“Si no comemos tortilla,no vivimos:” women,climate change,and food security in central Mexico

In recent years, it has become clear that food security is intimately related to complex environmental, social, political, and economic issues. Even though several studies document the impact of climate on food production and agriculture, a growing segment of research examines how climate change impacts food systems and associated livelihoods. Furthermore, while women play a crucial role in providing food security for their families, little research exists that examines the nexus among gender relations, climate change, and household food security. This study investigates these relationships by asking: (1) how is the production and reproduction of knowledge about food security and climate change shaped by gender and lived experience, and (2) how does this knowledge influence attitudes and strategies for maintaining food security in a changing climate? Drawing on the results of research in two communities in central Mexico, I argue that women’s perceptions of and strategies for maintaining food security are derived from their socio-political, environmental, and economic contexts. This study contributes to both the growing literature on the gender dynamics of climate change, as well as debates about the role of bioengineered seeds in helping farmers to adapt to a changing climate.     

Not just what, but how: Creating agricultural sustainability and food security by changing Canada's agricultural policy making process

Agriculture has been enormously productive in recent decades. The main problem is that fragmentation of issues, knowledge, and responsibilities has hidden the costs associated with this success. These are mainly environmental, social, and health costs, which have been assigned to other ministries, with their own histories unconnected to agriculture. Now that agricultural policy has achieved its success, its costs are becoming apparent. The current system is preoccupied with traditional views of competitiveness and efficiency. Policies, programs, and regulations are organized to support specific commodities, not farming and food systems. Responsibilities are extremely fragmented and frequently uncoordinated. In this environment, the focus on nourishment, food security, and environmental sustainability is subordinated to economic issues.The future lies in reorienting agricultural policy away from maximum production and towards sustainability. We propose a major transformation of the policy making apparatus in order to shift the focus of the system towards nourishment, food security, and sustainability. A new policy making system must be built on the themes of: integrated responsibilities and activities; emphasis on macro-policy; transdisciplinary policy development; proximity of policy makers to the diverse groups affected by problems needing resolution; food systems policy.The design principles for such a new system are taken from the theory of food security and ecology. Using these principles, we design a new provincial department of food and food security, and test this design with two case studies.     

Air pollution,food production and food security: A review from the perspective of food system

Air pollution negatively impacts food security. This paper reviews the current literature on the relationship between air pollution and food security from the perspective of food system. It highlights that agricultural emissions which substantially contribute to air pollution could happen at every stage along the food supply chain. Meanwhile, air pollution can not only affect plant growth and animal health but also shift market equilibrium of both agro-inputs and outputs in the food supply chain and thereby affect food security indirectly. Furthermore, this study evaluates the effects of agricultural policy and energy policy on food security and air pollution, respectively, and provides an overview of potential policy instruments to reduce air pollution while ensuring food security. Finally, we identify the remaining research and policy issues for further studies, mainly focusing on the study of household's bounded rational behaviors and the issue of rural aging population.     

On (not) knowing where your food comes from: meat,mothering and ethical eating

Knowledge is a presumed motivator for changed consumption practices in ethical eating discourse: the consumer learns more about where their food comes from and makes different consumption choices. Despite intuitive appeal, scholars are beginning to illuminate the limits of knowledge-focused praxis for ethical eating. In this paper, we draw from qualitative interviews and focus groups with Toronto mothers to explore the role of knowledge in conceptions of ethical foodwork. While the goal of educating children about their food has become central to Canadian and American discourses of “good” mothering, we identify a paradoxical maternal expectation surrounding meat consumption: (1) to raise informed child consumers who know where their food comes from, and (2) to protect children from the harsh realities of animal slaughter. Rather than revealing the story behind the meat on a child’s plate, mothers seek to shield children from knowledge of meat production. Our analysis of the child consumer contributes to ethical eating scholarship and illuminates a larger paradox surrounding knowledge of meat in an industrialized food system. In the practice of feeding children, mothers confront the visceral discomforts of meat consumption; their reactions speak to discordant feelings involved with eating meat in a setting far-removed from the lives and deaths of animals. Ultimately, the paper illustrates the limits of consumer-focused strategies for food-system change that call on individual mothers to educate young consumers and protect childhood innocence, all while getting ethically-sourced meals on the table.     

Integrating food security into public health and provincial government departments in British Columbia, Canada

Food security policy, programs, and infrastructure have been incorporated into Public Health and other areas of the Provincial Government in British Columbia, including the adoption of food security as a Public Health Core Program. A policy analysis of the integration into Public Health is completed by merging findings from 48 key informant interviews conducted with government, civil society, and food supply chain representatives involved in the initiatives along with relevant documents and participant/direct observations. The paper then examines the results within the context of historic and international trends and theoretical models of food policy, community food security, and applied policy research. Public Health re-emerged as a driver of food security in BC—both as a key player and in positing the public’s health as a driver in food security and food systems. While Public Health’s lead role supported an increase in legitimacy for food security in BC, interviewees described a clash of cultures between Public Health and civil society. The clash of cultures occurred partly as a result of Public Health’s limited food security mandate and top down approach. Consequently civil society voice at the provincial level was marginalized. A social policy movement toward a new political paradigm—regulatory pluralism—calls for greater engagement of civil society, and for all sectors to work together toward common goals. A new, emerging policy map is proposed for analyzing the dynamics of food security and health promotion initiatives in BC.     

LEVERAGING LIVESTOCK TO PROMOTE A CIRCULAR FOOD SYSTEM

Livestock provide multifaceted services to human societies worldwide. In developing countries, they are crucial assets and safety net for rural poor, and they provide nutrients-dense food to nourish people. In developed economies, growth in demand for animal-derived food is slowing while attention is growing over the role of livestock farming in an enhanced circular food system for sustainability. This analysis, focusing on the modern food systems in developed countries, aims to highlight the unique function of livestock that helps people re-harvest and upcycle crop and food residues generated along the food chain that are otherwise unfit for human consumption. First, human-unusable crop and food residue materials are described in three broad categories based on their characteristics and potential feeding attributes; the magnitude of biomass materials that are already used in routine animal feeding as well as residues that remain as underutilized resources are illustrated using the USA as an example. Then, the research and technology development critically needed for the future is discussed. As the world strives to produce more food with smaller environmental and climate footprints, upcycling the residual biomass via livestock for food production presents a viable pathway toward improved resource use, reduced pollution and enhanced food system efficiency.     

中国水产品的可持续供给

水产品是中国最重要的动物蛋白来源之一，为中国粮食安全和营养供给做出了重要贡献。随着中国经济的快速发展，中国对水产品的需求和消费有望进一步增加。为了降低未来中国水产品供给的风险，本研究系统地分析了中国水产品供给和消费的现状和发展趋势。研究表明，中国的水产品主要由水产养殖和捕捞渔业供给，进口水产品占国内水产品供给和消费的比例仍低于5.00%。目前水产养殖产量已四倍于捕捞渔业产量，且捕捞渔业增长乏力，而水产养殖产量将继续增加。然而，中国水产养殖面积和水产业从业人员数近年开始逐渐降低，增加了中国水产品稳定、可持续供给的风险。由于中国巨大的水产品供给和消费体量，未来中国水产品供给仍需要坚持立足国内生产。需要提高水产养殖产量来满足中国对水产品需求的增量，同时稳定海洋和内陆捕捞产量，并以进口作为水产品供给的适当补充。需要提高水产养殖集约化水平，努力提高水产养殖单位面积产量和劳动生产效率，同时降低水产养殖引起的环境影响，实现“可持续集约化”。本研究还提出了需要加强水产品在粮食安全政策的地位、通过更好的统计数据支撑政策制定、更多和更均衡的资源投入支持水产业发展等建议。     

Cultivating citizenship,equity, and social inclusion? Putting civic agriculture into practice through urban farming

Civic agriculture is an approach to agriculture and food production that—in contrast with the industrial food system—is embedded in local environmental, social, and economic contexts. Alongside proliferation of the alternative food projects that characterize civic agriculture, growing literature critiques how their implementation runs counter to the ideal of civic agriculture. This study assesses the relevance of three such critiques to urban farming, aiming to understand how different farming models balance civic and economic exchange, prioritize food justice, and create socially inclusive spaces. Using a case study approach that incorporated interviews, participant observation, and document review, I compare two urban farms in Baltimore, Maryland—a “community farm” that emphasizes community engagement, and a “commercial farm” that focuses on job creation. Findings reveal the community farm prioritizes civic participation and food access for low-income residents, and strives to create socially inclusive space. However, the farmers’ “outsider” status challenges community engagement efforts. The commercial farm focuses on financial sustainability rather than participatory processes or food equity, reflecting the use of food production as a means toward community development rather than propagation of a food citizenry. Both farms meet authentic needs that contribute to neighborhood improvement, though findings suggest a lack of interest by residents in obtaining urban farm food, raising concerns about its appeal and accessibility to diverse consumers. Though not equally participatory, equitable, or social inclusive, both farms exemplify projects physically and philosophically rooted in the local social context, necessary characteristics for promoting civic engagement with the food system.     

Transitions to sustainability: a change in thinking about food systems change?

In the present context of intertwined and intensifying economic, environmental and climate challenges and crisis, we need to enlarge our thinking about food systems change. One way to do so is by considering intersections between our longstanding interdisciplinary interest in food and agriculture and new scholarship and practice centered on transitions to sustainability. The general idea of transition references change in a wide range of fields and contexts, and has gained prominence most recently as a way to discuss and address sustainability challenges. To explore connections to food systems change, I highlight two broad approaches in the sustainability transitions research field. First is a multi-level perspective that examines sustainability innovation pathways and second is a social practices approach that illuminates the possibilities (or not) for shifts in normal everyday routines and practices. Taken together, these approaches offer different and useful ways to think about the dynamics, durability and significance of innovations in food and agriculture, and the part they play in transitions to sustainability. Numerous opportunities exist to forge more productive links between work on food systems change and the broad and growing sustainability transitions field. First, our research and practice insights about the importance of politics, governance, values and ethics in food and agriculture could help to strengthen the sustainability transitions field, which initially underplayed such questions. Second, the sustainability transitions field’s implicit systems sensibility and its futures orientation could help to widen the scope of inquiry and the contribution to policy and planning of research and practice on food systems change.     

SUSTAINABLE NITROGEN MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIAN AGROECOSYSTEMS: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

● There is huge potential for improvement of nitrogen management in Australia. ● N management should incorporate environmental, social and economic sustainability. ● Agronomic, ecological and socioeconomic approaches and efforts are needed. Nitrogen is an essential nutrient that supports life, but excess N in the human-environment system causes multiple adverse effects from the local to the global scale. Sustainable N management in agroecosystems, therefore, has become more and more critical to address the increasing concern over food security, environmental quality and climate change. Australia is facing a serious challenge for sustainable N management due to its emission-intensive lifestyle (high level of animal-source foods and fossil fuels consumption) and its diversity of agricultural production systems, from extensive rainfed grain systems with mining of soil N to intensive crop and animal production systems with excessive use of N. This paper reviews the major challenges and future opportunities for making Australian agrifood systems more sustainable, less polluting and more profitable.     

Climate change adaptation,greenhouse gas mitigation and economic profitability of conservation agriculture: Some examples from cereal systems of Indo-Gangetic Plains

Achieving sustainability of the cereal system in the Indo-Gangetic Plains(IGP)of India under progressive climate change and variability necessitates adoption of practices and technologies that increase food production,adaptation and mitigation in a sustainable way.This paper examines conservation agriculture(CA)from the perspective of:(i)increased yield and farm income,(ii)adaptation to heat and water stresses,and(iii)reduction in greenhouse gas(GHGs)emissions.The analyses and conclusions are based on the literature and evidences from a large number of on-station as well as farmers’field trials on CA in the cereal systems of IGP.Our analyses show that CA-based system substantially reduces the production cost(up to 23%)but produces equal or even higher than conventional system;thereby increasing economic profitability of production system.CA-based production systems also moderated the effect of high temperature(reduced canopy temperature by 1–4°C)and increased irrigation water productivity by 66–100%compared to traditional production systems thus well adapting to water and heat stress situations of IGP.Our continuous monitoring of soil flux of CO2,N2O and CH4 revealed that CA-based rice-wheat systems emit 10–15%less GHGs than conventional systems.This is the first time that CA and its components are synthesized and analyzed from food security-climate change nexus.From this holistic analysis,we suggest that wide-scale promotion of suitable CA practices by integrating into national agriculture development strategy is a way forward to address food security,climate change adaptation and mitigation challenges faced by present agriculture.     

我国农业部门适应气候变化的措施、障碍与对策分析

中国是一个农业大国,农业生产直接关系到社会稳定和可持续发展。气候变化会对我国农业生产和粮食安全产生重大影响。本文通过文献综述和比较研究,系统分析了气候变化对农业部门可能造成的影响,分区域梳理了不同地区面临的主要气候风险和可以采取的适应措施,并识别了各项适应措施在实施过程中可能遇到的障碍,提出相关对策和政策建议。     

The resilience of long and short food chains: a case study of flooding in Queensland,Australia

This paper provides new insights into the food security performance of long and short food chains, through an analysis of the resilience of such chains during the severe weather events that occurred in the Australian State of Queensland in early 2011. Widespread flooding cut roads and highways, isolated towns, and resulted in the deaths of people and animals. Farmlands were inundated and there were food shortages in many towns. We found clear evidence that the supermarket-based (long) food chain delivery system experienced significant difficulties in supplying food to flood-affected towns. In contrast, more localized (short) food supply chains—which relied upon supply from growers in peri-urban areas and community-based food initiatives—remained largely intact, and provided food at a time when the supermarkets were limited in their ability to respond to consumer demand. However, on closer examination of food distribution during flooding in the regional city of Rockhampton and in the State capital, Brisbane, the demarcation of success between “long” and “short” food chains became blurred. Both types of food supply chains shared some key resilience characteristics in responding to crisis but diverged in other important ways. We argue that conceptualizing food chains in terms of key elements of resilience—scale, diversity, flexibility and cohesion—may be more fruitful than the short-long dichotomy alone. This approach is particularly useful when prioritizing food security as the basis for evaluating food system sustainability in a context of predicted increases in extreme weather events and future climate change.     

陇县唐家庄乡生态畜牧业产业化基地建设

针对陇县唐家庄乡畜牧业生产基础薄弱的实际,建立了以种植紫花苜蓿为突破口,以奶山羊等草食家畜生产为转化器,以乳品加工为龙头的林草－家畜－粮食生产相协调、牧工商一体化的生态畜牧业产业化生产体系。实践证明,该体系获得了良好的社会效益、生态效益和经济效益。     

西南地区发展气候智慧型农业的对策建议

目前,全球气候变化形势严峻,而农业生产与气候变化相互影响。探索气候变化条件下的新型农业生产模式,既可以提高农民收入、保障区域粮食安全,又可以减少温室气体排放、缓解气候变化。在系统梳理气候变化对农业生产的影响、农业生产对气候变化的推动作用和适应气候变化下的农业生产方式相关研究的基础上,全面分析了气候变化下农业生产面临的严峻考验和转变农业生产方式的重要意义。传统农业生产方式在人口持续增长和气候变化的双重影响下已不能满足需求,为应对气候变化提出的气候智慧型农业可以促使农业可持续发展,增强农业生产适应性,减少温室气体排放,缓解全球气候变化。依据西南地区的自然条件和国内外应对气候变化的先进农业生产经验,提出了我国西南地区发展气候智慧型农业的建议对策,制定区域气候智慧型农业的政策制度,完善区域气候智慧型农业的技术措施,综合开发和因地制宜选择气候智慧型农业的发展模式。     

Innovations of phosphorus sustainability: implications for the whole chain

Phosphorus (P) is a non-renewable resource, therefore ensuring global food and environmental security depends upon sustainable P management. To achieve this goal, sustainable P management in the upstream and downstream sectors of agriculture from mineral extraction to food consumption must be addressed systematically. The innovation and feasibility of P sustainability are highlighted from the perspective of the whole P-based chain, including the mining and processing of P rock, production of P fertilizers, soil and rhizosphere processes involving P, absorption and utilization of P by plants, P in livestock production, as well as flow and management of P at the catchment scale. The paper also emphasizes the importance of recycling P and the current challenges of P recovery. Finally, sustainable solutions of holistic P management are proposed from the perspective of technology improvement with policy support.     

Review on drivers,trends and emerging issues of the food wastage in China

China has successfully achieved food self-sufficiency over the past 50 years, however, with large inputs and losses. To meet the challenge of feeding a growing population with limited resources, many studies have explored options for improving productivity and efficiency of the food production. However, there have been few studies into the potential of reducing food loss along the whole food production-consumption chain. Here we review the literature on food waste in China. We briefly analyze (1) the drivers that influence levels of food waste in the food chain, (2) examine trends in the volumes and types of food wasted at different stages in the food chain, (3) assess the environmental and resource consequences of food waste in the food chain, and (4) evaluate the policy and stakeholder responses to the emerging challenges. It is concluded that reducing food loss and meeting food security in China requires a coherent institutional structure that promotes the synergistic outcomes of research, policy and education. Suggested key actions include (1) improving machinery and facility for sowing, harvesting, transportation and storage, which can reduce food loss by up to 50%, and (2) improving food waste recycling management, based on coupled food production and consumption systems.     

科技进步推动粮食安全保障体系探讨

全球粮食安全面临自然资源有限性、气候变化、人口增长和消费模式变化等重大挑战。在这一背景下,科技进步成为确保粮食安全的关键驱动力。本文综合探讨了科技在粮食安全保障体系中的应用,包括生物技术和基因编辑在提高粮食生产效率、精准农业在优化资源利用、现代仓储技术与保鲜技术在减少粮食损耗、以及物联网和区块链技术在提升食品追溯透明度等方面的贡献。尽管科技进步为粮食安全带来了前所未有的机遇,但同时也面临着技术可达性、成本、伦理和安全性等挑战。未来科技发展需注重智能化、可持续性和伦理性,以更有效地促进全球粮食安全。     

Advancing the human right to food in Canada: Social policy and the politics of hunger, welfare, and food security

This article argues that hunger in Canada, while being an outcome of unemployment, low incomes, and inadequate welfare, springs also from the failure to recognize and implement the human right to food. Food security has, however, largely been ignored by progressive social policy analysis. Barriers standing in the way of achieving food security include the increasing commodification of welfare and the corporatization of food, the depoliticization of hunger by governments and the voluntary sector, and, most particularly, the neglect by the federal and provincial governments of their obligations to guarantee the domestic right to food as expressed in international human rights law. The interconnectedness of hunger, welfare, and food security issues in a first world society are explored from the perspective of progressive social policy and food security analysis and the development of alternative strategies. In terms of advancing the human right to food in Canada, particular emphasis is placed on the role of the state and civil society, and the social and economic rights of citizenship built on an inclusive social policy analysis and politics of welfare, food security and human rights.     

适应气候变化的我国粮食安全及经济增长研究——基于静态多区域农业一般均衡模型

采用静态多区域农业一般均衡模型,把A2气候变化情景和B2气候变化情景导致粮食产量变化作为政策模拟条件,本文研究了气候变化对我国粮食生产、消费及其经济增长的影响。模拟结果显示,无论是A2还是B2气候变化情景,我国玉米、小麦和水稻总体产出增加态势较为明显,中间投入需求和家庭消费需求明显增加,同时模拟结果还显示我国各地区玉米、小麦和水稻的出口将会随着产出的增长而大幅增加、进口随着产出的增加而大幅下降。在经济增长方面,绝大多数地区宏观经济呈增长态势,表现在实际GDP、实际投资、总进出口额的增加。基于研究结果本研究得出如下结论：气候变化会导致我国粮食总产量增加,我国经济增长得以保障。气候变化所引起的粮食产量变化地区间有所差异,总的来说粮食主产区增长幅度要高于非主产区增长幅度,其中东北三省粮食增幅最为明显;不同作物产量因时(时间)因景(气候变化情景)有较大差异;虽然气候变化导致我国各地区粮食产量总体呈增加态势,但未来不确定因素较多,我国粮食安全问题仍不可掉以轻心。