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 Local Traditional and Indigenous Food Systems in the 21st Century to Combat Obesity Undernutrition and Climate Change 2nd edition written by Rebecca Kanter and published by Frontiers Media SA. This book was released on 2023-07-31 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Traditional and indigenous food systems have existed for centuries and were in balance with local food supplies, globally. However, between the mid 20th and early 21st century the green revolution dramatically altered food production, which in turn affected the inclusivity of traditional production systems within food systems and subsequently, traditional dietary intakes. This change was accompanied by lifestyle changes and spurred a global nutrition transition. Today the world faces a global syndemic of obesity, undernutrition, and climate change. A new call to action to create food systems that nourish people and sustain the planet is needed. Traditional and indigenous food systems have long been recognized as systems that can both support good human nutrition as well as maintain a balance with nature. There is an underutilized knowledge base around traditional and indigenous food systems. This includes the knowledge of nutritious species, traditional culinary preparations, and cultural practices. Greater agricultural production of underutilized species can result in more sustainable agricultural and food systems which can also help improve livelihoods and food security. Traditional and indigenous cultural practices with respect to both land and water management, as well as culinary practices, contribute to both sustainable food production and consumption. These practices require a greater evidence base in order to be incorporated into public health nutrition initiatives related to improving dietary quality, such as food-based dietary guidelines for example. An increased focus on the importance of local, traditional, and indigenous food systems and nutrition could therefore help countries to improve human nutrition and, ideally, help mitigate the global syndemic of obesity, undernutrition, and climate change. This Research Topic will focus on documenting diverse local food systems and promoting elements within them that can help improve nutrition and health – both human and planetary - in various ways including the livelihood development of knowledge holders.

Download or read book International Conference on 21st Century Challenges to Sustainable Agri Food Systems written by Nareppa Nagaraj and published by I. K. International Pvt Ltd. This book was released on 2007 with total page 758 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Of late, farming community in India has been facing new challenges of food and nutrition security, human health and structural adjustment to comply with WTO stipulations on the one hand and sustainable environment on the other. The overuse of fertilizers and chemicals, and depleting water resources are essentially threatening the sustainability of Indian agriculture. The slow growth of agriculture sector mainly due to stagnation in productivity growth is a grave concern for policy-makers and development planners. The key challenge to India's agriculture in the 21st century in the wake of open global economy lies in designing, developing and managing agricultural systems that enable farmers to be efficient, equitable and sustainable in the bio-physical and socio-cultural environments. This book has deliberated on the key issues of sustainable agriculture in the context of emerging technologies, policies and institutions by promoting efficiency, equity and better management of natural resources. In the process, thoughts and experience of world-class leaders in agricultural education, research, extension, policy, agri-business and development in addressing the challenges confronting farmers have been documented

Download or read book Global Food Systems Diets and Nutrition written by Jessica Fanzo and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-06-05 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ensuring optimal diets and nutrition for the global population is a grand challenge fraught with many contentious issues. To achieve food security for all and protect health, we need functional, equitable, and sustainable food systems. Food systems are highly complex networks of individuals and institutions that depend on governance and policy leadership. This book explains how interconnected food systems and policies affect diets and nutrition in high-, middle-, and low-income countries. In tandem with food policy, food systems determine the availability, affordability, and nutritional quality of the food supply, which influences the diets that people are willing and able to consume. Readers will become familiar with both domestic and international food policy processes and actors, and they will be able to critically analyze and debate how policy and science affect diet and nutrition outcomes.

Download or read book The Political Economy of Food System Transformation written by Danielle Resnick and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2024-01-16 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC 4.0 International licence. It is free to read at Oxford Academic and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations. The current structure of the global food system is increasingly recognized as unsustainable. In addition to the environmental impacts of agricultural production, unequal patterns of food access and availability are contributing to non-communicable diseases in middle- and high-income countries and inadequate caloric intake and dietary diversity among the world's poorest. To this end, there have been a growing number of academic and policy initiatives aimed at advancing food system transformation, including the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and several UN Climate conferences. Yet, the policy pathways for achieving a transformed food system are highly contested, and the enabling conditions for implementation are frequently absent. Furthermore, a broad range of polarizing factors affect decisions over the food system at domestic and international levels - from debates over values and (mis)information, to concerns over food self-sufficiency, corporate influence, and human rights. This volume explicitly analyses the political economy dynamics of food system transformation with contributors who span several disciplines, including economics, ecology, geography, nutrition, political science, and public policy. The chapters collectively address the range of interests, institutions, and power in the food system, the diversity of coalitions that form around food policy issues and the tactics they employ, the ways in which policies can be designed and sequenced to overcome opposition to reform, and processes of policy adaptation and learning. Drawing on original surveys, interviews, empirical modelling, and case studies from China, the European Union, Germany, Mexico, South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and the United States, the book touches on issues as wide ranging as repurposing agricultural subsidies, agricultural trade, biotechnology innovations, red meat consumption, sugar-sweetened beverage taxes, and much more.

Download or read book Civil Society and Social Movements in Food System Governance written by Peter Andrée and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-01-30 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers insights into the governance of contemporary food systems and their ongoing transformation by social movements. As global food systems face multiple threats and challenges there is an opportunity for social movements and civil society to play a more active role in building social justice and ecological sustainability. Drawing on case studies from Canada, the United States, Europe and New Zealand, this edited collection showcases promising ways forward for civil society actors to engage in governance. The authors address topics including: the variety of forms that governance engagement takes from multi-stakeholderism to co-governance to polycentrism/self-governance; the values and power dynamics that underpin these different types of governance processes; effective approaches for achieving desired values and goals; and, the broader relationships and networks that may be activated to support change. By examining and comparing a variety of governance innovations, at a range of scales, the book offers insights for those considering contemporary food systems and their ongoing transformation. It is suitable for food studies students and researchers within geography, environmental studies, anthropology, policy studies, planning, health sciences and sociology, and will also be of interest to policy makers and civil society organisations with a focus on food systems. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.tandfebooks.com/doi/view/10.4324/9780429503597, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

Download or read book Sustainability of the Food System written by Noelia Betoret and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2020-01-31 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sustainability of the Food System: Sovereignty, Waste, and Nutrients Bioavailability addresses the concept of global sustainability, focusing on three key areas of action within the food production system: food sovereignty, environmentally friendly food processes, and food technologies that increase the bioavailability of bioactive compounds. The book defines key concepts in the food production system and provides examples of specific and tailored actions that contribute to global sustainability. Sustainability of the Food System: Sovereignty, Waste, and Nutrients Bioavailability will serve as a welcomed resource for food scientists and technologists, agriculturists, agronomic engineers, food engineers, environmental technologists, nutritionists, and post-graduate students studying bioresource technology and sustainability. - Addresses global sustainability as a three-dimensional concept - Describes the use and recovery of crops with high content in bioactive compounds as a preliminary and necessary step to achieve food sovereignty - Presents advances in the development of environmentally friendly food processes that reduce and revalue food waste and byproducts - Considers the development of functional foods with innovative food technologies that increase the bioavailability of nutrients and bioactive compounds to achieve social and economic sustainability

Download or read book Routledge Handbook of Sustainable and Regenerative Food Systems written by Jessica Duncan and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-08-13 with total page 481 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This handbook includes contributions from established and emerging scholars from around the world and draws on multiple approaches and subjects to explore the socio-economic, cultural, ecological, institutional, legal, and policy aspects of regenerative food practices. The future of food is uncertain. We are facing an overwhelming number of interconnected and complex challenges related to the ways we grow, distribute, access, eat, and dispose of food. Yet, there are stories of hope and opportunities for radical change towards food systems that enhance the ability of living things to co-evolve. Given this, activities and imaginaries looking to improve, rather than just sustain, communities and ecosystems are needed, as are fresh perspectives and new terminology. The Routledge Handbook of Sustainable and Regenerative Food Systems addresses this need. The chapters cover diverse practices, geographies, scales, and entry-points. They focus not only on the core requirements to deliver sustainable agriculture and food supply, but go beyond this to think about how these can also actively participate with social-ecological systems. The book is presented in an accessible way, with reflection questions meant to spark discussion and debate on how to transition to safe, just, and healthy food systems. Taken together, the chapters in this handbook highlight the consequences of current food practices and showcase the multiple ways that people are doing food differently. The Routledge Handbook of Sustainable and Regenerative Food Systems is essential reading for students and scholars interested in food systems, governance and practices, agroecology, rural sociology, and socio-environmental studies.

Download or read book Food systems for an urbanizing world written by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 2018-08-29 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Food Systems for an Urbanizing World is a joint report prepared by the World Bank and FAO. It aims to stimulate discussion and suggest pathways to support local and national governments, and civil society and private sector actors in their efforts to improve the performance and capacity of food systems. The report describes the diversity and ever-changing nature of food systems, with interlinked traditional, modern and informal channels that respond to different market segments and different consumer preferences. It also underscores the importance of targeting support to the type of city and food system. The task is not an easy one. Data are weak and empirical analysis is weaker. As cities’ engagement in urban food issues is relatively new, the institutions, governance mechanisms and capacities needed for effective design, implementation and delivery of this agenda must be strengthened. Finding effective ways to prioritize, mobilize and coordinate contributions from multiple sectors will be essential for achieving food system goals.

Download or read book Sustainability of the Agri food System Strategies and Performances written by Bernardo De Gennaro and published by Universitas Studiorum. This book was released on 2014-11-01 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 2013 annual conference of the Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA) has been held in the attractive scenario of the city of Lecce under the organization of three different Universities of the Apulia Region (Università degli Studi di Bari, Università degli Studi di Foggia and Università del Salento). The scientific theme of the 50th SIDEA Conference has been “Sustainability of the agri-food system: Strategies and Performances” (Sostenibilità del Sistema Agroalimentare: strategie e performance). With such a topic, the SIDEA intended to cope with the challenges coming from a growing demand of food in a world where critical natural resources such as water, energy and land are becoming increasingly scarce and climate change is posing credible threats. The agri-food system and the broader bio-based economy are, in fact, human activities where the classic dimensions of sustainability (ecological, economic and social) are gaining a striking weight often showing evidence of frictions. Despite a significant growth in food production over the past century, today one of the most important challenges facing agro-food system is how to feed a growing population.

Download or read book Resilience and Food Security in a Food Systems Context written by Christophe Béné and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2023-03-25 with total page 428 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This open access book compiles a series of chapters written by internationally recognized experts known for their in-depth but critical views on questions of resilience and food security. The book assesses rigorously and critically the contribution of the concept of resilience in advancing our understanding and ability to design and implement development interventions in relation to food security and humanitarian crises. For this, the book departs from the narrow beaten tracks of agriculture and trade, which have influenced the mainstream debate on food security for nearly 60 years, and adopts instead a wider, more holistic perspective, framed around food systems. The foundation for this new approach is the recognition that in the current post-globalization era, the food and nutritional security of the world’s population no longer depends just on the performance of agriculture and policies on trade, but rather on the capacity of the entire (food) system to produce, process, transport and distribute safe, affordable and nutritious food for all, in ways that remain environmentally sustainable. In that context, adopting a food system perspective provides a more appropriate frame as it incites to broaden the conventional thinking and to acknowledge the systemic nature of the different processes and actors involved. This book is written for a large audience, from academics to policymakers, students to practitioners. This is an open access book.

Download or read book Agriculture Food Systems To 2050 Global Trends Challenges And Opportunities written by Rachid Serraj and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2018-11-08 with total page 680 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book features a comprehensive foresight assessment, exploring the pressures — threats as well as opportunities — on the global agriculture & food systems between now and 2050. The overarching aim is to help readers understand the context, by analyzing global trends and anticipating change for better planning and constructing pathways from the present to the future by focusing on the right questions and problems. The book contextualizes the role of international agricultural research in addressing the complex challenges posed by UN 2030 Agenda and beyond, and identifies the decisions that scientific leaders, donors and policy makers need to take today, and in the years ahead, to ensure that a global population rising to nine billion or more combined with rising incomes and changing diets can be fed sustainably and equitably, in the face of the growing climate threats.

Download or read book The Emerging Global Food System written by Gerald E. Gaull and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 1993-05-17 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An outstanding group of leading contributors in the food industry and agriculture discuss such issues as international regulation of food, biotechnical applications and acceptance of bioengineered food products, global trade and tariffs connected with nourishment.

Download or read book Local Food Systems and Community Economic Development written by R. David Lamie and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-05-21 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Local Food Systems and Community Economic Development provides scholarly and practical knowledge on a range of issues often associated with local food system development. Many people agree that there are unintended consequences associated with the manner in which our food supply chain has evolved. These concerns range in focus from health, to environment, to economic structure, to social justice. But, for each argument critical of our current food system, there are to be found strong counter-arguments; the popular press is replete with stories that lean toward taking specific sides in these arguments, often demonizing those on the other side. In this volume local food scholars strive to be fair, balanced, and as factual as possible in their arguments. This even-handed approach is appropriate as it should foster more sustainable community change and should lead us toward a stronger foundation for scholarly inquiry and ultimately more respect and credibility for efforts to better understand the phenomenon of local and regional food system development. Amidst a deepening interest in local food systems as a community economic development strategy, Local Food Systems and Community Economic Development will be of great interest to scholars of community development, rural studies, agriculture, food systems, and rural economy. The chapters originally published as a special issue of Community Development.

Download or read book Transformative Driving Forces in Organic Food Systems A Roadmap toward the Sustainable Development Goals written by Sebastian Kretschmer and published by BoD – Books on Demand. This book was released on 2022-01-01 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The organic food and farming movement has lately been portrayed as a food system in its own right since it contains all necessary sub-systems, consisting of food environments, distribution networks, processing, as well as production and supply, all of which are bounded by an organic guarantee system. This dissertation critically reviews the discourse on driving forces in food systems and argues that mindset is the primary predictor for food system outcomes. While “yield per hectare” and “go big or go out” narratives are still driving the food system’s overall trajectory, transformative worldviews are beginning to transcend the Dominant Social Paradigm. This dissertation wants to showcase how mindset qualities such as those found in organic food systems (OFS) and their resulting driving forces are converging with the trajectories of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and other food system transformation agendas. The hypotheses that shall be valorized in this dissertation are the following: (1) Drivers in OFS convey narratives that appeal to the human need for self-determination, and transcendence, evoking sustainable happiness and personal responsibility; (2) OFS Drivers promote a paradigm shift that is conducive to achieving the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, and (3) OFS Drivers around the world display specific sustainability patterns, irrespective of geographical-climatic, political-economic, and socio-cultural conditions. Through integrated fi ndings from actor-centered mixedmethods grounded theory (MM-GT) research involving the documentation of eleven case territories, this work identifi ed a pattern of global mindset attributes that drives OFS actors toward holistic human and sustainable development.

Download or read book Encyclopedia of Agriculture and Food Systems written by Neal K. Van Alfen and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2014-07-29 with total page 2745 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Encyclopedia of Agriculture and Food Systems, Second Edition, Five Volume Set addresses important issues by examining topics of global agriculture and food systems that are key to understanding the challenges we face. Questions it addresses include: Will we be able to produce enough food to meet the increasing dietary needs and wants of the additional two billion people expected to inhabit our planet by 2050? Will we be able to meet the need for so much more food while simultaneously reducing adverse environmental effects of today’s agriculture practices? Will we be able to produce the additional food using less land and water than we use now? These are among the most important challenges that face our planet in the coming decades. The broad themes of food systems and people, agriculture and the environment, the science of agriculture, agricultural products, and agricultural production systems are covered in more than 200 separate chapters of this work. The book provides information that serves as the foundation for discussion of the food and environment challenges of the world. An international group of highly respected authors addresses these issues from a global perspective and provides the background, references, and linkages for further exploration of each of topics of this comprehensive work. Addresses important challenges of sustainability and efficiency from a global perspective. Takes a detailed look at the important issues affecting the agricultural and food industries today. Full colour throughout.

Download or read book Lusaka City Region Food System Assessment Synthesis Report written by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 2019-09-20 with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Lusaka CRFS assessment helped to identify gaps to be bridged and bottlenecks to be opened to create more resilient and inclusive food systems within the Lusaka City Region, and in long term to make the CRFS more sustainable and resilient, and improve the livelihoods of rural and urban dwellers in the city region. It gives special attention to the challenges of how to improve production capacities, access to inputs, sustainability of production practices and market access for the smallholder farmers in urban, peri-urban and rural areas in the city region, with a specific focus on fruit and vegetable value chains. The assessment examined current and future constraints affecting the local and regional food value chain. It used local knowledge to help analyse and prioritize these constraints and explore new ideas to strengthen the sustainability and performance of the food system.