrates diverse actors and stakeholders, inclusive of scientific and lay actors, and ecosystems. iZindaba Zokudla is a means to govern and create such communities, and this article describes and reflects on how iZindaba Zokudla has created and managed such symbiotic communities or autocatalytic networks in the food system. The article generalises how the activities conducted in iZindaba Zokudla can be used to govern the water, land, energy, and waste nexus for sustainability. The article shows how iZindaba Zokudla has realised a progressive governance through the facilitation of its Farmers' Lab and website; how it has created opportunities for participation; and how it enables critical reflection in society.

The Importance of Citizen Scientists in the Move Towards Sustainable Diets and a Sustainable Food System

To enhance sustainability, the food system requires significant shifts in the production, processing and supply of food. Ideally, a sustainable food system should operate, not only to protect the biosphere, but also to provide nutritious, high-quality food, and to support social values, an equitable economy, and human and animal health. It should also be governed responsibly within a supportive policy environment. Implementing these shifts is a task of immense scale; but citizen participation/engagement has the potential to help make sustainability a reality through distributed learning, dynamic sensing, and knowledge generation. Technological advancements in sensing and data processing have enabled new forms of citizen participation in research. When food system research is embedded within society it can help us to understand which changes towards sustainability work and which do not. Indeed, citizen engagement in food systems research has the potential to help bring citizens on side, supporting the growth of a food culture of resilience and of sustainable practises (including dietary change). This commentary provides examples of how existing research and alternative food production systems and agroecological practises may provide possible frameworks for citizen participation in food system studies. We highlight potential future food and citizen science approaches. Widening citizen participation and encouraging the involvement of other food system actors, including those in local, national and international governance, is essential to capture the full potential of citizen science in enabling transition to a sustainable food system. For the research community citizen science offers engagement and empowerment of wider communities with science; collecting and analysing data; and creating viable solutions to food system and diet issues.

Socio-Economic Policy Imperatives for Sustainable Food System in Pakistan

The deadly waves of COVID-19 have exposed especially the food and health systems around the world. The purpose of this research study is to analyze the linkages of socio-economic factors encroaching on sustainable food systems and ultimately food security. Moreover, the policy twist is required to contrive a holistic and integrated approach for the formulation and implementation of workable public policies to materialize the true dream of a sustainable food system. Multinomial Logistic Regression has been applied to estimate the results. The results reveal the story that the independent variables like subsidized fertilizer availability, seeds productivity performance, changing pattern of sowing, and adaptation to climate change have a high positive and statistically significant relation with crops productivity. Moreover, inputs price volatility and changing sowing patterns have a positive and statistically significant impact on adaptation to climate change. Climate change and the current application of research and development (R and D) showed a negative impact on production. These results bring forth two dimensional (Alpha and Beta) set of policies to rearrange formulation and implementation frameworks. The former emphasizes food baskets acquisition, investing a large amount in health and environment friendly activities. The latter focuses on risk-aversion based healthcare system, food price regulatory framework, and balancing the social-ecosystem.

Effect of accelerated ripening agent on nutrient and antinutrient composition of banana

Food safety especially of fruits is important for a healthy and sustainable food system. Though accelerated ripening of fruits is common in Nigeria, its effect on nutritional quality of fruits remains underexplored. This study was conducted to investigate the changes in the nutrient and antinutrient composition of banana ripened with Calcium carbide (CaC2). In this study, mature bunches of freshly harvested green bananas were grouped separately and allowed to ripen naturally and artificially (with CaC2). At the end of the ripening stage, the nutritional parameters (proximate, minerals, vitamins) and antinutritional parameters were determined using relevant analytical methods, and the results obtained were compared across groups. The results showed that the proximate composition of the artificially ripened samples increase in ash (1.49), fat (0.76), and moisture (69.86) while carbohydrate (23.92) and protein (1.88) contents declined. Similarly, Na, K, Ca, Mg, P, Fe and Zn (mg/100 g) contents were higher in calcium carbide ripened than naturally ripened sample. Naturally ripened samples contained the higher amount of Vitamins C (28.87 mg/100 g), niacin (0.89 mg/100 g), pantothenic acid (0.27 mg/100 g) and pyridoxine (0.29mg/100 g). The β-carotene (127 mcg/100 g), Vitamin E (2.9 mg/100 g) and Vitamin K (0.31 mg/100 g) increased significantly in the artificially ripened samples, when compared to the naturally ripened samples. The use of calcium carbide as a ripening agent increases moisture and phlobatannin content, and loss in protein, carbohydrate, fibre, niacin, pantothenic acid, and pyridoxine composition of Cavendish banana.