Food Studies Commons^™

Reducing Food Scarcity: The Benefits Of Urban Farming, S.A. Claudell, Emilio Mejia

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

Urban farming can enhance the lives of communities and help reduce food scarcity. This paper presents a conceptual prototype of an efficient urban farming community that can be scaled for a single apartment building or an entire community across all global geoeconomics regions, including densely populated cities and rural, developing towns and communities. When deployed in coordination with smart crop choices, local farm support, and efficient transportation then the result isn’t just sustainability, but also increasing fresh produce accessibility, optimizing nutritional value, eliminating the use of ‘forever chemicals’, reducing transportation costs, and fostering global environmental benefits.

Imagine Doris, who is …

Leveraging International Experiential Learning Opportunities In Food And Agricultural Science Programs, Alberta N.A. Aryee, Nii Adjetey Tawiah, Eunice Bonsi

Professional Agricultural Workers Journal

Global experiential learning and engagement facilitate learning opportunities to better understand the processes that shape global agricultural and food culture systems. This study had two objectives; the first was to integrate experiential learning, through partnerships with selected universities and institutions abroad, into students’ education. The second was to enhance faculty and students’ global learning, discovery, and engagement experiences. Seven students from Tuskegee University, and two students from Delaware State University, were provided an opportunity to visit three universities overseas, where they engaged in classroom discussions and other experiences. They participated in activities at other institutions, such as the Food Research …

Beef And Dairy Substitution Effects Associated With Carbon Labeling And An Information Intervention, Sara Gardner Hedgecock

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Understanding consumer perceptions of carbon emissions in agriculture is a critical step to help increase the sustainability of food consumption. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 14.5 percent of all global anthropogenic GHG emissions are estimated to be represented by livestock (FAO), and cattle, raised for beef and milk, are the largest animal species responsible for emissions, comprising over 60 percent of the livestock sector’s emissions. This motivates this study’s analysis of beef and dairy milk products and alternatives. To better understand how consumers may substitute meat and milk products when provided with information about …

The Most Environmentally Sustainable Diet For Adolescents In Terms Of Land Use, Food Waste, And Greenhouse Gas Emissions., Lina Elsehelly

Papers, Posters, and Presentations

The current food system is directly responsible for much environmental damage including severe climate change, biodiversity loss, and land scarcity. This research aims to find some strategies to mitigate these damages through diet by specifically targeting adolescents because they are potential problem-solvers. This period is also when personality and habits are articulated. By focusing on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, land use, and food waste, a more environmentally sustainable diet can be formulated. The key findings of the research can be summarized by reducing ultra-processed foods, choosing sustainably produced food, generally reducing meat consumption from the current rate, substituting red and …

“Hadithi Ya Matunda”: The Informal Fruit Economy On Unguja Island: A Study Of The Livelihoods Of Smallholder Producers, Intermediaries, And Sellers, Daisy Kettle

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This is the story of fruit on Unguja Island. It illuminates the livelihoods of farmers, intermediaries, and sellers and each of their roles in the island’s fruit commodity chain. Linkages between these actors are known to play increasingly important roles in agricultural economies across the world due to their ability to create “multiplier effects” through networks of non-farm income opportunities (Wineman, 2020). Through interviews with 19 Zanzibaris who work in this trade network, I learned about the intricacies of these networks. My data revealed that the fruit flow chain on Unguja creates a network of extensive backward and forward economic …

Las Interacciones Entre La Migración Y El Sistema Alimentario Globalizado En Oaxaca, México, Abby Dryden

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

En este artículo tiene como guía tres preguntas: 1. ¿Cómo interactúa el sistema alimentario globalizado con la migración interna en Oaxaca y entre Oaxaca y los Estados Unidos? 2. ¿Qué impacto el proceso de globalización tiene para el sistema alimentario y para las comunidades en Oaxaca? 3. ¿Cómo los temas de seguridad de comida y soberanía de alimentos están impactando Oaxaca? Esta investigación tiene lugar en Oaxaca, México porque estuve viviendo allí por tres meses y es un buen lugar para esta investigación en el contexto de la diversidad allí. Si bien es cierto que existe mucha información sobre el …

The Adaptation Of Export-Scale Urban Farmers Amid The Covid-19 Pandemic In Bandung Metropolitan, Kinanti Indah Safitri, Oekan Soekotjo Abdoellah, Budhi Gunawan, Parikesit -, Yusep Suparman, Akhmad Zainal Mubarak, Margareth Pardede

The Qualitative Report

These days, urban agriculture is more than a hobby. It has expanded into a local commercial business, even to an export scale. However, urban farmers who have commercialized their products must adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic situation, which has impacted many aspects of global life. This research used a mixed-method approach. We collected quantitative data from 107 respondents on the household commercialization index, income level, and education level of export-scale-urban farmers in the Bandung metropolitan area, West Java, Indonesia. We also used qualitative data to determine how farmers were adapting to difficult situations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This information …

The Adoption Of Food Safety Practices And The Implications Of Regulation For Small Scale Farms, Elizabeth Canales, Juan Silva, Joy Anderson

The Journal of Extension

In this article we examine the adoption of food safety practices among produce growers in the south and discuss implications of food safety regulations in the U.S. Produce growers have adopted standard food safety practices to varying degrees, but there is still an adoption gap, particularly among small scale operations. Market-driven and regulatory food safety enforcement continues to tighten, and this can further hinder market access for small scale producers.

Consumption Of Healthy And Unhealthy Foods By The African Poor: Evidence From Nigeria, Tanzania, And Uganda, Michael Dolislager, Lenis Saweda Liverpool-Tasie, Nicole Mason, Thomas Reardon, David Tschirley

Business Educator Scholarship

We use national Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS) datasets from Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda to examine consumption by the rural and urban poor of “unhealthy foods” (including ultra-processed foods such as sweets and sugary beverages) versus “healthy foods” beyond starchy staples (such as vegetables, beans, animal products, and fruits). Consumption of processed foods and nonstaples is often associated in policy discussion in Africa with middle-class urban consumers rather than the poor. We analyzed household food consumption expenditure with Locally Weighted Scatterplot Smoothing (LOWESS) curves and augmented Engel regressions. We found that substantial shares of the consumption expenditure of the poor, …

Consumer Preferences For Lab Grown Meat: The Effect Of Information On Consumer Choice, Aryn Blumenberg

Food Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Global population growth and increased meat demand present challenges for the agricultural industry to produce meat sustainably. In-vitro meat (IVM) is an alternative that could reduce negative impacts associated with livestock production. The goal of this study was to examine consumers’ preferences for IVM. A choice experiment was created with twelve choice tasks that varied across five attributes: production method (IVM or conventional), carbon trust label, organic label, animal welfare label, and price. 1,120 US consumers were randomly assigned to one of four information treatments, differing by information presented regarding IVM: 1) neutral (baseline), 2) positive, 3) negative, and 4) …

The Work Of La Via Campesina Regarding The Intersection Of Land Occupation And Food Sovereignty, Josephine Drydale

International and Global Studies Undergraduate Honors Theses

La Via Campesina (LVC), a global movement that supports small and local farmers and their communities, is one of the world’s largest food and agricultural rights movements and advocates for agricultural rights in terms of land, ecology, human rights, and more. LVC is known for its establishment of food sovereignty, defined as the right to control one’s production and consumption of food. This new concept placed them on the map, accompanied by their aggressive editorial and advocacy work against ideals they view as neoliberal and food policies that benefit large food moguls while disenfranchising the small farmer. The concept of …

Three Mini-Ethnographic Case Studies On Covid: Impacts On Greek Agricultural Sectors, Kim E. Dooley, Evangelos Vergos, Kyriaki Zinoviadou, Konstantinos Rotsios

Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education

COVID was politically polarizing, had global and public health impacts, and created havoc in supply chains. Social dilemmas caused by the pandemic were difficult, but also created opportunities to be resilient and innovative in agricultural extension education. This mini-ethnographic case study examined three Greek agricultural sectors from the perspectives of experts in extension and higher education. Data included semi-structured interviews, review of technical reports, and photographs in developing each case study. From the cross-case analysis, there were four emerging themes: environmental, economic, and social impacts and the innovative solutions used to address these concerns. What we have learned, and where …

Seeds Of Resilience: Learning From Covid-19 To Strengthen Seed Systems In Vermont, Ali Brooks, Carina V. Isbell, Daniel Tobin Ph.D., Travis Reynolds Ph.D., Eric Bishop Von Wettberg Ph.D., David Conner Ph.D., Evie Wolfe

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Seeds are central to crop-based production systems, yet in the United States seeds have been largely overlooked in both research and local and regional food systems initiatives. This report seeks to address the gap in seed-related research by assessing current strengths and vulnerabilities of Vermont’s seed systems. In particular, the findings presented in this report illuminate how seed systems can maintain function in the face of external shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and how we can apply the lessons learned toward building resilience for an uncertain future due to factors such as climate change. Despite the turmoil caused by …

Measuring Palatability As A Linear Combination Of Nutrient Levels In Food Items, Jeffrey S. Young

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

It well known that palatability and nutritional quality of foods and/or diets are viewed as being in tension with one another. While there exist multiple measures of healthiness, there are no such measures for tastiness. This gap limits the degree to which researchers can investigate this tension and its implications for dietary behavior and hence public health and nutrition policy. The scope of future work concerning the dietary behavior of Americans would expand greatly if researchers better understood consumers’ willingness to eat certain foods, which matters as much as recommending those foods for them to eat in the first place. …

Are Rice Markets In Bangladesh Efficiently Pricing Rice Based On Quality? An Empirical Assessment, Indrani Saha

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Rice is an important staple for more than half of the world’s population and is the main staple in Bangladesh, accounting for 65 percent to 70 percent of the daily calorie intake. The importance of rice consumption and the high level of food insecurity in Bangladesh highlights the importance of having markets that efficiently price rice according to consumer preferences. This study aims to assess how effectively rice prices in Bangladesh are reflective of rice quality. More specifically, we estimate how the rice market is currently pricing selected rice quality attributes, such as broken percentage, chalk percentage, kernel size and …

A Living City: Food Accessibility And Urban Growth In New York City, Kat Coleman

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper examines the way in which food equity and localization initiatives, specifically in New York City, are a vital response to urban growth and sustainable food demand. Improvements to the current food system in the form of changing the way food is produced, procured, stored, transported, and distributed improves nutrition and contributes to urban sustainability. Chapter 1 provides data on urban environmental justice issues related to food equity, drawing on research from the United Nations and food justice organizations in New York City. Chapter 2 explores the ethical issues surrounding food access and food justice in an increasingly urban …

Herding History: Law And The Transformation Of Collective Subjectivities In The Dairyspheres Of Ukraine, Monica Eppinger

Journal of Food Law & Policy

In response to the limitations of socialism and capitalism in meeting basic needs, this article explores the alternative version of modernity offered in post-Soviet Ukraine and its agriculture. Tracing a century of fundamental transformations through the story of milk, it finds a history that troubles universalized framings of indigeneity and colonialism. This article argues that under socialism milk became a product of collectivized effort and a reservoir of household resilience; and then, with post-Soviet disintegration of some forms of collective life and emergence of others, that milk has come to delineate spheres of both collective action and individual striving. This …

Can Small Farmers Survive?: Problems Of Commercializing The Milk Value Chain In Pakistan, Erum Sattar

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Milk in Pakistan is infused with the self-understanding of a nation. British colonial administrators laid the modern-day foundations of the country’s structure through land grants to small farmers. In an agricultural country where nearly forty percent of the population remains food insecure, rearing animals is a way of life in the rural areas where milk remains an important source of animal protein. Selling the daily surplus that families don’t consume is a significant source of earnings for cash poor families – and here an unprecedented change is taking place within dairy management and milk procurement systems. The scale of this …

Egyptian Women’S Agriculture Contribution; Assessment Of The Gender Gap For Sustainable Development, Noha El Khorazaty

Theses and Dissertations

Women’s contribution to the agriculture sector in developing countries is undeniable, yet they do not have equal access to the resources and opportunities they need to be more productive. Sustainable development entails inclusive and effective management of natural resources, this entails gender equity in agriculture. Bridging the gender gap in agriculture far exceeds the benefits of the individual. According to the latest estimates bridging the yield gap in agricultural productivity could possibly decrease the numbers of undernourished people in the world by around 100 – 140 million people. Sustainable agriculture development and gender equity necessitate policy interventions targeting the gender …

A Meating Of The Minds: Possible Pitfalls And Benefits Of Certified Organic Livestock Production And The Prodigious Potential Of Brazil, Adam Schlosser

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Certified organic food represents the fastest growing segment of food production in both the United States and throughout the entire world. This article examines the issues and opportunities facing both large and small-scale farmers who wish to engage in organic livestock production. Organic regulations cover everything involved in production, starting with the organic certification process and concluding with slaughter and the subsequent shipping and sale of the end organic product. The final section of this article addresses the unique ability of Brazil - described alternatively as "the world's warehouse" and the "world's [future] source of food" - to increase the …

Farm Benchmarking: The Application Of Business, Conservation And Labor Indicators, Mark Cannella, Sara Ziegler,, Qingbin Wang, Mary Peabody, Thomas Leahey, Heather M. Darby

USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Center

Farm benchmarking programs will move Vermont’s food system towards important sustainability outcomes by establishing enhanced monitoring of priority indicators and facilitating the adoption of best practices. Farmers, researchers, policy agencies and development professionals agree there is a lack of regular and consistent data available to guide private and public initiatives. This paper identifies and contextualizes over forty priority indicators capable of measuring business performance, conservation, farm labor and community development.

Benchmarking methods need to be adapted to better represent the diversity of enterprises present in Vermont’s agricultural portfolio. The integration of University Extension objectives with food systems research priorities can …

A Snowball Effect: A Pandemic’S Impacts On Household Food Insecurity In The United States, Sidie Sahid Sisay

Dissertations and Theses

Economic insecurity exists whenever income sources are uncertain, and this is a failure of a fundamental human right. The Covid-19 pandemic has presented unprecedented disruptions to the US economy and has created unparalleled food insufficiency and economic hardships. Before the pandemic, household food insufficiency existed but downplayed in the political arena. In 2019, 10.5 percent of households in the US lived in extreme poverty and were food insecure, the lowest since 1959, but the pandemic has had devastating effects on household food insufficiency. This paper uses nationally representative data from the Census Bureau’s weekly household pulse survey, coupled with standard …

Assessment Of Grain Safety In Developing Nations, Jose R. Mendoza

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Grains are the most widely consumed foods worldwide, with maize (Zea mays) being frequently consumed in developing countries where it feeds approximately 900 million people under the poverty line of 2 USD per day. While grain handling practices are acceptable in most developed nations, many developing nations still face challenges such as inadequate field management, drying, and storage. Faulty grain handling along with unavoidably humid climates result in recurrent fungal growth and spoilage, which compromises both the end-quality and safety of the harvest. This becomes particularly problematic where there is little awareness about health risks associated with poor …

Market Trends In Food Consumption Expenditures Away From Home Prior To The Covid-19 Pandemic, Rebecca Weir

Undergraduate Economic Review

U.S. food consumption expenditures away from home increased from 19 percent of total food expenditures in 1955 to 48 percent in 2015. Simultaneously, female participation in the labor force grew by 52.7 million women from 35 to 57 percent, signifying increased opportunity cost for women to prepare meals at home. This research uses an ordinary least squares regression to examine socioeconomic factors influencing the rise in U.S. food consumption expenditures away from home in 2018. Results inform food production and service industries’ marketing strategies, and set the stage for whether a new pattern emerges in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vermont Seed Saver And Producer Survey: 2020 Summary Report, Susanna Baxley, Carina Viola Isbell, Daniel Tobin

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

This report summarizes findings from a 2020 survey of seed producers in the state of Vermont. This survey, which was part of a larger research project aimed to characterize Vermont seed systems, aimed to identify areas of opportunity and concern for seed producers across the state. Data collected include types and valued characteristics of planting material produced from food crops in the state, information on motivations, challenges, and preferences that non-commercial and commercial seed producers perceive in their production of planting material, sourcing and distribution of planting material, forms of exchange that exist between seed producers and the community, and …

Conservation And Farm Viability On Vermont Small Farms, Mark Cannella, Anthony Kitsos

UVM Extension Faculty Publications

In spring 2019 the UVM Extension Agricultural Business program conducted a survey of Certified Small Farms (CSFO) in Vermont. The goal of this survey is to gather information on the economic situation across Vermont’s small farms, explore their adaptation to water quality regulations and to understand the next steps for farms moving forward. Vermont implemented new Required Agricultural Practices (RAPs) in 2017. The anonymous survey was distributed to 334 CSFO businesses owners through postal mail. The survey was completed by 173 respondents.

Results show that small farms made many conservation improvements to attain compliance new regulations. Lower cost investments in …

Alternative Production Practices And The Role Of Consumer Choice: Willingness-To-Pay Analyses, Amanda P. Wecker

MSU Graduate Theses

Production choice is often viewed as driven by the resources and methods known to the producers. However, recent discussions focus on the other factors leading to production choice such as consumer preference, measured by factors such as willingness to pay (Tait, Saunders, Guenther, and Rutherford, 2016). This study evaluates the role of diet preference and age in driving a consumer’s willingness to pay for food produced with specific method. The data analyzed are from the 2016 U.S. Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS) Consumer survey. A total of 1042 individuals were asked whether they were willing to pay 10% more …

Sin Acceso A Alimentos Seguros, Saludables Y Económicos: El Modelo Agroindustrial Dominante Y Sus Efectos En Los Consumidores En Salta, Argentina / Without Access To Safe, Healthy, And Affordable Food: The Dominant Agroindustrial Model And Its Effects On Consumers In Salta, Argentina, Sara Paulsen

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper analyzes the effects of the hegemonic food system on low income consumers in Salta, Argentina. Results from previous literature indicate a relationship between the dominant agroindustrial model in Argentina and the concentration of power in the food production system. This paper seeks to contextualize the reports of malnutrition in Salta, a province in northwest Argentina, within larger social, cultural, and nutritional trends. To answer the question of how the hegemonic food system affects access to safe, healthy, and affordable food in Salta, I analyzed reports of various health outcomes (including malnutrition, cancer, birth defects, and obesity) and contextualized …

Analysis Of The Impact Of Central Bank Of Nigeria's Agricultural Intervention Funds On The Economy, E. T. Adamgbe, M. C. Belonwu, E. R. Ochu, I. I. Okafor

Economic and Financial Review

This paper set out to investigate the impact of Central Bank of Nigeria's interventions on the agricultural sector within an economy-wide framework of general equilibrium modelling. The paper adopted a dynamic (recursive), two-sector general equilibrium model of the Nigerian economy with some modifications on the standard model developed by the Centre for Econometric and Applied Research (CEAR) and incorporated the contributions of the CBN's agricultural based interventions as increases in the stock of agricultural capital to have a more robust size of interventions into the agricultural sector. The SAM used for the CGE model analysis was derived from the updated …

Food Accessibility Related To The Double Your Dollar Program, Julia Carlson, Heather Friedrich, Mechelle Bailey, Curt Rom

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

The Double Your Dollar (DYD) Program is a program that gives Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) beneficiaries and Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) participants match dollars to spend at local farmers markets. The DYD’s goal is to incentivize healthy eating among individuals of low income and promote spending at farmers markets. Food insecurity affects over 60,000 individuals in Washington and Benton counties in Arkansas. The aim of this study was to assess how the DYD program impacted users’ food accessibility and how the program could be improved for the future. A survey was used to address basic demographics, type, …