Feeding the World: A Challenge for the Twenty-First Century
... L'exploitation desénergies fossiles dans l'agriculture et l'agrochimie est venue apporter l'abondanceénergétique nécessaire pour fournir et mécaniser les moyens de production (Harchaoui et Chatzimpiros 2019a ;Pimentel et al. 2008). Depuis 1900, en raison d'une multiplication par plus de quatre des rendements moyens, la récolte totale a presqueété multipliée par six (Smil 2001), cependant, la surface cultivée dans le monde n'a augmenté que d'un tiers environ. Ce gain de récolte est dû en grande partieà la multiplication par plus de quatre-vingts des apportsénergétiques externes, principalement des combustibles fossiles pour la construction et l'utilisation de machines agricoles et pour synthétiser des produits chimiques agricoles (Smil 2001). ...
... Depuis 1900, en raison d'une multiplication par plus de quatre des rendements moyens, la récolte totale a presqueété multipliée par six (Smil 2001), cependant, la surface cultivée dans le monde n'a augmenté que d'un tiers environ. Ce gain de récolte est dû en grande partieà la multiplication par plus de quatre-vingts des apportsénergétiques externes, principalement des combustibles fossiles pour la construction et l'utilisation de machines agricoles et pour synthétiser des produits chimiques agricoles (Smil 2001). Ces développements, associésà uneénergieà bon marché, ont permis aux agriculteurs d'exploiter (souventà outrance) certaines ressources dont l'eau des réservoirs souterrains et de surface en grande partie non-renouvelables (Postel 1999). ...
... En résumé, l'amélioration des rendements agricoles aété la cause et la conséquence de l'émergence de spécialisations et deséconomies d'échelle et apparaît comme fruit de l'utilisation combinée d'intrants, notamment des engrais industriels, d'eau et de pesticides et de la mécanisationà base d'énergies fossiles (Smil 2001). L'agriculture dite "conventionnelle" génère des excédents importants par rapport aux besoins locaux de maintien de la vie et permet la commercialisationà grandeéchelle des denrées alimentaires, ce qui en fait une activité largement ouverteà la spéculationéconomique. ...
La question des transitions climatique et énergétique se pose de manière cruciale pour les systèmes agroalimentaires, très sensibles aux conditions ambiantes, et qui dépendent à plus de 95% des énergies fossiles (pétrole, charbon, gaz) et font l’objet d’un intense commerce international. La multiplication des infrastructures de transport maritimes, aériens, ferroviaires et routiers à travers le monde a permis de renforcer les échanges commerciaux et l'interconnexion entre pays. Ainsi, la question de sécurité alimentaire dépasse les périmètres nationaux et nécessite de considérer la mondialisation agricole. La compréhension des mécanismes qui sous-tendent l’évolution du réseau commercial mondial est ici abordée par une analyse rétrospective des flux agroalimentaires mondiaux dans une vision prospective. La méthode utilisée est la théorie des réseaux complexes composés de nœuds, les pays, et des liens, qui sont les flux commerciaux exprimés en unité de masse. La base de données FAOstat fournit les données des flux de produits en renseignant leurs lieux d’origine et de destination de 1986 à 2016. Nous étudions le réseau mondial de commerce et son évolution sur la période en agrégeant les produits en six catégories : céréales, viande, oléagineux et fruits & légumes qui sont à la base du régime alimentaire et cacao et café qui sont des produits de confort. Le réseau agricole mondial s’est sensiblement densifié sur la période et sa structure a évolué similairement pour les six catégories de produits considérées. En 1986, le réseau de chaque catégorie de produit a les caractéristiques d’un réseau invariant d’échelle avec des « hubs » qui correspondent aux plus grands pays exportateurs occidentaux. On observe un changement de topologie entre 1995 et 1997, se caractérisant par un changement vers un réseau à distribution exponentielle des degrés. Ce changement signifie que le nombre de pays à degré de connectivité important augmente. Le changement de structure coïncide avec la mise en application en 1995 de l'Accord sur l'agriculture visant à libéraliser les marchés. La structure temporelle des échanges est similaire pour les six catégories de produits et les échanges sont différentiés et caractérisés en fonction de leur stabilité au cours du temps. Nous identifions ainsi trois sous-réseaux avec des topologies spécifiques et invariantes dans le temps. Le sous-réseau squelette est composé des échanges ininterrompus pendant toute la période et représente environ 20% de liens et 70% de la masse du réseau total et a une topologie à invariance d'échelle. Les flux commerciaux à durées incluses entre 2 et 29 ans présentent une distribution exponentielle des degrés et compose le sous-réseau intermédiaire. Ce sous-réseau s'est construit sur les accords commerciaux avec les pays émergents et présente une forte dynamique de croissance. Enfin, les flux labiles à durée comprise entre 1 et 2 ans forment le sous-réseau éphémère qui regroupe la majorité des échanges (entre 60 et 70% en fonction des années) et présente des caractéristiques aléatoires. Ce dernier sous-réseau représente une sorte de « bruit commercial » caractérisé par un ensemble d’échanges extrêmement instables et possiblement opportunistes. Pour étudier la question de sécurité alimentaire, nous construisons le réseau mondial de calories qui intègre les chaînes de transformation des produits et leur conversion en calories. Pour chaque pays, les bilans des échanges caloriques sont calculés en tenant compte également des pertes métaboliques de l’élevage. Les résultats du réseau de calories soulignent la dépendance alimentaire des plusieurs pays en Afrique, Europe de l'Est et du Nord et en Asie centrale au réseau mondial. Ce travail de thèse fourni une solide base de construction de modèles prospectifs de réseaux pour l’agriculture et l’alimentation dans un contexte de mondialisation croissante.
... En e le d b de ann e 1950 e a j d h i, le m nde a m in d ne a gmen a i n spectaculaire de la production alimentaire assurant un triplement de la population mondiale e lemen 10 % d a gmen a i n de la face ag ic le ale (FAOSTAT, 2018) sur la même période. Ces changements soulignent les gains de productivité agricole par unité de face i n end ible g ce ne ili a i n acc e d eng ai ind iel e de machine , a ci e ne a gmen a i n de la c n mma i n d ea et de pesticides, à l am li a i n de a i e ag ic le e la lec i n c l ale (Mueller et al., 2012;Smil, 1999a;Tilman et al., 2002;Vitousek et Howarth, 1991), le tout se traduisant par n in e i emen im an d ne gie f ile dan l ag ic l e (Smil, 2000;Woods et al., 2010). Cependant, ce changement opéré par l ag ic l e, qui permet en 2019 de nourrir une population de 7.7 milliards de personnes, dont 820 millions de personnes restent sousalimentées (FAO, 2019), ne e a fai an c en i nnemen al. En effe , l ili a i n de e ce de la Te e a l ag ic l e e elle elle e a ein e la ca aci de n mb e écosystèmes à fo ni de e ice i a la bi di e i e l h mani (MEA, 2005). ...
... Sur la base de Smil (1999a), nous estimons que la moyenne mondiale du taux de recyclage des (Smil, 2000). D'après Bouwman et al. (2013) et Billen et al. (2015, la moyenne mondiale des NCE est autour de 10%. ...
... These assumptions may impact the ECE and, thereby, net production and farm surplus. However, the assumptions used are in agreement with previous studies (Toutain, 1961) and the trajectory calculated for ECE is consistent with values in literature (Smil, 2000). Lastly, the assessment of uncertainty regarding potential soil N reserves change over time is not feasible in this study, but its impact on total system N budget and NUE is expected to be small by comparison to the magnitude of the annual N flows. ...
Face aux enjeux de changement climatique et de transition énergétique associés aux prévisions de croissance démographique au cours du XXIème siècle, l’agriculture doit se transformer pour produire plus de nourriture tout en réduisant sa dépendance aux ressources non-renouvelables et en préservant les écosystèmes. Dans ce contexte, cette thèse s’intéresse à examiner les impacts des contraintes biophysiques et des transformations sociotechniques sur le métabolisme agricole, les transitions et la capacité nourricière de l’agriculture. Le métabolisme agricole est modélisé par les flux d’énergie et d’azote que le système agricole mobilise et transforme pour fonctionner et fournir de la biomasse. Ce cadre analytique permet d’une part de positionner l’agriculture dans les enjeux de la transition énergétique et, d’autre part, de quantifier conjointement la capacité nourricière atteignable et son impact sur la biogéochimie planétaire. Nous examinons le métabolisme agricole à deux niveaux d’échelles spatio-temporelles : une modélisation en perspective historique de longue durée (1882-2016) à l’échelle de la France et une modélisation historique (1961-2013) et prospective à l’échelle du monde. L’analyse de l’agriculture en France s’appuie sur la modélisation des données historiques de productions et des moyens de productions. Nous mettons en lumière les mécanismes qui relient les entrées et sorties du système agricole, et les transitions énergétiques et azote associées de manière continue depuis 1882. Nous caractérisons la trajectoire française à l’aide d’indicateurs d’efficacité, de retour sur investissement énergétique, de surplus agricole, d’autosuffisance et de neutralité énergétique du système. La neutralité énergétique est un indicateur clé pour positionner l’agriculture dans la transition énergétique à venir. Nous retraçons l’impact des transformations sociotechniques sur les transitions qui ont fait quadrupler le surplus alimentaire des fermes et ont réduit presque à zéro leur autosuffisance énergétique. L’agriculture produisait en énergie deux fois ce qu’elle consommait en temps préindustriels contre quatre fois aujourd’hui, or elle est passée d’un système énergétiquement autonome nourri de biomasse à un système quasi-exclusivement nourri d’énergies fossiles. Exprimée en équivalent biomasse, la consommation actuelle d’énergie de l’agriculture est égale à sa production, ce qui en fait un système énergétiquement inintéressant. Le défi pour l’agriculture est de contribuer à la transition énergétique sans empiéter sur sa production alimentaire. Relever ce défi, qui est peu compris par la société, passe par l’amélioration de la performance énergétique de l’agriculture et implique l’amélioration de l’efficacité d’utilisation de l'azote ainsi que la réduction de l’élevage surtout des monogastriques, la valorisation énergétique d’une majorité des résidus agricoles et la réduction du travail au champ. La modélisation à l’échelle mondiale permet de caractériser la trajectoire de l’agriculture en termes de capacité nourricière et d’impact environnemental et d’évaluer sa capacité limite de production sur la base des contraintes biophysiques. Cette modélisation est un premier module centré sur le métabolisme azote et ne tient pas compte du mode de fonctionnement énergétique de l’agriculture. Nous examinons les limites de production alimentaire mondiale conjointement avec les pertes d’azote en fonction des degrés d’autosuffisance en azote. Nous montrons que la population humaine maximale supportable sur Terre peut varier de 6 à 17 milliards de personnes en fonction de la part de la production totale de grain utilisée dans l’alimentation animale, l’efficacité d’utilisation de l’azote et le régime de fertilisation azotée. Cette analyse permet de confronter, comme c’est rarement fait, les projections démographiques officielles pour le XXIe siècle à des contraintes biophysiques planétaires et discuter leurs conditions de réalisation.
... It is clear that traditional organic farming applications are not capable of producing enough to feed or improving dietary standards of the existing world population, let alone the projected increase to 9.9 billion people by 2050. It has been estimated that a world population of only 4 billion people could be sustained if organic nitrogen farming systems were in place on a global scale (Buringh and van Heemst, 1977;Smil, 2001Smil, , 2004Conner, 2008), though requiring significantly more land under production to generate the required organic nutrients. All things considered, we are not really sure how many people the world can support sustainably, but we clearly need to develop sustainable, productive agriculture to the extent that we can while working with other factors leading to sustainability at the same time. ...
... This agrees with the report of Pappa et al. (2012) that intercropping systems with legumes can supply nitrogen, not only as companion plants but also post crop. Smil (2001) and Tsubo (2003) found that the fertilization benefits for the cereal crop when associated with a nitrogen-fixing leguminous crop can be ascribed to nitrogen excretion and nodule decomposition of the latter crop during the growing period. Ahonsi et al. (2004) demonstrated striking benefits from mulch applications, including nutrient recycling, conservation of moisture, maintenance of uniform soil temperature, reduction of soil erosion and compaction from heavy rain and increase of water penetration. ...
... Economically, that may be feasible, but on average 6 kg of plant protein is required to produce 1 kg of animal protein, which increases the pressure on the environment (Smil, 2000;Smil, 2001). Consequently, merely 10-17% of fertilizer N ended up in human mouths to perform its vital functions in the body (Erisman et al., 2018), and the global N use efficiency keeps dropping. ...
... Such can be illustrated by the situation in the USA, as an extreme example of a country with a high-meat diet, which might take a first step in the right direction: A 25% decrease in protein intake paired with a 25% shift from animal food to plant food protein intake-from an 85:15 ratio to a 60:40 ratio-would best align protein intake with national dietary recommendations while simultaneously resulting in 40% fewer CO2eq emissions [savings of 129 billion kilograms of CO2eq] and 10% less consumptive water use [3.1 trillion gallons of water]. (Gardner et al.these and a multitude of similar recommendations(Birt et al., 2017;Costa Leite et al., 2020;Fischer and Garnett, 2016;IPCC, 2019;Manners et al., 2020;Springmann et al., 2018a;Springmann et al., 2018c;Springmann et al., 2020), because direct consumption of plant protein may abolish the 85% conversion losses from plant to animal protein (on average 6 kg of plant protein is required to produce 1 kg of animal protein as stated previously;Smil, 2000). ...
With climate change now firmly on the political agenda of many countries, the Netherlands is adding another issue to its agenda: the nitrogen crisis. While reactive nitrogen is naturally present at low levels and essential to life, human activities have caused a surplus in reactive Nitrogen, negatively impacting water quality, air quality, soil degradation, climate change, stratospheric ozone and causing significant loss of biodiversity.
The biggest contributor to this surplus in reactive Nitrogen is the agriculture needed to support our current dietary habits, which are highly focused on animal protein. Currently, more than 50% of the population is fed thanks to synthetic nitrogen fertilizers.
There are two ways we, as individuals, can positively impact (reduce) the reactive Nitrogen levels in our environment: (1) through our food choices (choosing plant protein over animal protein) and (2) through reducing food waste (both discarded food and overconsumption).
Such a transition would not only help reduce reactive Nitrogen levels, but would also benefit our health and reduce climate change and biodiversity loss.
Other solutions should be implemented mainly at the governmental level to support sustainable agriculture and food production (improve N use efficiency).
The nitrogen crisis is as important as the carbon crisis. Moreover, it embraces both climate change and biodiversity loss. Importantly, a dietary transition from animal to plant proteins will have a beneficial impact on both.
In addition, it will reduce the use of valuable resources, such as freshwater and land use and, last but not least, it will benefit human health! Together with the change in diet, we also need improved sustainable food production through agricultural and technological changes within the limits of the environment, and reduced food waste across the food chain from production to consumption. There is an urgent need to establish the required sense of urgency, especially among governments worldwide regarding the nitrogen crisis and prevention of environmental pollution and biodiversity loss.
... It is clear that traditional organic farming applications are not capable of producing enough to feed or improving dietary standards of the existing world population, let alone the projected increase to 9.9 billion people by 2050. It has been estimated that a world population of only 4 billion people could be sustained if organic nitrogen farming systems were in place on a global scale (Buringh and van Heemst, 1977;Smil, 2001Smil, , 2004Conner, 2008), though requiring significantly more land under production to generate the required organic nutrients. All things considered, we are not really sure how many people the world can support sustainably, but we clearly need to develop sustainable, productive agriculture to the extent that we can while working with other factors leading to sustainability at the same time. ...
... This agrees with the report of Pappa et al. (2012) that intercropping systems with legumes can supply nitrogen, not only as companion plants but also post crop. Smil (2001) and Tsubo (2003) found that the fertilization benefits for the cereal crop when associated with a nitrogen-fixing leguminous crop can be ascribed to nitrogen excretion and nodule decomposition of the latter crop during the growing period. Ahonsi et al. (2004) demonstrated striking benefits from mulch applications, including nutrient recycling, conservation of moisture, maintenance of uniform soil temperature, reduction of soil erosion and compaction from heavy rain and increase of water penetration. ...
The main goals of this study were to evaluate the agronomic performance of wheat mutant lines; to detect the effect of genotype, location and different fertilizer levels on analysed traits; to assess seed and feed quality; and to select best performing mutant lines for dual-purpose growing. Ten wheat mutant lines were sown on two loca�tions in Macedonia, for evaluation of their agronomic performance. At both locations, grain yield, straw mass, harvest index, nitrogen use efficiency, nitrogen and protein content in seed and straw, neutral detergent fibre and acid detergent fibre in the straw were determined. In order to classify the genotypes based on all analysed traits, two-way cluster analysis was applied. According to their overall performance, at both locations and with the three different fertilization treatments, the mutant lines were classified in two main groups. The first cluster con�sisted of mutants 5/1-8, 2/2-21, 4/2-56 and 2/1-51, characterized by very high values for seed yield, straw yield and harvest index, and high to moderate values for all other traits. Only 4/2-56 had very low values for N and protein content in the seed. One mutant line, 6/2-2, did not belong to any of the groups and differed from all other genotypes based on its very low seed and straw yield and very high values for nitrogen and protein content in the straw and neutral detergent fibre. All other mutants belonged to the second group, with low to moderate yield and moderate to high values for the other traits. Mutant lines with the highest seed and straw yield, as well as the best quality of seed and straw under different management systems, were identified and after additional evalu�ation will be submitted for official variety registration.
... It is clear that traditional organic farming applications are not capable of producing enough to feed or improving dietary standards of the existing world population, let alone the projected increase to 9.9 billion people by 2050. It has been estimated that a world population of only 4 billion people could be sustained if organic nitrogen farming systems were in place on a global scale (Buringh and van Heemst, 1977;Smil, 2001Smil, , 2004Conner, 2008), though requiring significantly more land under production to generate the required organic nutrients. All things considered, we are not really sure how many people the world can support sustainably, but we clearly need to develop sustainable, productive agriculture to the extent that we can while working with other factors leading to sustainability at the same time. ...
... This agrees with the report of Pappa et al. (2012) that intercropping systems with legumes can supply nitrogen, not only as companion plants but also post crop. Smil (2001) and Tsubo (2003) found that the fertilization benefits for the cereal crop when associated with a nitrogen-fixing leguminous crop can be ascribed to nitrogen excretion and nodule decomposition of the latter crop during the growing period. Ahonsi et al. (2004) demonstrated striking benefits from mulch applications, including nutrient recycling, conservation of moisture, maintenance of uniform soil temperature, reduction of soil erosion and compaction from heavy rain and increase of water penetration. ...
This book presents reviews on the application of the technology for crop improvement towards food and nutrition security, and research status on mutation breeding and associated biotechnologies in both seed crops and vegetatively propagated crops. It also presents perspectives on the significance of next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics in determining the molecular variants underlying mutations and on emerging biotechnologies such as gene editing. Reviews and articles are organized into five sections in the publication: (1) Contribution of Crop Mutant Varieties to Food Security; (2) Mutation Breeding in Crop Improvement and Climate-Change Adaptation; (3) Mutation Induction Techniques for Enhanced Genetic Variation; (4) Mutation Breeding in Vegetatively Propagated and Ornamental Crops; and (5) Induced Genetic Variation for Crop Improvement in the Genomic Era. The contents of this volume present excellent reference material for researchers, students and policy makers involved in the application of induced genetic variation in plants for the maintenance of biodiversity and the acceleration of crop adaptation to climate change to feed a growing global population in the coming years and decades.
... It is one of the fundamental responsibilities of every government to ensure food availability for its people. Along with ensuring that enough food is being produced to feed the growing population (Smil, 2001), it is also equally important to ensure that the food distribution is transparent and efficient so that food loss/wastage can be minimized (Parfitt et al. 2010). Currently, agri-food supply chains are facing a lot of challenges related to food wastage, food quality and efficient use of resources (Yakovleva et al. 2012). ...
... Agri food supply chains plays a critical role in providing the basic necessities to the people (Smil, 2001). It is important that the food supply chain networks are transparent and efficient so that food loss/wastage can be minimized (Parfitt et al. 2010). ...
The global concern to ensure the availability of food for the growing world’s population draws urgent attention towards the inefficiencies in agri-food supply chains. Agri-food supply chains are inherently complex to manage than other supply chains mainly because of their multi-echelon structure, deteriorating product quality with time and changes in storage conditions which leads to significant amount of food loss and wastage. Additionally, any natural or man-made disaster further disrupts the chain and leads to high food loss, high supply chain costs, reduced food availability and poor food quality. Hence, there is a need to design resilient and efficient agri-food supply chain network for optimal multi-echelon storage and distribution to reduce food loss and quality degradation. For this purpose, a Fuzzy Multi Objective Linear Program (FMOLP) is proposed in this paper for integrated food procurement, storage and distribution under cost, resilience and quality considerations. The proposed model integrates the short-term operational objective of cost optimization with the long-term sustainable objectives of food loss minimization and resilience maximization. The proposed FMOLP is illustrated using a realistic case of Public Distribution System using the data benchmarked with the numbers reported by the Food corporation of India. The detailed computational analysis carried out in the paper in investigates three categories of problem sizes to compare and contrast the decisions using different strategies and to provide organizational, operational and policy insights on the trade-off between cost, food loss and resilience.
... Economically, that may be feasible, but on average 6 kg of plant protein is required to produce 1 kg of animal protein, which increases the pressure on the environment (Smil, 2000;Smil, 2001). Consequently, merely 10-17% of fertilizer N ended up in human mouths to perform its vital functions in the body (Erisman et al., 2018), and the global N use efficiency keeps dropping. ...
... Such can be illustrated by the situation in the USA, as an extreme example of a country with a high-meat diet, which might take a first step in the right direction: A 25% decrease in protein intake paired with a 25% shift from animal food to plant food protein intake-from an 85:15 ratio to a 60:40 ratio-would best align protein intake with national dietary recommendations while simultaneously resulting in 40% fewer CO2eq emissions [savings of 129 billion kilograms of CO2eq] and 10% less consumptive water use [3.1 trillion gallons of water]. (Gardner et al.these and a multitude of similar recommendations(Birt et al., 2017;Costa Leite et al., 2020;Fischer and Garnett, 2016;IPCC, 2019;Manners et al., 2020;Springmann et al., 2018a;Springmann et al., 2018c;Springmann et al., 2020), because direct consumption of plant protein may abolish the 85% conversion losses from plant to animal protein (on average 6 kg of plant protein is required to produce 1 kg of animal protein as stated previously;Smil, 2000). ...
- Human activities have increased the levels of reactive nitrogen (Nr) in our environment, with detrimental effects on biodiversity, climate, water quality, air pollution, … and human health.
- The biggest contributor to this surplus in Nr is the agriculture needed to support our current dietary habits, which are highly focused on animal protein.
- There are two ways we, as individuals, can positively impact (reduce) the Nr levels in our environment: (1) through our food choices (choosing plant protein over animal protein) and (2) through reducing food waste (both discarded food and overconsumption).
- Such a transition would not only help reduce Nr levels, but would also benefit our health and reduce climate change and biodiversity loss.
- Other solutions should be implemented mainly at the governmental level to support sustainable agriculture and food production (improve N use efficiency [NUE]).
... Food sustainability includes economic, social and environmental issues, representing the three classical dimensions Partnerships to Achieve the Goals of sustainable development. Current farming practices exploit considerable amounts of natural resources, i.e. major shares of all ice-free land (33%), freshwater (70%) and energy production (20%) (Smil 2001;Aiking 2014). Due to the continuing pressure on resources and land, as well as population growth leading to increased demands, food prices are expected to rise by 70-90% by 2030 (KPMG International et al. 2012). ...
... Since nutrition is an urgent issue in world areas affected by salinity, the development of new crops starting from wild, salt-tolerant relatives of conventional major crops (such as rice, wheat and barley), as opposed to using genetic resources to improve existing crop varieties, represents a valid option . As another even quicker opportunity, there is a large number of endemic salt-resistant species already used as food that have received very little attention in the scientific literature : one "famous" example of species that started as a marginal indigenous crop and then experienced a rapid expansion and acceptance at a global level is quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Wild.), which interestingly is highly salt tolerant (Smil 2001). Following the example of quinoa, the use of other species could face a similar expansion. ...
... It is even postulated that our hominid ancestors were able to evolve our characteristic large brains through the exploitation of shellfish in estuarine and coastal environments due in part to the protein and omega-3 content [26]. Whilst catching and consuming sufficient protein and lipid was once a major challenge for our ancestors, a major challenge for our descendants in the 21st century is likely to be producing enough protein to feed the Earth's growing population [27]. Doing so through terrestrial animal products is likely to be unsustainable. ...
... Sustainably feeding our planet's growing population in a way that meets changing nutritional needs throughout the lifespan is going to be a complex challenge for the 21st century. This challenge will require multiple integrated solutions [27], and a key component is likely to involve reducing our reliance on land animal protein [4]. However, a vegan diet, whilst a laudable goal, is unlikely to be a solution due to the population's varying food preferences. ...
The world's ever-growing population presents a major challenge in providing sustainable food options and in reducing pressures on the Earth's agricultural land and freshwater resources. Current estimates suggest that agriculture contributes ~30% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Additionally, there is an increased demand for animal protein, the production of which is particularly polluting. Therefore, the climate-disrupting potential of feeding the planet is likely to substantially worsen in the future. Due to the nutritional value of animal-based protein, it is not a simple solution to recommend a wholesale reduction in production/consumption of animal proteins. Rather, employing strategies which result in the production of low carbon animal protein may be part of the solution to reduce the GHGs associated with our diets without compromising diet quality. We suggest that farmed mussels may present a partial solution to this dilemma. Mussel production has a relatively low GHG production and does not put undue pressure on land or fresh water supplies. By drawing comparisons to other protein sources using the Australian Food and Nutrient Database and other published data, we demonstrate that they are a sustainable source of high-quality protein, long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, phytosterols, and other key micronutrients such as B-12 and iron. The aim of this review is to summarise the current knowledge on the health benefits and potential risks of increasing the consumption of farmed mussels.
... By enveloping proteins into a blended unity, the nutritional aspects of end-products could be improved, especially by introducing plant proteins to animal ones (Han, Zu, Xu, & Zhou, 2015;Jose, Pouvreau, & Martin, 2016;Mession, Roustel, & Saurel, 2017b;Reidy et al., 2014;Wu, Yan, et al., 2019). This is also useful to solve the perplexing problems of imperative greenhouse gas emissions and the diminishing cultivable land caused by the production of animal proteins (Henchion, Hayes, Mullen, Fenelon, & Tiwari, 2017;Robinson & Pozzi, 2011;Smil, 2001). However, the sensory and mechanical properties of the products might be positively or negatively affected when heterogeneous structures form (Wu, Wang, Yan, et al., 2020;Hinderink, Münch, Sagis, Schroën, & Berton-Carabin, 2019;Ho, Schroën, San Martín-González, & Berton-Carabin, 2018;Jose et al., 2016;Niu, Li, Han, Liu, & Kong, 2017;Wong, Vasanthan, & Ozimek, 2013). ...
... As known to all, the production of animal proteins causes intense greenhouse gas emissions and a greater demand of land. Furthermore, by reason of animal metabolism, producing 1 kg of animal protein often requires 6 kg of plant protein averagely (Smil, 2001). Additionally, blending plant proteins with those from animals has been demonstrated beneficial for the body health, such as extending muscle protein synthesis (Butteiger et al., 2013;Gorissen & Witard, 2018;Reidy et al., 2014). ...
Recently, interests in binary protein systems have been developed considerably ascribed to the sustainability, environment‐friendly, rich in nutrition, low cost, and tunable mechanical properties of these systems. However, the molecular coalition is challenged by the complex mechanisms of interaction, aggregation, gelation, and emulsifying of the mixed system in which another protein is introduced. To overcome these fundamental difficulties and better modulate the structural and functional properties of binary systems, efforts have been steered to gain basic information regarding the underlying dynamics, theories, and physicochemical characteristics of mixed systems. Therefore, the present review provides an overview of the current studies on the behaviors of proteins in such systems and highlights shortcomings and future challenges when applied in scientific fields.
... We estimate PAL A a,s,c,t for male and female children (0-14 years), working-age adults (15-59 years) and retirement-age adults (60+ years) sub-populations. With economic development, PALs usually declines due to lower manual labor in agriculture and industry 37 . Also, in retired adults inactivity is much more common than in younger adult age-groups 54 . ...
... Food demand on country level (defined as the calorie availability estimated by FAOSTAT) should be larger than food intake because food waste at household level is included in FAOSTAT estimates 17,37 . To estimate food waste X c,t , we compute the ratio of food demand D c,t 7 and food intake I c,t using a regression with per-capita income Y c,t (Supplementary Information 2, section S6). ...
The nutrition transition transforms food systems globally and shapes public health and environmental change. Here we provide a global forward-looking assessment of a continued nutrition transition and its interlinked symptoms in respect to food consumption. These symptoms range from underweight and unbalanced diets to obesity, food waste and environmental pressure. We find that by 2050, 45% (39–52%) of the world population will be overweight and 16% (13–20%) obese, compared to 29% and 9% in 2010 respectively. The prevalence of underweight approximately halves but absolute numbers stagnate at 0.4–0.7 billion. Aligned, dietary composition shifts towards animal-source foods and empty calories, while the consumption of vegetables, fruits and nuts increases insufficiently. Population growth, ageing, increasing body mass and more wasteful consumption patterns are jointly pushing global food demand from 30 to 45 (43–47) Exajoules. Our comprehensive open dataset and model provides the interfaces necessary for integrated studies of global health, food systems, and environmental change. Achieving zero hunger, healthy diets, and a food demand compatible with environmental boundaries necessitates a coordinated redirection of the nutrition transition. Reducing household waste, animal-source foods, and overweight could synergistically address multiple symptoms at once, while eliminating underweight would not substantially increase food demand.
... A significant part of this increase will be used for animal feed . Livestock feed consumes nearly 43% of the food energy (kilocalories) produced by the world's total harvest of edible crops after post-harvest losses (Smil, 2000;Lundqvist et al, 2008). This proportion is set to rise to 48-55% by 2050. ...
... They also calculated that, on average, about 4 kcal of crop products are used to generate 1 kcal of animal products (Prajal et al, 2013). To produce 1 kg of edible meat by typical industrial methods requires 20 kg of feed for beef, 7.3 kg of feed for pig meat and 4.5 kg of feed for chicken meat (Smil, 2000). On average, to produce 1 kg of high quality animal protein, livestock are fed nearly 6 kg of plant protein (IAASTD, 2008). ...
... These foods meet the demand of consumers for foods high in salt, fat, and sugar. The most popular fast foods are hamburgers, pizza, and fried chicken (Smil, 2000). ...
Food is one of the basic necessities that play a major role in human life. Over the past two decades, food consumption patterns in many countries have changed rapidly. The concern of food security has emerged as a global food crisis in recent decades. These global changes probably affect Sri Lankan food consumption habits. Sustainability is an essential component and a precondition for long-term food security. Hence, this study used an in-depth non-systematic literature review on a global scale emphasizing the Sri Lankan context, to better understand the situation of changes in food consumption patterns using comprehensive household survey data in Sri Lanka. The study found out that income growth, urbanization, structural changes in the population on demographics, and several other socioeconomic changes significantly influenced transformations in global food consumption patterns. Other than these, many significant differences are evident in food consumption patterns especially geographically, in urban, rural, and estate sectors in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan diet shows a tendency to shift from traditional cereal consumption to meat, fish, dairy products, and fast foods and processed foods, posing a significant threat concerning the future food security and sustainability of Sri Lanka. Therefore, the study recommended a critical analysis of changes in food consumption patterns in Sri Lanka.
... Až do nástupu průmyslové revoluce (po r. 1800) bylo v Evropě (navzdory využívaní síly tažných zvířat) více než 70 % energie získáváno z lidských svalů (Smil, 2000). Základními omezeními zůstávalo množství orné půdy a vody pro produkci plodin. ...
Monografie se zabývá změnami krajinného pokryvu a využití půdy v Česku během tří desetiletí po pádu totalitního režimu v roce 1989. Vycházíme z mapování krajinného pokryvu CORINE Land Cover (CLC), které pokrývá období 1990–2018, analyzujeme významné změny metodou Land Cover Flows navrženou EEA a uvádíme tyto změny
do socioekonomických souvislostí. Sledujeme pět časových období podle mapovacích let CLC: 1990–2000, 2000–2006, 2006–2012, 2012–2018.
Popisujeme hlavní trendy změn krajinného pokryvu v těchto obdobích a zaměřujeme se na změny osídlení, zemědělství a lesů. Hlavní trendy na národní úrovni jsou doplněny o několik případových studií zaměřených na suburbanizaci, zemědělskou extenzifikaci v pohraničí nebo lesní změny na Šumavě a v Jeseníkách.
Pomocí konceptu sociálního metabolismu a metody Analýzy materiálových a energetických toků se na systém díváme z biofyzikální perspektivy a zkoumáme interakce mezi ekonomickým systémem a přírodou v období 1990–2018. Zaměřujeme se především na metabolismus biomasy, který je spojen se změnami v krajinném
pokryvu. Počítáme ukazatele energetické návratnosti (EROI) českého zemědělství a lidského přivlastňování čisté primární produkce (HANPP) ekosystémů a propojujeme je se změnami krajinného pokryvu, využívání půdy a demografickými a ekonomickými
změnami a jejich rozvojem v posledních třech desetiletích. Ve stejném období také kvantifikujeme vybrané materiálové toky skrz socioekonomický systém.
Naším hlavním cílem je popsat, do jaké míry závisí vývoj změn krajinného pokryvu a následných materiálových a energetických ukazatelů na socioekonomických podmínkách, a identifikovat hlavní procesy, z nichž tyto změny vycházejí.
... Being fundamentally dependent on the world's atmosphere, soils, freshwater, and genetic resources, these system generate some of the most ecosystem services on the planet. They are also the largest global consumers of land and water, the greatest threat to biodiversity through habitat change and invasive species, significant sources of air and water pollution in many locations, and major determinants of biogeochemical change from local to global scales (Matson et al. 1997, Vitousek et al.1997, Naylor 2000, Smil 2000. The inherent interplay between human welfare, food production, and the state of the world's natural resources underscores the need to manage these systems for resilience to anticipate change and shape it in ways that lead to the long run health of human populations, ecosystems, and environment quality. ...
... The inherently inefficient conversion of plant protein into animal protein makes meat responsible for a disproportionate share of environmental pressure (Gilland, 2002;Raney et al., 2009;Steinfeld et al., 2006). As a result of animal metabolism, 6 kg of plant protein is required to yield on average 1 kg of meat protein (Pimentel and Pimentel, 2003;Smil, 2000). ...
The trends in human population growth suggest that population will be a primary driver to produce more with limiting resources. Here, we discuss the correlation between population growth and the projected changes in various sectors and the resultant increase in nitrogen (N) use in Pakistan. Main drivers for increasing N use are (i) population; (ii) food and feed production; (iii) livestock population; (iv) land use; (v) dietary patterns; (vi) power generation; (vii) industry; and (viii) transport. As N use increases, it adds into N emissions, impacts biodiversity, and increases air and water pollution and eutrophication, which raise concerns about human health and socioecological sustainability and abatement costs. Given the important role of N in economy, food security, human health, and environment, a detailed discussion on critical N drivers is essential to improve our understanding about N cycling/dynamics. In Pakistan, a steadily increasing N consumption calls for optimizing N demand and use. Development and enforcement of regulatory measures are needed to reduce N footprints both for the industrial and agriculture sector in Pakistan. Recognizing the cross-related sectors and interrelated drivers, a holistic approach is required to be adopted for regular assessment of N dynamics.
... These foods meet the demand of consumers for foods high in salt, fat, and sugar. The most popular fast foods are hamburgers, pizza, and fried chicken (Smil, 2000). ...
Abstract
Food is one of the basic necessities that play a major role in human life. Over the past two decades, food consumption patterns in many countries have changed rapidly. The concern of food security has emerged as a global food crisis in recent decades. These global changes probably affect Sri Lankan food consumption habits. Sustainability is an essential component and a precondition for long-term food security. Hence, this study used an in-depth non-systematic literature review on a global scale emphasizing the Sri Lankan context, to better understand the situation of changes in food consumption patterns using comprehensive household survey data in Sri Lanka. The study found out that income growth, urbanization, structural changes in the population on demographics, and several other socio-economic changes significantly influenced transformations in global food consumption patterns. Other than these, many significant differences are evident in food consumption patterns especially geographically, in urban, rural, and estate sectors in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan diet shows a tendency to shift from traditional cereal consumption to meat, fish, dairy products, and fast foods and processed foods, posing a significant threat concerning the future food security and sustainability of Sri Lanka. Therefore, the study recommended a critical analysis of changes in food consumption patterns in Sri Lanka.
Keywords
Sri Lanka, Consumption Patterns, Food Security, Sustainability, Food Habits
... Adequate availability and the sustainability of the use of this ingredient in compounding feed for commercial for livestock is in doubt, as the scarcity continues, there are corresponding hike in price of feeds (Smil, 2000). The implication of hike in feed cost is that the total production cost will rise since feed account for more than three quarter of the entire production cost in livestock production, thus reducing farmers profit which may render animal business unlucrative. ...
An experiment was conducted to evaluate the growth responses, carcass characteristics and economy of production of rabbit fed Biscuit wafer waste meal (BWWM) as replacement for maize. Thirty-six grower rabbit were allocated according to randomised completely blocked design (RCBD) to three treatments and were replicated thrice. Each replicate having four (4) rabbits balanced by weight were subjected to feeding trial for the duration of eight (8) weeks. Three (3) experimental grower rabbit rations (diets) were formulated with diet 1 as the control. Diets 1, 2, and 3 were formulated to contain BWWM at 0, 50 and 100 % replacement for maize. Results on the growth performance revealed that live weight, feed intake, and weight gain were not significantly (p<0.05) different among the treatments while feed conversion ratio (FCR), cost of feed per kg and cost of feed consumed were significantly influence by the dietary treatments. Also, dietary treatments did not influence (p>0.05) the organs (heart, liver, lung and intestine), while diet containing BWWM increased the rib and loin but relatively reduced (p<0.05) the hind limb of rabbits. Cost of feed/kg in diets containing 100% BWWM were lowest thus reflecting in the cost of feed consumed. The results suggest that BWWM can replace maize up to 100% inclusion level in broiler diet without ant detriment to health and with good economic returns.
... Unfortunately, the TFP is an economic instrument, where only elements that can be (economically) valued are included. TFP for instance does not account for biodiversity losses (and the long term, hard to quantify, consequences for pest regulation; Way & Heong, 1994); it does account for the price of fertilizers, but ignores the environmental (energetic, greenhouse gas) costs of nitrogen fertilizer production (Smil, 2000); and it ignores the exhaustion of the limited resource of resistance genes to adapting pathogens (Ou, 1987; T.W. ...
Emphasising connectedness among the many elements of plant‐based systems which are collectively addressed in One Health is a logical outcome of debates generated by the International Year of Plant Health. The notion of One‐Health was implemented through the joint use of the concepts of production situation (PS) ‐‐ the "rice way of life" ‐‐ and injury profile (IP) ‐‐ rice health (pathogens, animal pests, and weeds) ‐‐ in a population of 1051 rice farmer's fields surveyed from 1987 to 2011. Seven associated PSs and nine IPs are characterised. An ending Green Revolution ‐ Period 1, and a "post‐Green Revolution" ‐ Period 2 are considered. Major changes in PSs and IPs occurred, with increased mineral fertiliser inputs, pesticide applications, landscape uniformity, along with shortening fallow periods, and dropping labour. Increases or decreases of some injuries lead to shifts in IPs towards more frequent bacterial, flowers, and panicles diseases. Yield gain between the two periods was marginal, but yield losses to IPs remained unchanged. Yet there was an increase by 77.0%, 21.6%, and 439% for insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides, respectively, along with a 27.9% increase in mineral fertiliser inputs. Total factor productivity in rice production dropped by over 40% during the 24 intervening years, not accounting for the long‐term effects of these changes on soil fertility, biodiversity, and scarcer water resource. These results call for urgently required re‐assessment of public efforts to safeguard these agrosystems that are of critical importance economically, socially, and culturally for roughly half the world population.
... Worldwide, the subject of natural cultivating versus standard cultivating has produced extreme discussions. On one hand, Smil [16] thinks about that escalated farming that utilizes goliath amounts of information sources, similar to composts, pesticides, workforce and capital, has made it possible to get creation to fulfill genuine world cravings. ...
Albeit natural cultivating is a significant theme for India, there have been not many accomplishments up until this point. Notwithstanding its consistent increment, the interest for natural food in India is offsetting the occasion of this area. Accordingly, we plan to evaluate the cooperation among traditional and natural agribusiness, just as their effect on the worth of rural creation in India. The principle objective of this article is the appraisal of the effect of natural cultivating, as contrasted and ordinary horticulture on ecological supportability in India. In this way, here various plots are utilized dependent on information gathered from the data set. In this present investigation, the near investigation between natural cultivating and regular cultivating has been made to investigate the ecological supportability in India. It is additionally valuable for the dirt to inside the better kind of using the strategies for natural cultivating, ranchers actually utilizing traditional techniques for cultivating. Examinations show the bigger utilization of customary strategies for cultivating in India when contrasted with natural techniques. The acquired outcomes rely fundamentally upon the qualities of work aground, as some rural designing strategies (crop pivot, bother control, utilization of composts and so forth) influence efficiency and creation.
... The human population is projected to reach 10 billion in 2050 according to OECD. The evergrowing desire for animal protein also fostered by globalization and the spread of affluent consumer economies will not be met by the current unsustainable agroeconomic model (Smil, 2001). Fish and insect domestication could be a part of the solution, although the challenges are numerous. ...
... Nutrient use efficiency represents better assimilation of nutrients by the plants hence better nutrient management (Table 6). With careful agronomic practices it is possible to raise the average N use efficiency by at least 25 -30% during the next two generations (Smil, 2001). In the field level at least 50% of the applied nitrogen is lost from agriculture systems and most of the loss occur during fertilizer application. ...
... Even much of what we eat depends on mining. Without artificial fertilisers based on mined phosphates and potassium salts, and above all synthetic nitrogenwhose main feedstock is natural gasit is estimated that global food production would decline by around 40-50% (Smil 2001a(Smil , 2001bStewart et al., 2005). As human numbers continue to grow in the coming decades, there is little sign that mining will become less important. ...
Resource extraction has historically caused dramatic environmental changes across the globe. Although mining and oil drilling have transformed landscapes and polluted the air and water wherever they have taken place, knowledge of how these environmental transformations have been experienced and lived in different parts of the world remains fragmentary. This special issue seeks to provide new insights into the environmental histories of resource extraction, particularly in the Global South, where extractive industries have intensified markedly since 1950. Inspired by recent environmental history scholarship, we link together analyses of imperialism, capitalism, and environmental inequality in African, Asian, and Latin American localities of resource extraction. Furthermore, drawing on the analytical framework of political ecology, we examine why protests against extractive industries did or did not occur in specific sites. Given the increasing global demand for resources and pressing current-day questions about how to live in the Anthropocene, it is timely to scrutinise production practices, pollution, and protest in global history.
... Since nutrition is an urgent issue in world areas affected by salinity, the development of new crops starting from wild, salt-tolerant relatives of conventional major crops (such as rice, wheat and barley), as opposed to using genetic resources to improve existing crop varieties, represents a valid option (Cheeseman 2015). As another even quicker opportunity, there is a large number of endemic salt-resistant species already used as food that have received very little attention in the scientific literature (Ventura et al. 2015): one "famous" example of species that started as a marginal indigenous crop and then experienced a rapid expansion and acceptance at a global level is quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Wild.), which interestingly is highly salt tolerant (Smil 2001). Following the example of quinoa, the use of other species could face a similar expansion. ...
... Food sustainability includes economic, social and environmental issues, representing the three classical dimensions Partnerships to Achieve the Goals of sustainable development. Current farming practices exploit considerable amounts of natural resources, i.e. major shares of all ice-free land (33%), freshwater (70%) and energy production (20%) (Smil 2001;Aiking 2014). Due to the continuing pressure on resources and land, as well as population growth leading to increased demands, food prices are expected to rise by 70-90% by 2030 (KPMG International et al. 2012). ...
... However, those numbers increase when only edible meat is taken into account as the output. In this case, feed efficiency equals to 4.5 kg for chicken, 7.2 for pig and as much as 20 kg for beef cattle (Smil 2001). ...
The contributed volume puts emphasis on a superior role of water in (bio)systems exposed to a mechanical stimulus. It is well known that water plays an extraordinary role in our life. It feeds mammalian or other organism after distributing over its whole volume to support certain physiological and locomotive (friction-adhesion) processes to mention but two of them, both of extreme relevance.
Water content, not only in the mammalian organism but also in other biosystems such as whether those of soil which is equipped with microbiome or the ones pertinent to plants, having their own natural network of water vessels, is always subjected to a force field.
The decisive force field applied to the biosystems makes them biomechanically agitated irrespective of whether they are subjected to external or internal force-field conditions. It ought to be noted that the decisive mechanical factor shows up in a close relation with the space-and-time scale in which it is causing certain specific phenomena to occur.
The scale problem, emphasizing the range of action of gravitational force, thus the millimeter or bigger force vs. distance scale, is supposed to enter the so-called macroscale approach to water transportation through soil or plants’ roots system. It is merely related to a percolation problem, which assumes to properly inspect the random network architecture assigned to the biosystems invoked. The capillarity conditions turn out to be of prior importance, and the porous-medium effect has to be treated, and solved in a fairly approximate way.
The deeper the scale is penetrated by a force-exerting and hydrated agent the more non-gravitational force fields manifest. This can be envisaged in terms of the corresponding thermodynamic (non-Newtonian) forces, and the phenomena of interest are mostly attributed to suitable changes of the osmotic pressure. In low Reynolds number conditions, thus in the (sub)micrometer distance-scale zone, they are related with the corresponding viscosity changes of the aqueous, e.g. cytoplasmatic solutions, of semi-diluted and concentrated (but also electrolytic) characteristics. For example, they can be observed in articulating systems of mammals, in their skin, and to some extent, in other living beings, such as lizards, geckos or even insects. Through their articulating devices an external mechanical stimulus is transmitted from macro- to nanoscale, wherein the corresponding osmotic-pressure conditions apply.
The content of the proposed work can be distributed twofold. First, the biomechanical mammalian-type (or, similar) systems with extraordinary relevance of water for their functioning will be presented, also including a presentation of water itself as a key physicochemical system/medium. Second, the suitably chosen related systems, mainly of soil and plant addressing provenience, will be examined thoroughly. As a common denominator of all of them, it is proposed to look at their hydrophobic and/or (de)hydration effects, and how do they impact on their basic mechanical (and related, such as chemo-mechanical or piezoelectric, etc.) properties. An additional tacit assumption employed throughout the monograph concerns statistical scalability of the presented biosystems which is equivalent to take for granted a certain similarity between local and global system’s properties, mostly those of mechanical nature. The presented work’s chapters also focus on biodiversity and ecological aspects in the world of animals and plants, and the related systems. The chapters’ contents underscore the bioinspiration as the key landmark of the proposed monograph.
... However, those numbers increase when only edible meat is taken into account as the output. In this case, feed efficiency equals to 4.5 kg for chicken, 7.2 for pig and as much as 20 kg for beef cattle (Smil 2001). ...
In this chapter, we focus on the dynamics of water molecules situated in the vicinity of a phospholipid bilayer. Using a molecular dynamics simulation method, we studied interactions between water and the bilayer and tracked trajectories of the water molecules. Based on the hypothesis that molecules trapped inside the bilayer make different motions than the ones which are either attached to the surface or move freely in the water bulk, we divided the water molecules into three groups – the ones that exhibited subdiffusion (confined) motion, the ones that move diffusionally in the bulk and the ones that move superdiffusively due to interactions with the moving bilayer. In detail, the water behavior near the bilayer has been analyzed by mean squared displacement and entropy computed separately for the above mentioned three groups of molecules. To explain the subdiffusion motion of the water molecules, the number and the duration of hydrogen bonds created between water molecules and the bilayer have been investigated. In addition, we examined the mechanism of water molecule self-diffusion, by means of statistical tests. Our studies aim to present insight into the understanding of the lipid’s role in water self-diffusion, which can be responsible for triggering different tribological responses of the system.
... Food choices have a large impact on the sustainability of current diets (Aleksandrowicz, Green, Joy, Smith & Haines, 2016;Aschemann-Witzel, 2015;Carlsson-Kanyama & González, 2009;Temme et al., 2014;Van de Kamp, Seves & Temme, 2018). As food consumption is one of the main contributors to the environmental impact of households, with a contribution of 20-30% in the EU (Aleksandrowicz et al., 2016;Smil, 2000;Tukker & Jansen, 2006), it is crucial to get an understanding of consumers' dietary behaviours in achieving sustainability goals. ...
In view of all kinds of sustainability concerns related to our current diet, it is essential to gain a good understanding of the sustainability motives consumers have for selecting their food. A comprehensive and validated scale to measure sustainability motives within the full range of food choice motives could contribute to this understanding, especially as sustainability is a multi-faceted concept in which the different aspects can sometimes be conflicting. The current paper aims to 1) develop the Sustainable Food Choice Questionnaire (SUS-FCQ) that covers the full concept of sustainability, 2) test which dimensions of sustainable food choice motives can be distinguished and 3) validate the scale as part of the Food Choice Questionnaire in multiple countries. An online survey was completed by 5,116 respondents from five European countries (The Netherlands, Denmark, Czech Republic, France and Italy). The scale was developed with a Dutch sub-sample and validated in all included countries. Exploratory factor analysis followed by confirmatory factor analyses resulted in a two-factor solution. A ‘general sustainability’ dimension (6 items, covering environmental, ethical and animal welfare aspects) and a ‘local & seasonal’ dimension (3 items) were identified. The Sustainable Food Choice Questionnaire shows to be reliable and valid in the five included countries and can be used as an addition to the Food Choice Questionnaire developed by Steptoe and colleagues (1995). The scale is suitable to gain a better understanding of the position of sustainability motives against other motives in consumers food choices and can be used for country comparisons.
... Increasing fertiliser use and other agricultural intensification practices have led to significant increases in crop yields (Tilman et al. 2002), most of which is used as animal feed to increase livestock production (Pelletier and Tyedmers 2010). The rapid increase in the world's population and the economic prosperity of certain regions increase the demand for crops and animal products, which could directly change fertiliser use, N fixation by crops, and the net N inputs from food and feed, thereby causing changes in the NANI (Ma et al. 2013;Smil, 2000). It seems that the changes in the NANI in watersheds are not only due to increases in population, but they are also likely due to dietary patterns (Gao et al. 2018). ...
Due to the intensive human activities and rapid economic development during the past few decades, the anthropogenic sourced nitrogen (N) input into coastal waters has increased dramatically. In this study, the net anthropogenic nitrogen input (NANI), including the deposition of atmospheric N, the application of N fertiliser, the fixation of biological N, and the net N inputs from food and feed, into the Zhanjiang Bay watershed from 1978 to 2018 were estimated using statistical data, and the driving forces were analysed using the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) factor decomposition approach. The results show that the NANI dramatically increased from 5269 to 20 639 kg N km−2. The cause of this increase was related to high input from N fertilisers and the net food and feed N input (with average contributions of 56.45% and 41.42%, respectively), which was accompanied by rapid economic development in Zhanjiang Bay. The output from the LMDI illustrates that the cause of the changes in the NANI was a shift in the dietary structure instead of an increase in the human population, which suggests that the impact of human population on the increase in the NANI using simple relational analysis may be overestimated. Remarkably, we found that the N from aquatic protein and animal protein comprised a significant proportion of the total N consumption in this coastal city, which differs from previous studies of inland cities. This is likely due to the fact that aquaculture is significantly developed in this coastal city.
... On the other hand, energy is a key driver for increasing agriculture productivity. Since the beginning of fossil fuel energy exploitation, the world population has grown from 1 to 8 billion humans, while areas cultivated for agricultural purposes have only increased by 67% (Smil, 2000). Technological advances have revolutionized human productivity, comfort and increased Gross Domestic Production, although it has been at a severe cost. ...
An innovative method is described, assessing the energy flows in farm systems. These systems represent both a socio-economic activity and an agroecosystem. Both market and ecosystem flows are inventoried, focusing on farm agroecosystem circularity of the reinvested biomass. An original system representation is proposed, where process and energy storage sub-systems are distinguished. Biotic energy storage, identified as an Associated Ecosystem (AE) is included. Soil mineralization, reflecting soil activity, was selected as a proxy for services provided by the AE. The present approach was tested on an existing French mixed farm case study. Contrasting scenarios were proposed to test the model and the two sets of selected indicators. EROIs (Energy Return On Energy Invest) evaluate the current system performance through resource use efficiency. Circularities reflect the system resilience. Circin (Inflow Circularity) indicates the system self-sufficiency and the extent to which the farm activity is based on the AE. Temporal stability is assessed by the steadiness of the Circin versus Circout (Outflow Circularity) relationship. The Crop production scenario presents best performance. Specialized and intensive systems present lower Circin values. Furthermore, contrasting Circularities were observed for the intensive breeding scenario, while homogenous results were obtained for the extensive mixed-farming scenario. This method takes a new step towards the integration of circularity and ecosystem support functions in the energy analysis of farm systems. Firstly, it provides indicators of performance and resilience. Secondly, as a key feature for sustainable agriculture, it highlights the relationship between agricultural activity and its associated ecosystem.
... An alternative set of conversion indicators can be used to show aspects that do not take conventional ratios into account. For example, if not including material that is not normally eaten, such as bone, then producing 1 kg of edible meat in the U.S. by industrial methods requires 20, 7.3 and 4.5 kg of feed for beef, pig and chicken, respectively [77]. The balance is also not very favorable if calorie and protein conversion rates are used: For every 100 calories of grain fed to animals, we get only about 40 new calories of milk, 22 calories of eggs, 12 of chicken, 10 of pork, or 3 of beef. ...
The stabling of livestock farming implies changes in both local ecosystems (regeneration of forest stands via reduced grazing) and those located thousands of kilometers away (deforestation to produce grain for feeding livestock). Despite their importance, these externalities are poorly known. Here we evaluated how the intensification and confinement of livestock in Spain has affected forest surface changes there and in South America, the largest provider of soybeans for animal feed to the European Union. For this purpose, we have used Spanish soybean import data from Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina and a land condition map of Spain. The area of secondary forest in Spain that has regenerated as a result of livestock stabling has been ~7000 kha for the decade 2000-2010. In the same period, 1220 kha of high value South American ecosystems (e.g. Chaco dry Forest, Amazonian rainforest or Cerrado) have been deforested. While these figures may offer a favorable interpretation of the current industrial livestock production, it is not possible to speak of compensation when comparing the destruction of well-structured ecosystems, such as primary South American forests, with the creation of secondary forest landscapes in Spain, which are also prone to wildfires. Our results highlight how evaluating land use change policies at a national or regional level is an incomplete exercise in our highly telecoupled and globalized world.
... Yet, Professor Smil also knows that the core arguments put forward by neo-Malthusians over the last two centuries have not withstood the test of time in market economies. As he documents in Growth and many other writings [25], there is now so much food in most parts of the world that many poor people suffer from obesity rather than calorie deficiencies. In Energy and Civilization, he specifically dismisses concerns about "the rising use of fossil fuels [as] a cause for concern about their early exhaustion" or "the early onset of unbearably rising real costs of recovering these resources" [21] (pp. ...
Prolific energy writer Vaclav Smil’s “Growth: From Microorganisms to Megacities” (MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, USA, 2019) is marketed as the most comprehensive study of the modalities of growth in Earth’s life systems in their many natural, social, and technological forms. While the book reflects Smil’s strength as a polymath, it also brings into focus his Malthusian outlook. Smil’s Malthusianism is puzzling in light of much empirical evidence to the contrary and of his own detailed histories of human technological achievements, including his recent massive synthesis “Energy and Civilization: A History” (MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, USA, 2017). In keeping with Smil’s historical emphasis, in this review essay, the Malthusian assumptions, assertions, and conclusions of these books are challenged through the Promethean insights of numerous writers whose output long predates the modern environmental movement and can thus avoid charges of “greenwashing”. I make a case that, in the context of market economies (i.e., competition, price system, and private property rights), humans’ unique propensity to trade physical goods and to (re)combine things in new ways have long delivered both improved standards of living and environmental remediation. I further suggest that it is not the volume of materials handled, but rather how they are handled that determines the impact of economic growth on the biosphere. While Professor Smil is fond of saying that “numbers don’t lie”, his work illustrates that they are sometimes made to tell an unduly pessimistic story through the intellectual filters created by an author’s assumptions and value judgements.
... Het marktaandeel van deze huismerken ligt in veel Europese landen inmiddels tussen 40 en 50 procent (plma 2012). Ten tweede hebben supermarkten door de invoering van private veiligheids-en kwaliteitsstandaarden directe invloed op het primaire productieproces en de verdere productieketen (Burch en Lawrence 2007: 11 (Smil 2000, via Kearney 2010. Deze ontwikkeling ziet er overal hetzelfde uit. ...
Het is tijd voor een expliciet voedselbeleid. De sterk veranderde context van de voedselvoorziening en de opgaven die daarmee gepaard gaan, vragen om deze heroriëntatie. Dat stelt de WRR in zijn rapport Naar een voedselbeleid (rapport nr. 93, 2014). Het voedselbeleid moet zich vooral richten op een veerkrachtig voedselnet.
... Los mecanismos y fenómenos en los que se basa el régimen alimentario corporativo (McMichael, 2005) son la financiarización del sistema agroalimentario (Delgado, 2010), a través de la globalización, el libre comercio, los mercados desregulados y los acuerdos internacionales, como pueden ser el TTIP, el CETA o el Merco-Sur, custodiados por organismos internacionales garantistas (FMI, OMC, etc.); la Figura 3. Resumen esquemático de la cantidad de alimentos producidos globalmente en finca y una estimación de las pérdidas, conversiones y desperdicio en la cadena alimentaria. Fuente: Lundqvist et al (2008) de (Smil, 2000) En este contexto se producen otros fenómenos. Por un lado, un flujo de alimentos hacia los países desarrollados con tasas de consumo elevadas, que comporta que sea necesaria más superficie cultivada para satisfacer su demanda que la disponible en sus propios territorios. ...
Desde la Agroecología se proponen diferentes estrategias para construir alternativas al sistema agroalimentario globalizado y promover la transición agroecológica, ya que está ampliamente demostrada la insostenibilidad de éste. Uno de los aspectos clave es la comercialización por la importancia que tiene tanto para la sostenibilidad y la viabilidad de los proyectos e iniciativas agroecológicas como para articular alternativas que abarquen todos los agentes involucrados en la cadena agroalimentaria hacia modelos de mayor justicia social y ambiental. Sin embargo, existen diferentes condicionantes que dificultan la expansión o salto de escala del modelo agroecológico basado en las redes alimentarias alternativas, como la atomización de la oferta, la descampesinización o la convencionalización del sector ecológico, que deben ser tenidos en cuenta en el diseño de dichas estrategias.
En el presente trabajo de investigación se aborda la temática desde esta perspectiva académica en el ámbito de la Comunitat Valenciana teniendo como objetivo aportar información sobre a la situación actual respecto a las estrategias de comercialización del sector productivo ecológico que pueda ser útil para para favorecer la transición agroecológica, ya que no existe extensa bibliografía al respecto. En el trabajo se ha utilizado una técnica de investigación mixta, comprendida por una herramienta cuantitativa y una cualitativa, para realizar una caracterización de las estrategias de comercialización de producto fresco y transformado, así como observar las estrategias de cooperación existentes desde la producción e identificar las necesidades e inquietudes del sector ecológico respecto a los canales cortos de comercialización.
This book presents the current approaches for insect pest control as a "green" alternative to classical and more toxaic agrochemicals. An overview of the recent advances in insecticide chemistry is also included, which will be of interest to a vast group of researchers - agrochemists, biochemists, chemists and toxicologists. The combination of both chemical and toxicological aspects of insecticides is unique and the book includes contributions from synthetic chemists, entomologists, environmentalists and toxicologists giving it wide appeal. Throughout the book, the different approaches that involve "greener chemicals" are emphasized. The book is divided into 9 chapters, each considering the state of art of each family of insecticides, together with future expectations. Each chapter gives a description of useful biorational insecticides, highlighting environmentally-friendly processes and then the mode of action is fully-described, emphasizing selectivity towards targeted species. Finally, for every family of compounds, their environmental effects (toxicity, bioaccumulation and metabolism) is considered, comparing them to classical insecticides, including human and environmental risk assessments. In addition the formulation, dispersal and persistence in the environment are covered as key aspects in developing greener agrochemicals. The book also includes a general introduction to entomology, with special emphasis on those insects that act as vectors in the spread of diseases. Insects that may be potential pests against humans and livestock are included, focusing on their life cycles, and physiology, as a logical comprehension of mode of action of insecticides. In addition there is a chapter on classical insecticides (covering both, approaches prior to the chemical era, and classical chemical insecticides, organochlorinated, organophosphorus, and carbamates) for comparison with current trends in pest control. The negative environmental effects that such insecticides have caused in nature, such as poisonings, bioaccumulation or toxic effects are highlighted. It is hoped that the use of more specific agrochemicals and approaches may avoid, or at least considerably reduce such severe and irreversible effects in nature. The insecticides covered are considered from numerous points of views: chemistry, toxicological profile, risk assessment, legal status, environmental behaviour and selectivity. The most important families of currently used insecticides are covered and critical discussions about future perspectives are included with frequent comparisons to classical insecticides. The following topics are covered in the book, as greener alternatives to classical insecticides: " Pyrethrins and pyrethroids " Neonicotinoids " Spynosins " Insect growth regulators " Botanical insecticides " Microbial insecticides " Integrated Pest Management Programs (IPM)
The world currently faces a suite of urgent challenges: environmental degradation, diminished biodiversity, climate change and persistent poverty and associated injustices. All of these challenges can be addressed to a large extent through agriculture. A dichotomy expressed as ‘food versus fuel’ has misled thinking and hindered needed action towards building agricultural systems in ways that are regenerative, biodiverse, climate resilient, equitable and economically sustainable. Here we offer examples of agricultural systems that meet the urgent needs while also producing food and energy. We call for refocused conversation and united action towards rapidly deploying such systems across biophysical and socioeconomic settings.
The Global Covid pandemic has impacted the World in ways and at a scale that few could have predicted with many industries severely disrupted. Despite this, crops were sown and harvested, food was produced, agriculture continued to function albeit it with many logistical challenges. Plant health lies at the heart of preventing crop losses through a combination of varietal resistance and agronomic practices. In the case of foliar plant diseases in wheat, varietal resistance plays a key role, but the use of synthetic fungicides is essential to minimise crop losses. European arable production faces a dilemma: how to contribute and maintain Global food supplies but at the same time decrease emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), reduce inputs potentially harmful to biodiversity, society and the environment whilst ensuring no more land is brought into production. Throughout history, major disruptions in society have led to big steps in agricultural innovation. Presently, the major disruptive forces in Europe are not just a result of the Covid pandemic but the increasingly urgent need to address climate change. Within the European Green Deal, the Farm to Fork strategy is in place to help achieve climate neutrality by 2050 aiming for a reduction of GHG emissions of 55% by 2030. To achieve this there will need to be a major adjustment to how food is produced, a re‐alignment in plant health strategies and accelerated innovation across the agricultural sector. This paper aims to evaluate how synthetic fungicides presently contribute to plant health (mainly wheat) and food production as well as the management of GHG emissions. In addition, it explores the future challenges and prospects for their positive contribution in achieving Global food security alongside emerging innovative technologies.
Nitrogen (N) is a critical component of food security, economy and planetary health. Human production of reactive nitrogen (Nr) via Haber-Bosch process and cultivation-induced biological N2 fixation (BNF) has doubled global N cycling over the last century. The most important beneficial effect of Nr is augmenting global food supplies due to increased crop yields. However, increased circulation of Nr in the environment is responsible for serious human health effects such as methemoglobinemia ("blue baby syndrome") and eutrophication of coastal and inland waters. Furthermore, ammonia (NH3) emission mainly from farming and animal husbandary impacts not only human health causing chronic lung disease, inflammation of human airways and irritation of eyes, sinuses and skin but is also involved in the formation of secondary particulate matter (PM) that plays a critical role in environment and human health. Nr also affects human health via global warming, depletion of stratospheric ozone layer resulting in greater intensity of ultra violet B rays (UVB) on the Earth's surface, and creation of ground-level ozone (through reaction of NO2 with O2). The consequential indirect human health effects of Nr include the spread of vector-borne pathogens, increased incidence of skin cancer, development of cataracts, and serious respiratory diseases, besides land degradation. Evidently, the strategies to reduce Nr and mitigate adverse environmental and human health impacts include plugging pathways of nitrogen transport and loss through runoff, leaching and emissions of NH3, nitrogen oxides (NO
x
), and other N compounds; improving fertilizer N use efficiency; reducing regional disparity in access to N fertilizers; enhancing BNF to decrease dependence on chemical fertilizers; replacing animal-based proteins with plant-based proteins; adopting improved methods of livestock raising and manure management; reducing air pollution and secondary PM formation; and subjecting industrial and vehicular NO
x
emission to pollution control laws. Strategic implementation of all these presents a major challenge across the fields of agriculture, ecology and public health. Recent observations on the reduction of air pollution in the COVID-19 lockdown period in several world regions provide an insight into the achievability of long-term air quality improvement. In this review, we focus on complex relationships between Nr and human health, highlighting a wide range of beneficial and detrimental effects.
Due to increased energy requirements and the global shortage of fossil energy-oil and natural gas, in particular, there must be an alternative source of energy to meet the current demand. In parallel, about 60 percent of the world's population is suffering from malnutrition due to soaring food prices and increasing food insecurity for poor consumers. The situation is further strained by the concomitant increase in the demand of food as a result of growing population. Over the past few years, it has been arguing by biofuel critics, that investment in biofuels production can increase the food insecurity specially in developing nations where there are already many people are facing food crisis and cannot afford to get food at current prices. Not to be left behind in the current global craze about biofuels, India is also focusing to promote the production and consumption of biofuels without consideration of food scarcity and seizure of common lands by corporate investors, putting livelihood at risk. To meet the current and potential demand for biofuels, the use of traditional crops, for their production raises the question of diversion of land used for cereal crops and oil crops to energy producing crops or diversion of food crops to biofuel production. Certainly, it will lead to food and food insecurity and also removes crop residues that sustain soil productivity and structure. For example, about 50% of rapeseed oil production in European Union is using for the non-food energy production and to meet the targets for the biofuels in the future it will have to at least double its rapeseed oil production, which may divert land from other food crops. Similarly, production of Ethanol from corn to meet all the US's requirements of 7.5 billion gallons by 2012, implying a near doubling of ethanol production is not practically feasible due to huge land requirements. Warning signals about the consequences of the large-scale production of biofuel will cause soaring prices of food commodities. Thus the increasing interest in biofuels has been considering as a potential threat to food security for India. Considering the fact, India should review the biofuel policy and examine the natural advantages to see what kind of strategies is viable for sustainable production of biofuels. Using the current trend of rising food prices, this paper examines the impacts and challenges faced by production of biofuels without analysing the situation of food security. The paper goes on to analyse the policy dilemmas and challenges faced by Indian government aimed at accelerating the development of biofuel sector.
The impact of current calls for transformation of agriculture away from reliance on agrochemical inputs (conventional agriculture) to natural processes (organic agriculture) is gaining strength because the limited productivity of agriculture transformed in this way is unappreciated and/or ignored. Of course, it is possible to produce high yields of individual crops adequately fertilized organically or chemically, but organic fertilizers require land set aside for biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) by legumes to provide the key macronutrient nitrogen (N) on which organic production relies. The consequence is more area to produce the same amount of food and expansion of agriculture can only be done at the expense of land allocated to nature, presently in critically short supply. The current clamour to reduce animal production and eat less meat will impact negatively on the productivity of organic crops. An analysis of the productivity of organic farms reveals, using the common metric of human food energy, that equal production requires 2–3 times the land area of conventional farms. This was well established before the current post-truth era and, if not reincluded in planning, will lead to both more hunger and less land allocated to natural biodiversity and conservation. The ‘transformationists’ avoid scientific scrutiny by publishing in colourful promotional literature rather than in peer-reviewed journals. More attention is needed in the debate to bring two currently separated spheres of publication together and to include ‘land-use efficiency’, the output per unit land area, in this case human food, from an increasingly scarce resource.
This chapter describes issues related to the use of water in agriculture, especially in livestock production, which is the major water consumer in the world. Water is found in every cell of the body, as well as in the intercellular spaces. There is a difference between biological (bulk) water and cellular (nonbulk) water. Biological water is any water surrounding biomolecule that has distinct properties compared to those in the water mass. Cellular water is an ordered molecular structure that is surrounded by the molecules mediating its transfer inside the cells. The amount of water in the individual body depends on the species, gender, age, and body structure. At cellular level, water mediates and modulates intermolecular forces, controls the rate of substrate diffusion and conformational changes. In animal physiology, water influences all bodily functions, such as thermoregulation, fluid balance, and salt concentration. The level of water consumption in livestock varies between animal species. As much as 99% of the water footprint in animal production comes from feed that animals consume, rather than water that they drink. Therefore, water productivity in livestock farming depends to a large extent on selection of the diets and fodder production. There is a vast difference between use of water by different species to produce the same amount of meat or other products (e.g., eggs or milk). Among meat products, beef has the largest water footprint compared to meat obtained from other farm animals. It is related to the high feed efficiency of the beef cattle. Monogastric animals (e.g., pigs and poultry) farmed in intensive, industrial conditions, have lower total water footprint. Since agriculture is the most water-consuming branch of the human activity, the global supply chains are also taken into account when considering food security. The agriculture might be supplied with water in two ways: rainfed or irrigated. Over the last 50 years the global irrigated area has doubled. Irrigated water competes with water intended for human consumption, as well as producing crops and pulses for human feed. Water is the primary medium which will be affected by the climate change. To conserve the limited resource of freshwater, the agriculture and livestock farming in particular, should be taken into scrutiny.
Population growth, coupled with a growing demand for food, and its consequent waste and economic, social, environmental, and nutritional impacts, has drawn attention to global discussions related to such issues. In this context, the objective of this research was to provide an overview of studies addressing food waste, in particular, fruits and vegetables. To achieve this purpose, a systematic literature review was carried out, covering papers published in international journals from 2007 to 2017, available in the Science Direct database. The results point out the best practices to avoid food waste, as mentioned in the literature considered. In addition, this study gathered information regarding the main characteristics of publications, such as the evolution of the number of publications per year; main methods and techniques used in research, and which journals excel at covering the theme. This paper may be useful to researchers and practitioners interested in this topic since it systematizes the knowledge related to food waste in fruit and vegetable supply chains.
Since the urbanization and industrialization are wildly spread in recent decades, the concentration of Zn in soil has increased in various regions. Although the interactions between P and Zn has long been recognized, the effect of high level of Zn on P uptake, translocation and distribution in rice and its molecular mechanism are not fully understood. In this study, we conducted both hydroponic culture and field trial with different combined applications of P and Zn to analyze the rice growth and yield, the uptake, translocation and distribution of P and Zn, as well as the P- and Zn-related gene expression levels. Our results showed that high level of Zn decreased the rice biomass and yield production, and inhibited the root-to-shoot translocation and distribution of P into new leaves by down-regulating P transporter genes OsPT2 and OsPT8 in shoot, which was controlled by OsPHR2-OsmiR399-OsPHO2 module. High Zn supply triggered P starvation signal in root, thereafter increased the activities of both root-endogenous and -secreted acid phosphatase to release more Pi, and induced the expression OsPT2 and OsPT8 to uptake more P for plant growth. On the other hand, high level of P significantly decreased the Zn concentrations in both root and shoot, and the root uptake ability of Zn through altering the expression levels of OsZIPs, which were further confirmed by the P high-accumulated mutant osnla1-2 and OsPHR2-OE transgenic plant. Taken together, we revealed the physiological and molecular mechanisms of P-Zn interactions, and proposed a working model of the cross-talk between P and Zn in rice plants. Our results also indicated that appropriate application of P fertilizer is an effective strategy to reduce rice uptake of excessive Zn when grown in Zn-contaminated soil.
The number of diseases caused by bacterial plant pathogens was less as compared to fungi, but the loss caused by these diseases is huge. In the recent past, some of the bacterial diseases which had minor importance earlier were major constraints in crop production due to changing climate, which led to lesser productivity. For the management of bacterial diseases, farmers solely rely on chemicals, i.e. antibiotics and antibacterial chemicals. Many of the antimicrobial agents currently available for agricultural use are highly toxic, non-biodegradable and responsible for causing chronic contamination of the ecosystem. In addition, an increasing number of phytopathogens develop resistance against antibiotics and even residual problems in food products. To address this problems, there is a need of novel technologies in plant protection, which includes nanotechnology, chitosan as defence elicitor, CRISPR/CAS, transgenic crops, bacteriophages and endophytes.
The history of the food industry, from its seminal conception in the early 19th century to the current days, represents an instigating story that brings us back to an important statement. More than creating (new) textures, the ongoing opportunity is also in preserving and enhancing attributes derived from the relationships established throughout the value chain in which the food industry operates from farm to fork. Starting from this picture, the main goal of this chapter is to address the past and present of this dynamic, including a discussion on what is expected for the next chapters regarding both sector and technology of food processing.
As the increasing incidence of plant yield loss due to pathogen infection as well as abiotic stress is increasing, the need to reduce loss is required more and more. The use of chemical pesticides, insecticide, and fertilizers does improve plant growth and reduce the losses, but the harm posed to the biosphere cannot be neglected and a new problem is posed through bioaccumulation and biomagnification of these chemicals. Thus, plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and endophytes are studied more concerning their role as a bio protector. These microorganisms alleviate the disease symptoms in many plants and minimize the loss. Their mechanism of action has now been well-studied and their role has been well established. The utilization of endophytes for sustainable agriculture has been looked upon as an alternative. In this chapter, we will see how the yield of crop plant is challenged due to pathogens and the role of endophytes in controlling pathogens as well as growth promotion.
Rapid urbanization and nutrition transition result in increased energy-dense diets, characterized by high levels of refined sugars, salt, and other additives, increased saturated fat intake (mainly from animal source foods), and reduced intakes of complex carbohydrates, fiber, fruits, and vegetables. Most attention on healthy eating is focused on fats and lipids. Lipids are a heterogeneous group of compounds, including fats, oils, steroids, waxes, and related compounds. They are concentrated sources of energy as well as structural components of cell membranes. In addition, dietary fats have crucial physiological functions. The general recommendation is to replace dietary saturated fatty acid and trans-fat acids with polyunsaturated fatty acids, particularly omega3 fatty acids. This approach reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and certain types of cancers. There is therefore a need to refine and update the manufacturing processes to ensure safe, healthier, and environmentally friendly fats and oils. Ultimately, this will result in the changing of consumer perception of fats and oils and improve availability and consumption of these healthy fats and oils. Therefore, this chapter discusses the significance of health-related fatty acids, socio-economic aspects governing their presence in food and consumption, and how all these factors have a bearing on achieving the goal of human health, well-being as well as food and nutrition security.
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