Assessing health in agriculture – towards a common research framework for soils,plants, animals,humans and ecosystems

In agriculture and food systems, health‐related research includes a vast diversity of topics. Nutritional, toxicological, pharmacological, epidemiological, behavioural, sociological, economic and political methods are used to study health in the five domains of soils, plants, livestock, humans and ecosystems. An idea developed in the early founding days of organic agriculture stated that the health of all domains is one and indivisible. Here we show that recent research reveals the existence and complex nature of such health links among domains. However, studies of health aspects in agriculture are often separated by disciplinary boundaries. This restrains the understanding of health in agricultural systems. Therefore we explore the opportunities and limitations of bringing perspectives together from the different domains. We review current approaches to define and assess health in agricultural contexts, comparing the state of the art of commonly used approaches and bringing together the presently disconnected debates in soil science, plant science, veterinary science and human medicine. Based on a qualitative literature analysis, we suggest that many health criteria fall into two paradigms: (1) the Growth Paradigm, where terms are primarily oriented towards continued growth; (2) the Boundary Paradigm, where terms focus on maintaining or coming back to a status quo, recognising system boundaries. Scientific health assessments in agricultural and food systems need to be explicit in terms of their position on the continuum between Growth Paradigm and Boundary Paradigm. Finally, we identify areas and concepts for a future direction of health assessment and research in agricultural and food systems. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry     

Priorities for science to overcome hurdles thwarting the full promise of the ‘digital agriculture’ revolution

Abstract The world needs to produce more food, more sustainably, on a planet with scarce resources and under changing climate. The advancement of technologies, computing power and analytics offers the possibility that ‘digitalisation of agriculture’ can provide new solutions to these complex challenges. The role of science is to evidence and support the design and use of digital technologies to realise these beneficial outcomes and avoid unintended consequences. This requires consideration of data governance design to enable the benefits of digital agriculture to be shared equitably and how digital agriculture could change agricultural business models; that is, farm structures, the value chain and stakeholder roles, networks and power relations, and governance. We argue that this requires transdisciplinary research (at pace), including explicit consideration of the aforementioned socio-ethical issues, data governance and business models, alongside addressing technical issues, as we now have to simultaneously deal with multiple interacting outcomes in complex technical, social, economic and governance systems. The exciting prospect is that digitalisation of science can enable this new, and more effective, way of working. The question then becomes: how can we effectively accelerate this shift to a new way of working in agricultural science? As well as identifying key research areas, we suggest organisational changes will be required: new research business models, agile project management; new skills and capabilities; and collaborations with new partners to develop ‘technology ecosystems’. © 2018 The Authors. © 2018 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.     

Accumulation of current-use pesticides in neotropical montane forests

In Central America, chemical-intensive tropical agriculture takes place in close proximity to highly valued and biologically diverse ecosystems, yet the potential for atmospheric transport of pesticides from plantations to national parks and other reserves is poorly characterized. The specific meteorological conditions of mountain ranges can lead to contaminant convergence at high altitudes, raising particular concern for montane forest ecosystems downwind from pesticide use areas. Here we show, based on a wide-ranging air and soil sampling campaign across Costa Rica, that soils in some neotropical montane forests indeed display much higher concentrations of currently used pesticides than soils elsewhere in the country. Specifically, elevated concentrations of the fungicide chlorothalonil, the herbicide dacthal, and the insecticide metabolite endosulfan sulfate on volcanoes Barva and Poas, lying directly downwind of the extensive banana plantations of the Caribbean lowland, indicate the occurrence of atmospheric transport and wet deposition of pesticides at high altitudes. Calculations with a contaminant fate model, designed for mountain regions and parametrized to the Costa Rican environment, show that chemicals with a log K(AW) between -3 and -5 have a greater potential for accumulation at high altitudes. This enrichment behavior is quantified by the Mountain Contamination Potential and is sensitive to contaminant degradability. The modeling work supports the hypothesis suggested by the field results that it is enhanced precipitation scavenging at high elevations (caused by lower temperatures and governed by K(AW)) that causes pesticides to accumulate in tropical montane areas. By providing for the first time evidence of significant transfer of currently used pesticides to Central American montane cloud forests, this study highlights the need to evaluate the risk that tropical agricultural practices place on the region's ecological reserves.     

Targeting carbon for crop yield and drought resilience

Current methods of crop improvement are not keeping pace with projected increases in population growth. Breeding, focused around key traits of stem height and disease resistance, delivered the step‐change yield improvements of the green revolution of the 1960s. However, subsequently, yield increases through conventional breeding have been below the projected requirement of 2.4% per year required by 2050. Genetic modification (GM) mainly for herbicide tolerance and insect resistance has been transformational, akin to a second green revolution, although GM has yet to make major inroads into intrinsic yield processes themselves. Drought imposes the major restriction on crop yields globally but, as yet, has not benefited substantially from genetic improvement and still presents a major challenge to agriculture. Much still has to be learnt about the complex process of how drought limits yield and what should be targeted. Mechanisms of drought adaptation from the natural environment cannot be taken into crops without significant modification for the agricultural environment because mechanisms of drought tolerance are often in contrast with mechanisms of high productivity required in agriculture. However, through convergence of fundamental and translational science, it would appear that a mechanism of sucrose allocation in crops can be modified for both productivity and resilience to drought and other stresses. Recent publications show how this mechanism can be targeted by GM, natural variation and a new chemical approach. Here, with an emphasis on drought, we highlight how understanding fundamental science about how crops grow, develop and what limits their growth and yield can be combined with targeted genetic selection and pioneering chemical intervention technology for transformational yield improvements. © 2017 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.     

Coupling of soil regeneration,food security,and nutrition outcomes in Andean subsistence agroecosystems

To sustain the livelihoods of smallholder farmers globally, improved human nutrition must not sacrifice future agroecosystem productivity. We gathered environmental, agricultural management, food security (FS), and normalized child height for age (HAZ; children age < 2y) data from 297 farming households to test whether enhanced FS and nutrition goals can be aligned with agroecosystem maintenance in Andean farming systems that rely heavily on the local environment. Our results demonstrate many expected relationships between environment, agriculture, and nutrition in these communities’ households, for example between ecosystem biomass production and manuring rates, between total household crop production and FS, and between HAZ and child diet diversity. However, increased FS status evaluated by households was unrelated to HAZ as an indicator of nutrition status. By contrast, better child nutrition and feeding practices in some households were associated not with total production but with farming practices that sustain soils and secure higher per-hectare crop yields: longer fallows, greater crop diversity, and smaller cropped areas. These results may be explained by the tendency for agricultural practices correlated with household food insecurity (e.g. reduced manure inputs, greater cropped area) to increase labor and impede appropriate feeding and child nutrition while they accelerate environmental degradation. Crop production imperatives for food supply can thus degrade soils without delivering improved nutrition. Meanwhile, more sustainable practices in households with better child nutrition (e.g. smaller, better-manured crop areas) may address time barriers to effective care and feeding. We discuss challenges and opportunities based on these results for meeting both nutrition and environmental goals.     

Econutrition: implementation models from the Millennium Villages Project in Africa

Econutrition integrates environmental health and human health, with a particular focus on the interactions among the fields of agriculture, ecology, and human nutrition. Soil loss and degradation and human undernutrition are major barriers to economic development in Africa. A primary aim of the Millennium Villages Project in Africa is to meet the Millennium Development Goals by integrated multisectoral interventions in health and nutrition, agriculture, and environmental sustainability in hunger and poverty hot spots in Africa. Econutrition is only one example of how interdisciplinary approaches are not only critical to alleviating extreme poverty but also fundamental to linking basic science understanding in multiple areas. Human health and agricultural productivity gain, and the costs of the gains are lowered, when we take the opportunity to apply different disciplines through cross-sectoral, thematically linked interventions.     

Safety of food crops on land contaminated with trace elements

Contamination of agricultural soils with trace elements (TEs) through municipal and industrial wastes, atmospheric deposition and fertilisers is a matter of great global concern. Since TE accumulation in edible plant parts depends on soil characteristics, plant genotype and agricultural practices, those soil- and plant-specific options that restrict the entry of harmful TEs into the food chain to protect human and animal health are reviewed. Soil options such as in situ stabilisation of TEs in soils, changes in physicochemical parameters, fertiliser management, element interactions and agronomic practices reduce TE uptake by food crops. Furthermore, phytoremediation and solubilisation as alternative techniques to reduce TE concentrations in soils are also discussed. Among plant options, selection of species and cultivars, metabolic processes and microbial transformations in the rhizosphere can potentially affect TE uptake and distribution in plants. For this purpose, genetic variations are exploited to select cultivars with low uptake potential, especially low-cadmium accumulator wheat and rice cultivars. The microbial reduction of elements and transformations in the rhizosphere are other key players in the cycling of TEs that may offer the basis for a wide range of innovative biotechnological processes. It is thus concluded that appropriate combination of soil- and plant-specific options can minimise TE transfer to the food chain.     

Applying Ecological Engineering for Sustainable and Resilient Rice Production Systems

Global changes will affect rice ecosystems at local levels. Although issues of climate change have received most attention, other global changes will have more immediate impacts on crop productivity and health. These changes include the phenomenal advances in modern industrial output, especially in China and India, in mechanization, in communications technology and advertizing, in transportation networks and connectivity, as well as demographic shifts toward urban centers. Driven by policies around food security, market impacts on crop production, and trade regulations, these changes will define crop production systems into the future, impacting rice biodiversity and ecosystem function and giving rise to new pest and disease scenarios. This paper presents a framework for a holistic approach to ‘rice ecosystem health’ aimed at securing food production while protecting farmer, consumer and ecosystem health. Recent advances in environmentally friendly agriculture, including ecological engineering, are central to the sustainability and resilience of rice ecosystems; but require support from policy to ensure their best effects. This paper introduces some recent advances in the methods of ecological engineering based on research conducted in the Philippines.     

Open dumping site in Asian developing countries: a potential source of polychlorinated dibenz-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans

Open landfill dumping areas for municipal wastes in Asian developing countries have recently received particular attention with regard to environmental pollution problems. Because of the uncontrolled burning of solid wastes, elevated contamination by various toxic chemicals including dioxins and related compounds in these dumping sites has been anticipated. In this study, concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), and coplanar polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were determined in soils from dumping sites in the Philippines, Cambodia, India, and Vietnam. Residue concentrations of PCDD/Fs and coplanar PCBs in dumping site soils were apparently greater than those in soils collected in agricultural or urban areas far from dumping sites, suggesting that dumping sites are potential sources of PCDD/Fs and related compounds. Observed PCDD/F concentrations in soils from dumping sites in the Philippines and Cambodia were comparable or higher than those reported for dioxin-contaminated locations in the world (e.g., near the municipal waste incinerators and open landfill dumping sites). Homologue profiles of PCDD/Fs in dumping site soils from the Philippines and, to a lesser extent, from Cambodia and India reflected patterns of samples representing typical emissions, while profiles of agricultural or urban soils were similar to those of typical environmental sinks. This result suggests recent formation of PCDD/Fs in dumping site areas and that open dumping sites are a potential source of dioxins in Asian developing countries. Uncontrolled combustions of solid wastes by waste pickers, generation of methane gas, and low-temperature burning can be major factors for the formation of dioxins in dumping sites. Elevated fluxes of PCDD/Fs to soils in dumping sites were encountered in the Philippines, Cambodia, India, and Vietnam-Hanoi, and these levels were higher than those reported for other countries. Considerable loading rates of PCDD/Fs in the dumping sites of these countries were observed, ranging from 20 to 3900 mg/yr (0.12-35 mg TEQ/yr). PCDD/F concentrations in some soil samples from the Philippines, Cambodia, India, and Vietnam-Hanoi exceeded environmental guideline values, suggesting potential health effects on humans and wildlife living near these dumping sites. The estimated intakes of dioxins via soil ingestion and dermal exposure for children were higher than those for adults, suggesting greater risk of dioxin exposure for children in dumping sites. To our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive study on PCDD/Fs contamination in open dumping sites of Asian developing countries. On the basis of the result of this study, we have addressed a new environmental issue that open dumping sites are potential sources of PCDD/Fs and related compounds, and dioxin contamination in dumping sites may become a key environmental problem in developing countries.     

小议循环农业发展与环保治理有效统一的措施

在农业化肥使用率高以及工业污染严重的背景下,我国农村面临严重的环境污染问题,这些环保问题非常突出,必须采取有效的措施进行优化。因此,当前必须结合实际情况推进循环农业发展。本文主要以循环农业为背景,结合实际案例分析循环农业与环保治理如何有效统一,并针对分析结果提出建议和措施,从而为循环农业发展与环保治理打下良好的基础。     

纺织品在农业上的应用和发展

在现代农业中纺织品占有重要地位 ,它的广泛使用大大促进了农业科技的发展。农业纺织品可广泛应用在农田水土保持、排水灌溉、保护植物和促进植物生长、温室大棚 (包括遮阳降温、储能保温材料 )、农用覆盖材料、植物生长基质材料等方面 ,本文将就农用纺织品在一些领域的应用加以介绍。     

Dairy animal welfare. Public mood and how we respond

Farm animal welfarism is a complicated, dangerous issue for animal agriculture today. The public mood is complex. Much of the public's positive perception of farmers and their practices is based on myths, not understanding. Many farmers do not rate the animal welfare issue as a clear and present concern. Consumers decide whether or not to eat foods of animal origin mainly on the basis of factors other than ethical concerns. Still, the job of educating our fellow citizens so as to engender their enlightened support of animal agriculture will need to be done deftly. Approximately 10% of our citizenry who are undecided on this issue ultimately will decide our industry's course. At this time, we in animal agriculture need to respond in a well-organized fashion. We should develop educational materials and programs about animal production practices for our fellow citizens, especially youngsters, and we should establish guidelines for the care and use of agricultural animals in agricultural research and teaching to ensure the continuing opportunity for scientists in agricultural businesses and in research and teaching institutions to use agricultural animals in their programs.     

Plant-soil distribution of potentially toxic elements in response to elevated atmospheric CO2

The distribution of contaminant elements within ecosystems is an environmental concern because of these elements' potential toxicity to animals and plants and their ability to hinder microbial ecosystem services. As with nutrients, contaminants are cycled within and through ecosystems. Elevated atmospheric CO2 generally increases plant productivity and alters nutrient element cycling, but whether CO2 causes similar effects on the cycling of contaminant elements is unknown. Here we show that 11 years of experimental CO2 enrichment in a sandy soil with low organic matter content causes plants to accumulate contaminants in plant biomass, with declines in the extractable contaminant element pools in surface soils. These results indicate that CO2 alters the distribution of contaminant elements in ecosystems, with plant element accumulation and declining soil availability both likely explained by the CO2 stimulation of plant biomass. Our results highlight the interdependence of element cycles and the importance of taking a broad view of the periodic table when the effects of global environmental change on ecosystem biogeochemistry are considered.     

紫外线照射对农产品中真菌毒素的防控作用研究进展

真菌毒素是病原真菌代谢产生的次级代谢产物, 其引起人畜各种生理异常甚至癌变, 对人畜健康有很大威胁。紫外线照射是一种非电离辐射, 它不仅可以有效地抑制病原菌生长, 还可以抑制毒素的积累。因其设备简单、操作便捷、绿色安全, 所以被广泛应用于农产品贮藏保鲜及真菌毒素的降解。本文介绍了紫外线照射对病原真菌的抑制作用, 综述了紫外线照射对真菌毒素的降解作用以及对农产品病害的防控作用, 并展望了该技术的研究重点, 以期为该领域研究者提供参考。     

Potential use and perspectives of nitric oxide donors in agriculture

Nitric oxide (NO) has emerged in the last 30 years as a key molecule involved in many physiological processes in plants, animals and bacteria. Current research has shown that NO can be delivered via donor molecules. In such cases, the NO release rate is dependent on the chemical structure of the donor itself and on the chemical environment. Despite NO's powerful signaling effect in plants and animals, the application of NO donors in agriculture is currently not implemented and research remains mainly at the experimental level. Technological development in the field of NO donors is rapidly expanding in scope to include controlling seed germination, plant development, ripening and increasing shelf‐life of produce. Potential applications in animal production have also been identified. This concise review focuses on the use of donors that have shown potential biotechnological applications in agriculture. Insights are provided into (i) the role of donors in plant production, (ii) the potential use of donors in animal production and (iii) future approaches to explore the use and applications of donors for the benefit of agriculture. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry     

Managing for resilience: a landscape framework for food and livelihood security and ecosystem services

To address the twin pressures of land degradation and climate change in communities of agriculturalists, agro-pastoralists and pastoralists who are vulnerable to acute and chronic food and livelihood insecurity, we review emerging resilience approaches to agricultural development and present a resilience framework for agriculture and resource management at multiple scales and social-ecological interfaces. The paper draws on academic literature, field observation, insight from development researchers and practitioners, and agency reports to build a framework for guiding investment in initiatives that stand to sustainably improve the livelihoods of rural populations whose livelihood security is at risk from a combination of poverty and drought, deforestation, over-grazing, forced migration or other shocks. We suggest how working at landscape scale to link interventions in agroecological, livelihood, ecological and institutional dimensions of resilience, and integrating the four dimensions through stakeholder-engaged, adaptive collaborative management enables synergies to be captured and trade-offs reduced. We use the insights from development practitioners, political ecologists, and rural sociologists to highlight the need to historically, politically, and culturally situate this framework, and to emphasize the importance of participatory methods in successful resilient landscape management projects.     

Scientific and market opportunities for agriculture. Will the potential be realised in the UK?

Distorted by the impacts of the Common Agricultural Policy, UK agriculture has declined from a position of relative strength when it entered the European Communities in 1973, to become an industry that will find it difficult to compete in international markets in an era of increasing free trade. Numerous opportunities arising from new types of science, engineering and technology will not be realised readily in an environment of declining political and public sympathy for matters agricultural, weakening of agricultural institutions, underinvestment in science, and economic underperformance which is now manifest by agriculture's contribution to the gross domestic product (0.4% after stripping out direct subsidies) being less than the retail paint trade but about the same level as the fresh sandwich trade. Biotechnology has yet to reach its zenith, as structural and functional genomics, bioinformatics, transgenesis, multi‐functional crops, regenics, phytoremediation, habitat reconstruction and ‘in‐flight’ therapy of crops become commonplace. Internationally, agriculture will have ready access to: (i) a vast range of cultivars and propagules of high‐health status and with desirable water and nutrient use capabilities; (ii) reliable automation; (iii) microsite engineering to safeguard soil structure so that different types of land can be used sustainably for specific purposes; (iv) management support and decision systems to aid in agronomic systems, eg to optimise water use, to retard oxidation of peat‐based soils, etc; (v) efficient transport and storage systems for the primary produce; (vi) dignified maintenance of livestock with rapid health correction systems; (vii) fresh water in designated areas; and (viii) accurate short‐ and medium‐term weather forecasts. There will be a phenomenal range of fresh and processed foodstuffs, available year‐round, with stated nutraceutical and pharmaceutical properties. In the post‐microwave, post‐flash‐baking era, convenience will reign supreme. Easily engineered fresh food products of uniform colour, shape, size, taste, aroma, chemical composition and texture will meet consumer demands and, as always, will be influenced by fashion and advertising. Certain current brands of foodstuffs will be eliminated on health grounds. E‐commerce, e‐agriculture, e‐universities, e‐research institutes, e‐scientific journals, e‐schools and even e‐scientific societies will be the norm. There will be a revolution in the acquisition, analysis, application and ownership of scholarship and intellectual property. The retailing and delivery industries will witness a shrinking in the central functions as automation takes over, and consequently the storage and processing industries will alter their relationships with agriculture and the customer. On current trends the UK will have but a minor role in international agricultural and food trade as a result of failing to generate and capture relevant intellectual property. There is a danger that UK‐owned agricultural and horticultural expertise will no longer be available as useful tools to assist politicians and the private sector in providing development aid to economically weak countries. © 2000 Society of Chemical Industry     

The ecological context of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in food,feed and forage: an overview

Plant-produced 1,2-dehydropyrrolizidine ester alkaloids and their N-oxides (PAs) not only cause acute poisoning of humans and livestock, but also the likely harmful cryptic effects of chronic exposure pose particular food safety risks that need to be addressed for consumer protection. In natural contexts, however, PAs cause few or no problems. Rather, these plant secondary metabolites are important elements of ecosystems and plant–animal relationships; the existence and persistence of many PA-adapted organisms, in various ways, depends on the presence of PA-containing plants or even on PAs as such. PA plants are widely distributed among unrelated families of the plant kingdom; there is great structural diversity of PAs, and the amounts of PAs produced are subject to great variation due to multiple causes. These realities, coupled with many deficiencies in our scientific understanding, make the presence and roles of PAs in nature a subject with limited potential for valid generalisations and predictions, and complex and difficult to summarise. PAs, their producer plants and their users are integral parts of ecosystems worldwide, and we have to learn to live with these allelochemicals by accepting the presence of some harmful natural chemicals in the environment and by taking regulatory action to reduce health risks to humans. Regulations for consumer protection are long overdue. However, any such measures must be flexible enough to accommodate the findings of future research. Transdisciplinary efforts are required to fill gaps in the knowledge and to come up with additional means to monitor the presence of PAs in food and feed.     

The ecological context of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in food, feed and forage: an overview

Plant-produced 1,2-dehydropyrrolizidine ester alkaloids and their N-oxides (PAs) not only cause acute poisoning of humans and livestock, but also the likely harmful cryptic effects of chronic exposure pose particular food safety risks that need to be addressed for consumer protection. In natural contexts, however, PAs cause few or no problems. Rather, these plant secondary metabolites are important elements of ecosystems and plant-animal relationships; the existence and persistence of many PA-adapted organisms, in various ways, depends on the presence of PA-containing plants or even on PAs as such. PA plants are widely distributed among unrelated families of the plant kingdom; there is great structural diversity of PAs, and the amounts of PAs produced are subject to great variation due to multiple causes. These realities, coupled with many deficiencies in our scientific understanding, make the presence and roles of PAs in nature a subject with limited potential for valid generalisations and predictions, and complex and difficult to summarise. PAs, their producer plants and their users are integral parts of ecosystems worldwide, and we have to learn to live with these allelochemicals by accepting the presence of some harmful natural chemicals in the environment and by taking regulatory action to reduce health risks to humans. Regulations for consumer protection are long overdue. However, any such measures must be flexible enough to accommodate the findings of future research. Transdisciplinary efforts are required to fill gaps in the knowledge and to come up with additional means to monitor the presence of PAs in food and feed.     

Implications of climate change predictions for UK cropping and prospects for possible mitigation: a review of challenges and potential responses

The UK, like the rest of the world, is confronting the impacts of climate change. Further changes are expected and they will have a profound effect on agriculture. Future crop production will take place against increasing CO₂ levels and temperatures, decreasing water availability, and increasing frequency of extreme weather events. This review contributes to research on agricultural practices for climate change, but with a more regional perspective. The present study explores climate change impacts on UK agriculture, particularly food crop production, and how to mitigate and build resilience to climate change by adopting and/or changing soil management practices, including fertilisation and tillage systems, new crop adoption and variety choice. Some mitigation can be adopted in the shorter term, such as changes in crop type and reduction in fertiliser use, but in other cases the options will need greater investment and longer adaptation period. This is the case for new crop variety development and deployment, and possible changes to soil cultivations. Uncertainty of future weather conditions, particularly extreme weather, also affect decision‐making for adoption of practices by farmers to ensure more stable and sustainable production. Even when there is real potential for climate change mitigation, it can sometimes be more difficult to accomplish with certainty on‐farm. Better future climate projections and long‐term investments will be required to create more resilient agricultural systems in the UK in the face of climate change challenges. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry