Integrated rice-fish farming in Bangladesh: meeting the challenges of food security

In order to meet the soaring demand for food, there is a need to increase rice and fish production in Bangladesh. In spite of the potential for rice-fish farming, rice monoculture remains the main farming system in Bangladesh. However, rice monoculture cannot provide a sustainable food supply without a cost to long-term environmental sustainability. We provide evidence that integrated rice-fish farming can play an important role in increasing food production as the integrated farming system is better than rice monoculture in terms of resource utilization, diversity, productivity, and both the quality and quantity of the food produced. The Cobb-Douglas production function model also suggests that higher yields can be achieved by increasing inputs in the integrated farming system. Integrated rice-fish farming also provides various socioeconomic and environmental benefits. Nevertheless, only a small number of farmers are involved in integrated rice-fish farming due to a lack of technical knowledge, and an aversion to the risks associated with flood and drought. We conclude that integrated rice-fish farming can help Bangladesh keep pace with the current demand for food through rice and fish production but requires greater encouragement if it is to realize its full potential.     

Prospects for sustainability of pig production in relation to climate change and novel feed resources

Pig production systems provide multiple benefits to humans. However, the global increase in meat consumption has profound consequences for our earth. This perspective describes two alternative scenarios for improving the sustainability of future pig production systems. The first scenario is a high input–high output system based on sustainable intensification, maximizing animal protein production efficiency on a limited land surface at the same time as minimizing environmental impacts. The second scenario is a reduced input–reduced output system based on selecting animals that are more robust to climate change and are better adapted to transform low quality feed (local feeds, feedstuff co-products, food waste) into meat. However, in contrast to the first scenario, the latter scenario results in reduced predicted yields, reduced production efficiency and possibly increased costs to the consumer. National evaluation of the availability of local feed and feedstuff co-product alternatives, determination of limits to feed sourced from international markets, available land for crop and livestock production, desired production levels, and a willingness to politically enforce policies through subsidies and/or penalties are some of the considerations to combine these two scenarios. Given future novel sustainable alternatives to livestock animal protein, it may become reasonable to move towards an added general premium price on ‘protein from livestock animals’ to the benefit of promoting higher incomes to farmers at the same time as covering the extra costs of, politically enforced, welfare of livestock animals in sustainable production systems. © 2020 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.     

Enhanced biodiversity and pollination in UK agroforestry systems

Monoculture farming systems have had serious environmental impacts such as loss of biodiversity and pollinator decline. The authors explain how temperate agroforestry systems show potential in being able to deliver multiple environmental benefits.     

Time for a shift in crop production: embracing complexity through diversity at all levels

A radical shift in our approach to crop production is needed to ensure food security and to address the problems of soil degradation, loss of biodiversity, polluted and restricted water supplies, coupled with a future of fossil fuel limitations and increasingly variable climatic conditions. An interdisciplinary network of European scientists put forward visions for future crop production embracing the complexity of our socio‐ecological system by applying the principle of diversity at all levels from soil micro‐organisms to plant varieties and cropping systems. This approach, integrated with careful deployment of our finite global resources and implementation of appropriate sustainable technology, appears to be the only way to ensure the scale of system resilience needed to cope with many of our concerns. We discuss some of the most important tools such as (i) building soil fertility by recycling of nutrients and sustainable use of other natural and physical resources, (ii) enhancing biological diversity by breeding of crops resilient to climate change and (iii) reconnecting all stakeholders in crop production. Finally, we emphasise some of the changes in agricultural and environmental regulation and policy needed in order to implement the visions. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry     

Implications of sustainable agriculture for the world food situation

Abstract

World population growth rate has slowed since the early 1970s, but growth in world grain production has slowed further. As a result, per capita grain production has declined since 1983. Conventional farming practices that use heavy chemical applications and high‐yielding varieties have resulted in soil erosion, depletion of natural resources, contamination of the environment, and reduced biodiversity; and threaten to diminish the world's ability to sustain life of all kinds. If these trends persist, the earth may not sustain an adequate level of food production. Transition to sustainable agricultural practices could presumably prevent most of this degradation but may not produce adequate supplies of food to meet the growing demand. Although yields from sustainable agricultural farms can be as high as those from conventional farms, food production per acre of rotation generally declines because sustainable farms need to incorporate green manure crops and forage legumes into their rotations. Therefore, food production must be increased, which can be done in two ways: either bring more land into cultivation or increase yields. Although there are large tracts of land still available, their fragile ecosystems make it costly to bring them into production. Future grain production must come from higher yields. However, several studies indicate that the growth of major crop yields is leveling off, and that it has become increasingly difficult to increase crop yields. Therefore, to meet future world food demand, we need to continue to invest in research to develop new technologies that are directed toward sustainable agriculture. Adoption of new technologies could break through the yield ceiling characterized by previous technologies and enable the yield growth rate to outpace the population growth rate.     

Algal biorefinery-based industry: an approach to address fuel and food insecurity for a carbon-smart world

Food and fuel production are intricately interconnected. In a carbon-smart society, it is imperative to produce both food and fuel sustainably. Integration of the emerging biorefinery concept with other industries can bring many environmental deliverables while mitigating several sustainability-related issues with respect to greenhouse gas emissions, fossil fuel usage, land use change for fuel production and future food insufficiency. A new biorefinery-based integrated industrial ecology encompasses the different value chain of products, coproducts, and services from the biorefinery industries. This paper discusses a framework to integrate the algal biofuel-based biorefinery, a booming biofuel sector, with other industries such as livestock, lignocellulosic and aquaculture. Using the USA as an example, this paper also illustrates the benefits associated with sustainable production of fuel and food. Policy and regulatory initiatives for synergistic development of the algal biofuel sector with other industries can bring many sustainable solutions for the future existence of mankind.     

Eco-innovative technologies for extraction of proteins for human consumption from renewable protein sources of plant origin

BackgroundThe need for renewable and sustainable sources of proteins is growing. Diets containing more plant protein are increasing due to several reasons: the negative environmental impacts of animal protein production, the increasing vegetarianism and veganism trends, and inadequate consumer acceptance of food grade insects.Scope and approachThis paper links the isolation of valuable proteins from sustainable sources – by-products from processing industry of plant origin and eco-innovative technologies which are emerging for this purpose (electrostatic separation, subcritical water extraction, reverse micelles extraction, aqueous two-phase systems extraction, enzyme-, microwave-, ultrasound-, pulsed electric energy- and high pressure-assisted extraction). In this way, not only the key challenges of modern food processing are met-the assurance of cost-effective, sustainable and environmentally friendly production, but also the concept of zero food waste seems more achievable.Key findings and conclusionsA number of different techniques have emerged with high potential to assist protein extraction of preserved techno-functional properties, but they are still in the early stage of its industrial applications. In the EU, its industrial application may be hindered by legislative issues. The respective Novel Food Regulation classifies food obtained in a production process not used for food production before 15 May 1997, as “novel food’’ and the regulatory status for each single case must be sought. On the other hand, the utilization of novel processing technologies is regulatory encouraged in EU due to their potential to reduce the environmental impact of food production, enhance food security and bring benefits to consumers.     

Cultivated Ancient Wheats (Triticum spp.): A Potential Source of Health‐Beneficial Food Products

A sustainable and wholesome food supply is the most important incentive that has led to an increasing interest in ancient wheats over the past few decades. Domestication of wheat, followed by breeding efforts, largely over the past 2 centuries, has resulted in yield increases but with grain quality deterioration due to the reduction of protein, vitamins, and minerals in grains. It has also resulted in a decrease in food diversity due to the loss of genetic variation in the cultivated wheat gene pool. Ancient hulled wheats, einkorn, emmer, and spelt are among the early cereals that were domesticated in their places of origin in the Fertile Crescent of the Middle East where their wild predecessors still grow. The ancient wheats had a long history as part of human diet, and played an important role as a major source of food for the early civilizations in that region. The risks of genetic erosion of crop plants and the associated likely consequences for agriculture now call for revitalization of the unrealized potentials of ancestral species like einkorn, emmer, and spelt wheat, the domesticated ancestors of modern durum and bread wheats. These ancestors need to be exploited to maximize the sustainable supply of grain protein, fiber, minerals, and phytochemicals. In addition, ancient wheat biodiversity can be utilized to ensure sustainable wheat production in the context of climate change and low‐input organic farming systems. This review provides a holistic synthesis of the information on ancient wheats to facilitate a greater exploitation of their potential benefits.     

Food and nutrition security in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region

The status of food and nutrition security and its underlying factors in the Hindu‐Kush Himalayan (HKH) region is investigated. In this region, one third to a half of children (<5 years of age) suffer from stunting, with the incidence of wasting and under‐weight also being very high. The prevalence of stunting, wasting and under‐weight in children is particularly high in some mountain areas such as Meghalaya state in India, the western mountains and far‐western hills of Nepal, Balochistan province in Pakistan, eastern Afghanistan, and Chin state in Myanmar. Food habits in the HKH region are changing. This has led to a deterioration in traditional mountain food systems with a decline in agrobiodiversity. Factors such as high poverty and low dietary energy intakes, a lack of hygienic environments, inadequate nutritional knowledge, and climate change and environmental degradation are also influencing food and nutrition security in the HKH region. To achieve sustainable food and nutrition security in the mountains, this study suggests a multi‐sectoral integrated approach with consideration of nutritional aspects in all development processes dealing with economic, social, agricultural and public health issues. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry     

Production of Bioactive Peptides from Lactic Acid Bacteria: A Sustainable Approach for Healthier Foods

Traditional fermented foods where lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are present have been associated with beneficial effects on human health, and some of those benefits are related to protein‐derived products. Peptides produced by LAB have attracted the interest of food industries because of their diverse applications. These peptides include ribosomally produced (bacteriocins) and protein hydrolysates by‐products (bioactive peptides), which can participate as natural preservatives and nutraceuticals, respectively. It is essential to understand the biochemical pathways and the effect of growth conditions for the production of bioactive peptides and bacteriocins by LAB, in order to suggest strategies for optimization. LAB is an important food‐grade expression system that can be used in the simultaneous production of peptide‐based products for the food, animal, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries. This review describes the multifunctional proteinaceous compounds generated by LAB metabolism and discusses a strategy to use a single‐step production process, using an alternative protein‐based media. This strategy will provide economic advantages in fermentation processes and will also provide an environmental alternative to industrial waste valorization. New technologies that can be used to improve production and bioactivity of LAB‐derived peptides are also analyzed.     

In vitro meat: A future animal-free harvest

In vitro meat production is a novel idea of producing meat without involving animals with the help of tissue engineering techniques. This biofabrication of complex living products by using various bioengineering techniques is a potential solution to reduce the ill effects of current meat production systems and can dramatically transform traditional animal-based agriculture by inventing “animal-free” meat and meat products. Nutrition-related diseases, food-borne illnesses, resource use and pollution, and use of farm animals are some serious consequences associated with conventional meat production methods. This new way of animal-free meat production may offer health and environmental advantages by reducing environmental pollution and resource use associated with current meat production systems and will also ensure sustainable production of designer, chemically safe, and disease-free meat as the conditions in an in vitro meat production system are controllable and manipulatable. Theoretically, this system is believed to be efficient enough to supply the global demand for meat; however, establishment of a sustainable in vitro meat production would face considerably greater technical challenges and a great deal of research is still needed to establish this animal-free meat culturing system on an industrial scale.     

Environmental implications of food loss probability in packaging design

In this paper, a new perspective of food packaging design is proposed by using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach, in which shelf life and food loss probability were taken into account. The study focused on twenty-four scenarios of packaging of a ripened cheese obtained from sheep milk, in order to analyze the environmental implications of different packaging systems in terms of potential food loss. The aim is to provide an eco-indicator able to quantify the environmental indirect effects related to the different choices in the food packaging. Results highlighted that, by considering only the direct inputs and outputs of the packaging system, thinner and recyclable packaging materials sealed in air are more sustainable from an environmental point of view. On the contrary, if indirect effects of food loss probability are also taken into account (e.g. production and transport of cheese in order to reconstruct the stockpile), multilayer systems under modified headspace conditions are preferred packaging solutions. This is consequence of the fact that cheese production brings about high environmental impacts if compared to the other phases of the life cycle, therefore, the environmental implications of the choices adopted for the packaging phase are more affected from the capacity of reducing food losses than from the production and disposing of packaging materials.     

Invited review: Sustainable forage and grain crop production for the US dairy industry

A resilient US dairy industry will be underpinned by forage and crop production systems that are economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable. Land use for production of perennial and annual forages and grains for dairy cattle must evolve in response to multiple food security and environmental sustainability issues. These include increasing global populations; higher incomes and demand for dairy and other animal products; climate change with associated temperature and moisture changes; necessary reductions in carbon and water footprints; maintenance of soil quality and soil nutrient concerns; and competition for land. Likewise, maintaining producer profitability and utilizing practices accepted by consumers and society generally must also be considered. Predicted changes in climate and water availability will likely challenge current feed and dairy production systems and their national spatial distribution, particularly the western migration of dairy production in the late 20th century. To maintain and stabilize profitability while reducing carbon footprint, particularly reductions in methane emission and enhancements in soil carbon sequestration, dairy production will need to capitalize on genetic and management innovations that enhance forage and grain production and nutritive value. Improved regional and on-farm integration of feed production and manure utilization is needed to reduce environmental nitrogen and phosphorus losses and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. Resilient and flexible feed production strategies are needed to address each of these challenges and opportunities to ensure profitable feeding of dairy cattle and a sustainable dairy industry.     

Mechanisation of large‐scale agricultural fields in developing countries – a review

Mechanisation of large‐scale agricultural fields often requires the application of modern technologies such as mechanical power, automation, control and robotics. These technologies are generally associated with relatively well developed economies. The application of these technologies in some developing countries in Africa and Asia is limited by factors such as technology compatibility with the environment, availability of resources to facilitate the technology adoption, cost of technology purchase, government policies, adequacy of technology and appropriateness in addressing the needs of the population. As a result, many of the available resources have been used inadequately by farmers, who continue to rely mostly on conventional means of agricultural production, using traditional tools and equipment in most cases. This has led to low productivity and high cost of production among others. Therefore this paper attempts to evaluate the application of present day technology and its limitations to the advancement of large‐scale mechanisation in developing countries of Africa and Asia. Particular emphasis is given to a general understanding of the various levels of mechanisation, present day technology, its management and application to large‐scale agricultural fields. This review also focuses on/gives emphasis to future outlook that will enable a gradual, evolutionary and sustainable technological change. The study concludes that large‐scale‐agricultural farm mechanisation for sustainable food production in Africa and Asia must be anchored on a coherent strategy based on the actual needs and priorities of the large‐scale farmers. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry     

Welfare,performance and meat quality of fattening pigs in alternative housing and management systems: a review

Conventional husbandry systems for pork production are scrutinized by members of the general public as well as the scientific community. As a response, alternative forms of pig production, such as outdoor housing, organic farming and environmental enrichment are gaining interest. The question arises whether these production systems are indeed able to improve the welfare and health status of the animals, and whether these production systems alter production characteristics and meat or carcass traits. Measures of poor welfare have been described, but evaluating overall welfare is difficult. Certain parameters of alternative housing will improve welfare in some ways but, simultaneously, other welfare problems are inflated, and the weighting of each of these problems is very subjective. Alternative housing systems allow pigs to display species‐specific behaviour and decrease the occurrence of abnormal behaviours by acting on several parameters: indoor versus outdoor housing, floor space/density, floor type, and provision of bedding or other types of environmental enrichment. Evaluating alternative housing systems should be done by looking at all the welfare‐improving factors and the cost of alleviating welfare‐decreasing problems in a given production system. Data in the literature on growth, meat and carcass traits in alternative production systems, are inconsistent, indicating that other factors can play an important role. However, as equal, or in some cases even better, performance can be attained in certain production systems that meet concerns of animal welfare scientists and members of the general public, alternative production forms may be considered preferable. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry     

How climate-smart is conservation agriculture (CA)? – its potential to deliver on adaptation,mitigation and productivity on smallholder farms in southern Africa

Climate resilient cropping systems are required to adapt to the increasing threats of climate change projected for Southern Africa and to better manage current climate variability. Conservation agriculture (CA) has been proposed among technologies that are climate-smart. For a cropping system to be labelled “climate-smart” it has to deliver three benefits: a) adapt to the effects of climate and be of increased resilience; b) mitigate climate effects by sequestering carbon (C) and reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG); and c) sustainably increase productivity and income. Research on smallholder farms from Southern Africa was analysed to assess if CA can deliver on the three principles of climate-smart agriculture. Results from Southern Africa showed that CA systems have a positive effect on adaptation and productivity, but its mitigation potential lags far behind expectations. CA systems maintain higher infiltration rates and conserve soil moisture, which helps to overcome seasonal dry-spells. Increased productivity and profitability were recorded although a lag period of 2–5 cropping seasons is common until yield benefits become significant. Immediate economic benefits such as reduced labour requirements in some systems will make CA more attractive in the short term to farmers who cannot afford to wait for several seasons until yield benefits accrue. The available data summarizing the effects of CA on soil organic C (SOC) and reductions in greenhouse gases, are often contradictory and depend a great deal on the agro-ecological environment and the available biomass for surface residue retention. There is an urgent need for more research to better quantify the mitigation effects, as the current data are scanty. Possible co-interventions such as improved intercropping/relay cropping systems, agroforestry and other tree-based systems may improve delivery of mitigation benefits and need further exploration.     

Integration of modern technologies in traditional food processing in Nigeria

Abstract

In Nigeria, women play a major role in food processing, preparation, and preservation using indigenous technology. The techniques employed by the processors are time consuming, laborious, and inefficient since only limited quantities can be handled at a time. Efforts have been made to introduce modern technological systems and food processing but most of these attempts have not been successful. The few modern technological food processing systems that have been widely accepted have common characteristics such as simplicity of use, cheap costs, and does not cause unemployment for some members of the production chain, etc. This paper is geared towards identifying some areas of the indigenous food processing systems, where and why modern technology has been adopted, and also make recommendations for integrating affordable upgraded technology where such are needed.     

LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT OF PASTA PRODUCTION IN ITALY

ABSTRACT

In this article, life cycle assessment was used to evaluate the environmental performances of the production and the distribution of durum wheat pasta, in the Italian market. In accordance with a cradle‐to‐grave approach, the environmental impact of the whole manufacturing process was assessed, taking into account the energetic flows, the consumption of materials and the emissions of pollutants. Results revealed that the agricultural production (i.e., cultivation of wheat) and the production of durum wheat semolina were the subprocesses that accounted for most of the environmental load. Therefore, to improve the environmental performance, an alternative production system was designed in which organic agriculture was used to produce wheat; recyclable cardboard was used as the only packaging material, and a more efficient dust collecting system was installed at the mill (for semolina production). The obtained environmental improvements were finally presented and further discussed.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

Since the late 90s, the Italian producers of pasta have been striving to improve the environmental performance of their productive process and, nowadays, this effort is being extended to the whole supply chain. This article highlights the stages that account for most of the environmental impact (i.e., hot spots) during the production of durum wheat pasta. Suggestions and insight to reduce the overall environmental load are also provided, and their potential benefits are evaluated, in comparison with the traditional productive process. Therefore, this work can be useful for practitioners of the agri‐food industry, who wish to improve the environmental performance of their productive process.

     

Invited review: Beef-on-dairy—The generation of crossbred beef × dairy cattle

Because a growing proportion of the beef output in many countries originates from dairy herds, the most critical decisions about the genetic merit of most carcasses harvested are being made by dairy producers. Interest in the generation of more valuable calves from dairy females is intensifying, and the most likely vehicle is the use of appropriately selected beef bulls for mating to the dairy females. This is especially true given the growing potential to undertake more beef × dairy matings as herd metrics improve (e.g., reproductive performance) and technological advances are more widely adopted (e.g., sexed semen). Clear breed differences (among beef breeds but also compared with dairy breeds) exist for a whole plethora of performance traits, but considerable within-breed variability has also been demonstrated. Although such variability has implications for the choice of bull to mate to dairy females, the fact that dairy females themselves exhibit such genetic variability implies that “one size fits all” may not be appropriate for bull selection. Although differences in a whole series of key performance indicators have been documented between beef and beef-on-dairy animals, of particular note is the reported lower environmental hoofprint associated with beef-on-dairy production systems if the environmental overhead of the mature cow is attributed to the milk she eventually produces. Despite the known contribution of beef (i.e., both surplus calves and cull cows) to the overall gross output of most dairy herds globally, and the fact that each dairy female contributes half her genetic merit to her progeny, proxies for meat yield (i.e., veal or beef) are not directly considered in the vast majority of dairy cow breeding objectives. Breeding objectives to identify beef bulls suitable for dairy production systems are now being developed and validated, demonstrating the financial benefit of using such breeding objectives over and above a focus on dairy bulls or easy-calving, short-gestation beef bulls. When this approach is complemented by management-based decision-support tools, considerable potential exists to improve the profitability and sustainability of modern dairy production systems by exploiting beef-on-dairy breeding strategies using the most appropriate beef bulls.     

大力开展循环经济是现代酒企的发展方向

开展循环经济、是企业实现可持续发展的必由之路,保护生态环境是任何一个企业所应承担的重要社会责任。大力发展循环经济,实施清洁生产工艺,是现代酿酒行业的发展方向。文王酒业以追求更大经济效益、更少资源消耗、更低环境污染的先进经济模式为目标,创立了“粮食-酒糟液-沼渣及沼液-固体有机肥”等多种生态模式,产生了良好的经济效益、生态效益和社会效益,有效改善了周边的生态环境和生活环境,确保了公司的可持续发展。该模式在国家级报刊《经济日报》上发表,并作为经验被广泛推广.