Download or read book A Framework for Assessing Effects of the Food System written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2015-06-17 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How we produce and consume food has a bigger impact on Americans' well-being than any other human activity. The food industry is the largest sector of our economy; food touches everything from our health to the environment, climate change, economic inequality, and the federal budget. From the earliest developments of agriculture, a major goal has been to attain sufficient foods that provide the energy and the nutrients needed for a healthy, active life. Over time, food production, processing, marketing, and consumption have evolved and become highly complex. The challenges of improving the food system in the 21st century will require systemic approaches that take full account of social, economic, ecological, and evolutionary factors. Policy or business interventions involving a segment of the food system often have consequences beyond the original issue the intervention was meant to address. A Framework for Assessing Effects of the Food System develops an analytical framework for assessing effects associated with the ways in which food is grown, processed, distributed, marketed, retailed, and consumed in the United States. The framework will allow users to recognize effects across the full food system, consider all domains and dimensions of effects, account for systems dynamics and complexities, and choose appropriate methods for analysis. This report provides example applications of the framework based on complex questions that are currently under debate: consumption of a healthy and safe diet, food security, animal welfare, and preserving the environment and its resources. A Framework for Assessing Effects of the Food System describes the U.S. food system and provides a brief history of its evolution into the current system. This report identifies some of the real and potential implications of the current system in terms of its health, environmental, and socioeconomic effects along with a sense for the complexities of the system, potential metrics, and some of the data needs that are required to assess the effects. The overview of the food system and the framework described in this report will be an essential resource for decision makers, researchers, and others to examine the possible impacts of alternative policies or agricultural or food processing practices.

Download or read book Technological Innovation for Collective Awareness Systems written by Luis M. Camarinha-Matos and published by Springer. This book was released on 2014-04-02 with total page 614 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 5th IFIP WG 5.5/SOCOLNET Doctoral Conference on Computing, Electrical and Industrial Systems, DoCEIS 2014, held in Costa de Caparica, Portugal, in April 2014. The 68 revised full papers were carefully reviewed and selected from numerous submissions. They cover a wide spectrum of topics ranging from collaborative enterprise networks to microelectronics. The papers are organized in the following topical sections: collaborative networks; computational systems; self-organizing manufacturing systems; monitoring and supervision systems; advances in manufacturing; human-computer interfaces; robotics and mechatronics, Petri nets; multi-energy systems; monitoring and control in energy; modelling and simulation in energy; optimization issues in energy; operation issues in energy; power conversion; telecommunications; electronics: design; electronics: RF applications; and electronics: devices.

Download or read book Farm record keeping written by and published by . This book was released on 1922 with total page 24 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Agile Data Oriented Research Tools to Support Smallholder Farm System Transformation written by James Hammond and published by Frontiers Media SA. This book was released on 2023-05-09 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Smallholder farming systems contribute a substantial quantity of the food consumed in many lower and middle-income countries and contribute to the national and local economies. Despite the importance of smallholder farming, a transformation is needed in order to deliver food security and decent incomes for the farmers themselves and at the national level. This transformation must also be sustainable in terms of environmental impacts and social equity in order to be successful in the long term. The pressures of population growth, climate change, and land fragmentation compound the problem. Addressing these overlapping issues is a big challenge. One obstacle is the lack of good quality granular data linking these issues together. Household surveys are the workhorse method for gathering such data, but there are well-known problems that prevent household survey data from building up a “big picture” and delivering insights beyond the geographical boundary of each individual study. Such obstacles include the lack of access to datasets, differences in survey design, and respondent biases. Agile, data-oriented research tools can help to overcome these challenges. We use the term “agile” to imply methods that do not attempt exhaustive measurements, which are designed to be easy to use, and which entail some degree of flexibility in terms of adaptation to local conditions and integration with other tools or methods. Often these methods also nudge the behavior of tool users towards best practices. In recent years various research tools and approaches have been published which fit within our definition of “agile data-oriented research tools”. The domains these tools function in include monitoring and evaluation, intervention targeting, tailored information delivery, citizen science, credit scoring, and user feedback collection; all with the over-arching aim to improve data quality and access for those studying the sustainable development of smallholder farming systems. The goal of this Research Topic is to better define that niche, the ecosystem of tools and current practices, and to explore how such approaches can provide the underpinning knowledge required for the transformation of smallholder farming systems. One example of an agile data-oriented research tool is the Rural Household Multi-Indicator Survey (RHoMIS). It is a modular, digital system for building household surveys addressing the common topics in smallholder development. It was purposefully designed to give a broad overview of the farm system whist keeping survey duration to a minimum, to be user-friendly in implementation, and to be sufficiently flexible to function in a broad variety of locations and projects. Since 2015 it has been used by 30 organizations in 32 countries to interview over 34,000 households. The tool and database are open access and a community of practice is developing around the tool. We particularly welcome contributions that engage with the RHoMIS tool and data. However, we also describe the tool in order to provide an example of what is meant by an agile data-oriented research tool, and welcome contributions focusing on other tools or methodologies. We encourage the submission of manuscripts addressing the above topic, and those which fit within one of the following three sub-themes: (i) Perspectives or review articles which explore the niche, best practices, or promising approaches in agile data-oriented research tools for smallholder farm system transformation. Also, technology and code articles that describe new tools are welcomed. (ii) Original research articles presenting analyses based on data derived from agile data-oriented tools used at the project level. Examples include impact evaluations, adoption studies, targeting studies, or adaptive management, and should reflect on the additional benefit leveraged by the agile method applied. (iii) Original research articles that make use of the large amounts of data generated by such agile methods and/or link between agile data and other data sources. Examples include meta-analyses of data from multiple studies, layering data collected from different agile tools, or linking agile data to remote sensing or large-scale modeling outputs.

Download or read book Systems Research for Agriculture written by Laurie E. Drinkwater and published by Department of Agriculture. This book was released on 2016-06-01 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Farming Systems and Poverty written by John A. Dixon and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 2001 with total page 424 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A joint FAO and World Bank study which shows how the farming systems approach can be used to identify priorities for the reduction of hunger and poverty in the main farming systems of the six major developing regions of the world.

Download or read book Energy Integrated Dairy Farm System in Georgia written by James Leo Walsh and published by . This book was released on 1986 with total page 150 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Obstacles to Strengthening Family Farm System written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Agriculture. Subcommittee on Family Farms, Rural Development, and Special Studies and published by . This book was released on 1977 with total page 754 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Energy Integrated Dairy Farm System in New York written by and published by . This book was released on 1985 with total page 98 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Del Valle Hog Farm Energy Integrated Farm System Phase III written by Dan Berdoll and published by . This book was released on 1985 with total page 122 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book One farm system in Honduras a case study in farm systems research written by and published by Bib. Orton IICA / CATIE. This book was released on with total page 46 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Energy Integrated Dairy Farm System in Puerto Rico written by Donald S. Sasscer and published by . This book was released on 1986 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Bet the Farm written by Beth Hoffman and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2021-10-05 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Eloquent and detailed...It's hard to have hope, but the organized observations and plans of Hoffman and people like her give me some. Read her book -- and listen." -- Jane Smiley, The Washington Post In her late 40s, Beth Hoffman decided to upend her comfortable life as a professor and journalist to move to her husband's family ranch in Iowa--all for the dream of becoming a farmer. There was just one problem: money. Half of America's two million farms made less than $300 in 2019, and many struggle just to stay afloat. Bet the Farm chronicles this struggle through Beth's eyes. She must contend with her father-in-law, who is reluctant to hand over control of the land. Growing oats is good for the environment but ends up being very bad for the wallet. And finding somewhere, in the midst of COVID-19, to slaughter grass finished beef is a nightmare. If Beth can't make it, how can farmers who confront racism, lack access to land, or don't have other jobs to fall back on hack it? Bet the Farm is a first-hand account of the perils of farming today and a personal exploration of more just and sustainable ways of producing food.

Download or read book Integrated Farming System written by Ravikiran Vassant Mane and published by Scitus Academics LLC. This book was released on 2016 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Today food security nutritional security livelihood security, sustainability of productivity and conservation of natural resources are the major issues of agriculture for farm scientists, agriculturists and the policy makers. Being an agrarian country with more than half the population depending on agriculture above issue need to be addressed on priority with due consideration to changing climate. Again majority of holding being managed by small and marginal farmers, it is imperative that any technology generation should primarily aim at these groups and in that farming system being holistic in approach appears one such panacea to address these issues as it takes in to account the potential natural resources, inhabiting human livestock and allied enterprises, and market force. That is why integrated farming system research is the cynosure of all researchers with farm and farm family as the base.

Download or read book Building Community Food Webs written by Ken Meter and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2021-04-29 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Our current food system has decimated rural communities and confined the choices of urban consumers. Even while America continues to ramp up farm production to astounding levels, net farm income is now lower than at the onset of the Great Depression, and one out of every eight Americans faces hunger. But a healthier and more equitable food system is possible. In Building Community Food Webs, Ken Meter shows how grassroots food and farming leaders across the U.S. are tackling these challenges by constructing civic networks. Overturning extractive economic structures, these inspired leaders are engaging low-income residents, farmers, and local organizations in their quest to build stronger communities. Community food webs strive to build health, wealth, capacity, and connection. Their essential element is building greater respect and mutual trust, so community members can more effectively empower themselves and address local challenges. Farmers and researchers may convene to improve farming practices collaboratively. Health clinics help clients grow food for themselves and attain better health. Food banks engage their customers to challenge the root causes of poverty. Municipalities invest large sums to protect farmland from development. Developers forge links among local businesses to strengthen economic trade. Leaders in communities marginalized by our current food system are charting a new path forward. Building Community Food Webs captures the essence of these efforts, underway in diverse places including Montana, Hawai‘i, Vermont, Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, and Minnesota. Addressing challenges as well as opportunities, Meter offers pragmatic insights for community food leaders and other grassroots activists alike.

Download or read book Farm A Syst written by Nebraska Cooperative Extension Service and published by . This book was released on 1998* with total page 4 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Farming for Our Future written by PETER H.. ROSENBERG LEHNER (NATHAN A.) and published by . This book was released on 2021-12-07 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Farming for Our Future examines the policies and legal reforms necessary to accelerate the adoption of practices that can make agriculture in the United States climate-neutral or better. These proven practices will also make our food system more resilient to the impacts of climate change. Agriculture's contribution to climate change is substantial--much more so than official figures suggest--and we will not be able to achieve our overall mitigation goals unless agricultural emissions sharply decline. Fortunately, farms and ranches can be a major part of the climate solution, while protecting biodiversity, strengthening rural communities, and improving the lives of the workers who cultivate our crops and rear our animals. The importance of agricultural climate solutions can not be underestimated; it is a critical element both in ensuring our food security and limiting climate change. This book provides essential solutions to address the greatest crises of our time.