Food Security最新文献

To achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 2 on food and nutrition security by 2030, greater attention to effective food policies that reduce food insecurity and improve health is warranted. This systematic review and meta-analysis examined the impact of different types of government food policies (financial aid, food aid, technical support, capacity building, and land tenure management/food production) on food insecurity and health in numerous countries, and moderators involving study design, cultural context, and country economic advancement. Based on 148 studies and 273 effect sizes, we found that land tenure management/food production and a combination of policies were most effective in reducing food insecurity and in improving health. Study design moderated effects of food policies on food insecurity. Cultural contexts and country economic advancement moderated the effects of different types of food policies on food insecurity and health. This study has important implications for informing effective food policies in improving food insecurity and health by identifying the most effective types of food policies and the cultural and country economic contexts in which different types of food policies are most effective.

Forests support food security and nutrition worldwide, especially so for highly forest-dependent communities who collect a variety of food products from nearby forests. While the importance of forest cover to the diets of forest-dependent communities has been well-researched, little is known regarding the role of more specific forest characteristics – information that would be valuable for better identifying the landscapes that support a nutritious and diverse diet. To address this research gap, we linked child dietary data to remotely-sensed geospatial indicators of surrounding forest characteristics – using more nuance than is typically undertaken – by examining forest age, tree density, and forest fragmentation in Kenya’s East African Montane Forests. Interestingly, dietary diversity of children demonstrated no or relatively weak associations with forest characteristics. However, by parsing out individual food groups, we exposed the nuance and complexities associated with the forest-diet relationship. Vegetable/fruit consumption was positively associated with open and moderately dense forest cover, but negatively associated with fragmented forest cover. The consumption of meat and vitamin A-rich fruit was positively associated with younger forest cover, and negatively associated with dense forest cover. Older forest cover was positively associated with green leafy vegetable consumption, but negatively associated with other vegetable/fruit consumption. Our findings provide suggestive evidence that there is no single ‘ideal’ type of forest for supporting food security and nutrition – rather, different types of forests are associated with different dietary benefits. Taken together, these results indicate the need for more in-depth research that accounts for factors beyond the proximity and amount of generic forest cover.

This study used six dimensions of food security (availability, access, utilization, stability, agency and sustainability) to calculate a state-level food security index for states in India. The index was bifurcated into six components, which were further sub-divided into a total of 15 sub-indices. Employing data from several sources, this study examined food security at the state and household level to see if it has an impact on nutrition status among older adults in India. Although the general status of food security in states might be known, our study provides a nuanced and comprehensive assessment by utilizing all six dimensions of food security. This multi-dimensional approach allows for a more detailed understanding of the factors contributing to food security. Our findings suggest that the Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh were the most food secure states. These states also performed well across several sub-indices of food security, the most important being per capita food grain availability, per hectare yield of grains, cropping intensity and storage capacity. Jharkhand, Odisha and Chattisgarh were the least food secure states, with their poor performance being attributable mostly to high rates of inflation and low per capita net state domestic product. Insights from this study are helpful for policymakers to identify targeted interventions. Nevertheless, results from our study explained only a small proportion of variation in both underweight and overweight among older adults at the state and household levels, meaning that an index of food security informs little about nutritional security among older adults in states in India. Instead, the maximum variation in both overweight and underweight was explained by individual level factors, such as age, gender and marital status and also household food security. Therefore, addressing nutritional inadequacies in India requires interventions not only in the food system, but also in other sectors such as health, sanitation, education and the economy.

Sri Lanka Government’s ambitious decision to ban synthetic agrochemicals, including chemical fertilizers (and pesticides), in April 2021 made it the first nation in the world to embark on a full-scale transition to – as the Government called it—organic farming, and address concerns about human health and the environment. Previous policies had envisioned a gradual shift, but the sudden ban caught agriculture off guard. Declining foreign exchange reserves to import chemical fertilizers and coinciding peak fertilizer prices appeared to support the timing of the move. However, the ensuing rush for organic fertilizers failed to meet the national demand, resulting in severe losses in rice and export-oriented plantation crops. Facing decreasing yields and food insecurity, the government lifted the ban in November 2021. The events raised critical questions about the necessity and feasibility of such a drastic transition and alternative ways. To explore the general feasibility of transitioning toward organic fertilizers, this study considered the actual and potential availability of biomass to “replace” chemical fertilizers at the national scale as was envisioned by the Government. The analysis focused on the four main national crops and showed that in none of the selected scenarios, Sri Lanka’s actual and potentially available organic fertilizer could supply rice- and plantation-based agrosystems with sufficient nitrogen, not to mention other crops or nutrients. The Government will in every scenario, including one that assumes a stepwise transition, remain compelled to spend significantly on importing organic fertilizer to maintain the required crop yields, which would cost the Government more foreign currency than purchasing chemical fertilizer. Even more costly is purchasing rice to close the national production gap, as Sri Lanka eventually did at the end of its nationwide experiment, which resulted in major food security concerns.

Though improper food trader hygiene and handling practices can cause food contamination, few studies have examined both the drivers of their adoption and their impact on the safety of food. Thus, this study examined the hygiene and handling practices of adult vegetable traders in southwest Nigeria by analyzing microbial contamination in vegetable samples and survey data from 166 traders collected over multiple seasons. Our findings show that just half of the traders routinely changed the washing water (every four hours), putting consumers at risk of severe E. coli infection. Almost no traders have received formal training on food safety. High toilet-use fees and a limited number of toilets are also significantly associated with practice gaps among traders. The study findings reveal the need for increased awareness about hygiene and food safety among food traders, e.g. through training programs. In addition, improving market infrastructure such as more toilets and hand washing stations and reducing the associated costs of using these services could facilitate better adoption and adherence to good hygiene practices which has a direct impact on food safety. Addressing food safety requires a multifaceted approach that includes education, infrastructure improvement, and policy interventions aimed at promoting and sustaining good food handling practices among food traders in Nigeria and similar contexts.

The upland agriculture in Southwest China is undergoing a transformation from subsistence to industrial agriculture, which is accompanied by differentiation among farmers. The industrialisation of farming is best understood as an ongoing process rather than an achieved structure, and the industrial and subsistence forms of production are combined in complex ways during transformation. The unit of analysis shifts downwards to the production unit, namely, the ‘form of production’, which is observed at the household level. This study aims to describe the dynamics of the transformation from subsistence to industrial agriculture in Southwest China and the hybridized forms of production that lie between the two extremes. Empirical observations on the transformation of farming in Southwest China, specifically the circumstances of smallholder farmers and local farming systems in the process of industrialisation and farmers’ reasons for their resistance and persistence in traditional farming, are documented and analysed. Using data collected for 2008 and 2019, this study considers the form of production observed from production methods and dynamic farming structures to explore how farmers’ motivations and structural forces clash and interact at the farm level in the commoditization of production and to understand farmers’ autonomy within relational contexts. The study measures the resilience of farmers’ decision-making in production through their space for manoeuvring, which depends on their ability and the conditions to obtain alternative solutions at various stages of production, reflecting varying degrees of autonomy from the dominant development trajectory. The study also reveals that the rapid reduction in the cultivated area of cereals is closely related to the acceleration of agricultural industrialisation. Farmers who join the industry are systematically pressured to compete with no economic cushion when vertically organized commodity chains have shaped local production. Their forms of production are interlocked through adjacent land and crops, and the widespread domino effect has reduced farmers’ room to manoeuvre, limited farmers’ choices in production, and brought vulnerability to local farming systems. Moreover, the transformation towards sustainability has been fragmented and inconsistent.

The rapid expansion of global food trade over the last decades has intensified the debate about its environmental impacts and the role of trade policies in resource conservation. This paper examines whether trade restrictions can effectively address environmental pressures by analyzing the complex linkages between international trade and natural resource exploitation. Through a critical review of the existing evidence, the paper shows that while trade-induced specialization does not always lead to a more efficient and sustainable use of resources, trade restrictions alone often represent a second-best solution. Because they do not address the market failures that shape resource exploitation in the first place, such restrictions risk being not only ineffective but potentially counterproductive. Successful environmental protection requires integrated policy approaches that recognize the intricate relationships between trade liberalization, resource management, and food security.

Food and nutritional security are essential worldwide. Availability alone doesn't guarantee access or adequacy, as food can be inaccessible, unacceptable, or unstable. Even when abundant, it may not meet the all requirements, and fish is equally affected by these challenges. Fish provides essential protein, micronutrients, and fatty acids to food-insecure populations. However, the contribution of fish to household or individual nutrition is influenced by its availability, accessibility, utilization, and stability. This study examines the role of fish and fisheries in food and nutritional security in the Indian context. The study was based on the framework of food and nutritional security. It undertakes a comprehensive literature analysis to gain insights into food and nutritional security as a primary concern. It also examines how fisheries can ensure sustainable availability, equitable access to nutritious fish, and stability amidst physical, economic, and social challenges. Additionally, it discusses potential risks, such as climate change, seasonality, and price volatility, which could undermine fish availability and thus, food security. The fish availability does not automatically guarantee food and nutritional security, as issues of access, nutrient adequacy, utility (quality and safety), and stability must also be addressed. Findings suggest that achieving sustainable food security through fisheries requires effective management, conservation, and policies that promote equitable distribution and long-term resource sustainability. Given the complexities and trade-offs involved in balancing human needs with environmental protection, reforms are needed in the fish supply chain. These reforms should improve market conditions, infrastructure, pricing, safety, quality, and sustainable fishing practices.

The demand for animal protein has increased dramatically as a result of population growth and rising incomes in some segments of society. One of the main issues associated with animal protein production (APP) is the significant amount of green-house gas (GHG) emissions. Replacing proteins from terrestrial animals that generate a high carbon footprint with proteins from aquatic animals that associated with a low carbon footprint may mitigate, or even reverse, climate change. Bivalves are known to be climate-friendly sources of animal proteins with very high nutritional quality. Despite the number of reports dealing with the carbon footprint of bivalve proteins, the information is not well organized. This reviews offers a synthesis on the impact of bivalve aquaculture on GHG emissions. Many studies have assessed the carbon sequestration potential of bivalves based solely on their respiration and the calcification process, which controversial results, because bio-calcification is highly influenced by the buffering capacity of carbonate systems in their natural habitats. Taking into account the ecosystem implications of bivalve aquaculture, the contribution of bivalve APP to carbon sinks appears to be substantial, mainly by promoting sedimentation of organic carbon for long term storage in seabed and by enhancing primary productivity through the nutrient cycles. The review also discusses other bivalve aquaculture-related components that are often overlooked (i.e., on-farm processing, post-harvest, and ultimate fate of shells). This review generates suggestions for minimizing GHG emissions. This review helps assessing the current state of research and identifying research directions for bivalve APP in slowing or even reversing climate change.

Foodborne disease is a major challenge for food systems worldwide, particularly in lower-income countries. In the absence of developed, enforced regulation and inspection systems, informal actors like market food vendors play a critical role in ensuring the safety of food. Understanding their perspective is thus essential for reducing the burden of foodborne disease. This study examines this topic among traditional market vendors in Hawassa, Ethiopia using in-depth qualitative interviews and cognitive mapping techniques. We synthesize the data to consider vendors’ capacity to provide safer food and their incentives to do so. The results show that vendors’ food safety actions were limited, and they saw considerable barriers to enacting recommended practices, particularly due to the limited infrastructure available in the market. Capacity is limited by the fact that, while vendors have some understanding of key concepts related to food safety, there are also large gaps in their knowledge. Generally, vendors face few regulatory incentives: they have limited interactions with authority figures, including for food safety. Social incentives are also limited: food safety was not a top concern for vendors nor was it prominent in their interactions with consumers, who focused mostly on price. Results are interpreted to discuss the way forward for improving food safety in traditional markets in Ethiopia, taking into account these constraints.