Food Science 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 …

Biodiversity Of Philippine Marine Fishes: A Dna Barcode Reference Library Based On Voucher Specimens, Katherine E. Bemis, Matthew G. Girard, Mudjekeewis D. Santos, Kent E. Carpenter, Jonathan R. Deeds, Diane E. Pitassy, Nicko Amor L. Flores, Elizabeth S. Hunter, Amy C. Driskell, Kenneth S. Macdonald Iii, Lee A. Weigt, Jeffrey T. Williams

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Accurate identification of fishes is essential for understanding their biology and to ensure food safety for consumers. DNA barcoding is an important tool because it can verify identifications of both whole and processed fishes that have had key morphological characters removed (e.g., filets, fish meal); however, DNA reference libraries are incomplete, and public repositories for sequence data contain incorrectly identified sequences. During a nine-year sampling program in the Philippines, a global biodiversity hotspot for marine fishes, we developed a verified reference library of cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) sequences for 2,525 specimens representing 984 species. Specimens were primarily purchased …

Food Insecurity In Nevada, Zachary Walusek

Undergraduate Research Symposium Lightning Talks

Defining the Food Insecurity Landscape, Methodology, Findings

Engaging Farmers, Culinary Schools, And Communities In Value-Added Production To Strengthen Local Food Systems, Lauren B. Errickson, Ethan D. Schoolman, Virginia Quick, Sarah Davis, Anthony Capece

The Journal of Extension

Value-added products can generate farm income and improve community food access, yet lack of available kitchen infrastructure and labor can limit farm production capacity. This project explored how community-based culinary schools might fill the gap. A unique “product share” model was identified and piloted, meeting the collective needs of farmers, a culinary school, and urban consumers. By researching farmer crop availability and business model preferences, and aligning value-added production with community food preferences, we demonstrate a successful pilot indicative that similar initiatives can be replicated in other metropolitan areas, with potential to engage cross-disciplinary extension professionals.

Impact Of Major Emergencies On Food Security Risks, Cuihong Yang, Kang Lin, Xiang Gao

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

In recent years, the probability and frequency of international major emergencies are on the rise, which have threatened the global food security. The study decomposes the food supply chain into production section, consumption section, and circulation section; and then analyzes the risks of food security in each section when facing the major emergencies. In the production section, major emergencies restrict the inputs of labor and agricultural production materials, limiting food supply directly. In the consumption section, major emergencies usually increase the food price and decrease the resident income, and thus, decline the purchasing power of food and exacerbate the food …

Discussion On Approaches To Improving Soybean Supply Capacity In China, Feng Feng, Zhinan Zhang, Yongzhe Gu, Junpeng He, Zhixi Tian

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Soybean is one of the most important crops for food and oil. The soybean demand has been increased in recent years in China. Since China has limited soybean production capacity, it has been importing increasing amount of soybean from abroad. It is a critical topic for China to develop the soybean production and expand the import channels to ensure food security. Based on the soybean demand-supply situation from 2011 to 2020, this paper discussed the problems including severely insufficient domestic production and supply, high level of reliance on international supply, and limited import channels. It put forward suggestions on approaches …

Analysis On Development And Risks Of China’S Food Production During 14th Five-Year Plan Period, Cuihong Yang, Kang Lin, Xiang Gao, Xikang Chen, Shouyang Wang

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Food security is crucial to national security. Thus, it is an urgent task to figure out the potential risks that threaten China's food security during the 14th Five-Year Plan period and how to cope with those risks. This paper provides an outlook for the development of China's food production during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, and then points out the potential risks faced by food production. The paper demonstrates that China's food production will achieve a steady development during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, and the grain output will reach more than 690 Mt by the end of the 14th …

Modeling The Impact And Accelerating The Process Of Transitioning To A Sustainable Healthy Diet Through Decision Support Systems, Prince Agyemang

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Food production and consumption are essential in human existence, yet they are implicated in the high occurrences of preventable chronic diseases and environmental degradation. Although healthy food may not necessarily be sustainable and vice versa, there is an opportunity to make our food both healthy and sustainable. Attempts have been made to conceptualize how sustainable healthy food may be produced and consumed; however, available data suggest a rise in the prevalence of health-related and negative environmental consequences of our food supply. Thus, the transition from conceptual frameworks to implementing these concepts has not always been effective. This paper explores the …

The Relationship Between Food Retailers And Distributors, Madison Seigler, Julia Anderson, Aidan Morton, Cassandra Williams, Victoria Bloomgren, Jacob Tutty

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Our understanding of the science of anthropogenic climate change and its immediate and indirect impacts has grown within the last decade.Alongside anincrease in concern for the inequities within the industrialized food system, climate change is impacting agriculture and the communities that depend on it in myriad ways. These challenges have catalyzed investment in sustainable agriculture, “eat local” food movements, and rethinking of all aspects of food systems, including consumers, producers, retailers, and distributors. The body of literature on food systems primarily focuses on the connection between consumers and retailers; however, there is a notable absence of literature on the relationships …

Averting The Looming Food Crisis: A Clarion Call To Immediate And Near-Term Policy Action, Kabir Ibrahim Mnia, Fnim, Acc

Economic and Financial Review

This paper seeks to advise on how to tackle the skyrocketing prices of food being experienced today all over the nation and to get the Government to take urgent and proactive actions to avert the pain being experienced by the entire Nigerian people.

Averting The Looming Food Crisis: A Clarion Call To Immediate And Near-Term Policy Action, Gabriel S. Umoh

Economic and Financial Review

This paper reviews food crisis and its causes in Nigeria. It takes the position that food crisis has been simmering in Nigeria for the past couple of years and identifies policy instability, poor policy implementation and declining household purchasing power, among others as the major causes of food crisis. It recommends strong policy support and implementation, automatic indexation of wages and pensions and other measures to curb food crisis in the country.

Averting The Looming Food Crisis: A Clarion Call To Immediate And Near-Term Policy Action, Alwan A. Hassan

Economic and Financial Review

Nigeria suffers from food insecurity and poverty. It is estimated that the number of hungry people in Nigeria is over 53 million, which is about 25.0 per cent of the country’s total population of about 212 million. Also, about 43.0 per cent of Nigerians live below the poverty line. These statistics are worrisome, given that Nigeria, in the 1950s and 1960s, was not only self-sufficient in food production, but was also a net exporter of food to other regions of the continent (Ajayeoba, 2010). A nation is food secure when food is available and accessible in sufficient quantity and quality …

Averting The Looming Food Crisis: A Clarion Call To Immediate And Near-Term Policy Action, Emmanuel A. Onwioduokit

Economic and Financial Review

Discussions on food security have gained traction in the recent past, especially in Africa and other developing economies. Several horrifying images of famished families, particularly around “The Horn of Africa” including Somalia, Ethiopia, and some parts of Kenya, projected globally in both the print and electronic media vividly illustrate the perils of food crises. In Nigeria, food constitute a substantial share of family budgets, particularly for low-income households. When prices of essential foods items increase poorer people suffer the adverse impacts more disproportionately. While clothing and shelter are basic necessities of life, food remains the most vital, given its centrality …

Novel Pilot Development Of A Closed-Loop Sustainable System Between Biogas Renewable Energy, Distilling, And Aquaculture By Vermiculture Of Stillage Wastes, Samuel C. Kessler

The Cardinal Edge

This study provides a mixed-methods approach in analyzing a potential closed-loop system between renewable biogas production from anaerobic digestion, vermiculture production, aquaculture production, and organic wastes with a particular focus on stillage wastes. Such system may hold significant promise for significantly reducing organic carbon and methane emissions from its components, and should be assessed for such. The 2021 IPCC report essentially identified methane reduction as the single fastest way to slow global warming (IPCC, 2021), making the study and implementation of methane-reducing systems and supportive policy for them critical. Knowledge gaps to implementing this system were qualitatively identified as disconnect …

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 …

Optimization Of Broken Rice Consumption Through Understanding The Confluence Of Sensory And Economic Preferences, Matthew Greer Richardson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The authors were perplexed by the seeming dichotomy between the majority 70% of Haitian consumers being chronically food insecure, but still preferring to pay premium international market prices for long-grain rice that constitutes 30% of the calories in this poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. The aim of this study was to determine the optimal percent broken rice in regards to price specifically to Haiti. Optimization between quality and price point is seen as the best rice for the price, and can be found through combining individual preferences with willingness to pay. Broken rice (brokens) garner a significantly discounted price …

Combatting Inefficient Food Waste In Nwa With Food Loops, Davis Ehlers

Economics Undergraduate Honors Theses

It is no longer a speculation that the actions of the human race have had detrimental impacts on the environment. As consumers become increasingly aware of this fact- and the fact that many of the issues are caused by bad business and environmental management, many individuals are wondering what they can do about it. This growing area of demand is where many businesses have begun to take on the challenge of being profitable while benefiting the environment at the same time, and some have even found ways to create a profit by engaging in activities that directly benefit the environment. …

A Crisis Of Kelp, Rachel L. Sherman

Capstones

Along with insects and lab-grown meat, for years seaweed has been lauded as a sustainable “food of the future” by the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization. As the world increasingly turns to alternative foods in pursuit of a healthier Earth, seaweed has all the makings of an ecological savior. It’s plentiful — seaweeds and ocean algae make up roughly nine tenths of all the plant life on Earth — it’s cheap to harvest and get to market, packed with nutrition, and keeps oceans clean, absorbing more carbon dioxide and releasing more oxygen than the world’s rainforests.

But outside of Japanese …

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 …

The Impact Of Dietary Egg Intake On Metabolic Health In Food Insecure Households, Sam Walker

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Food Insecurity (FI) is defined as a condition in which individuals lack access to adequate food due to limited financial resources. FI is estimated to impact 12% of households in United States. Adults and children who experience FI are an increased risk for developing metabolic disease such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease. The negative health outcomes associated with FI are multi-factorial, however, many of them may be caused by limited nutritional intake and poor diet quality. Efforts to better understand the obstacles food insecure populations face is critical in order to improve nutrient intake and minimize …

Farm To Label: A Critique Of Consumer Activism In The Sustainable Food Movement, Olivia Whitener

Pomona Senior Theses

“Local,” “organic,” “natural,” and “Fairtrade” are just several of the many claims adorning the food products that line grocery store shelves. These promises of environmental sustainability and social responsibility are pillars of the “good food revolution” sweeping the nation as consumers demand alternatives to the products of the industrial food system. Green consumerism, the premise that consumer demand for environmentally sustainable goods will bring about ecologically beneficial outcomes, is at the heart of the sustainable food movement. This thesis takes a critical look at the operation of green consumerism in the food system. It explores the ideology and shortcomings of …

Justice Served Fresh: Associations Between Food Insecurity, Community Gardening, And Property Value, Micajah Daniels, Courtney Coughenour Ph.D

McNair Poster Presentations

Numerous stakeholders in Nevada have used a variety of efforts to combat the growth of food insecurity facing Nevadans. The purpose of this research project is to understand the association between food insecurity, community gardens, and property value. Following the wealth of scholarship on these topics and data collected from community garden agencies in Southern Nevada, the research questions for this project include: (1) Where are community gardens located in SNV? (2) What efforts community gardens agencies are doing to address food insecurity (most interested in their efforts using community gardens)? (3) What are the perceptions of supports and barriers …

Radical Social Ecology As Deep Pragmatism: A Call To The Abolition Of Systemic Dissonance And The Minimization Of Entropic Chaos, Arielle Brender

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper aims to shed light on the dissonance caused by the superimposition of Dominant Human Systems on Natural Systems. I highlight the synthetic nature of Dominant Human Systems as egoic and linguistic phenomenon manufactured by a mere portion of the human population, which renders them inherently oppressive unto peoples and landscapes whose wisdom were barred from the design process. In pursuing a radical pragmatic approach to mending the simultaneous oppression and destruction of the human being and the earth, I highlight the necessity of minimizing entropic chaos caused by excess energy expenditure, an essential feature of systems that aim …

Special Issue On The Economics Of Changing Coastal Resources: The Nexus Of Food, Energy, And Water Systems, Mario F. Teisl, Kathleen P. Bell, Caroline L. Noblet

Publications

Viewed through the perspective of the nexus of food, energy, and water systems, improved management of coastal resources requires enhanced understanding of cross-system and cross-scale interactions and dynamics. The economics of changing coastal resources hinges on increased understanding of complex tradeoffs associated with these complex multisystem and multiscale relationships. How diverse forms of change will affect water quantity and quality as well as food and energy production in coastal areas is not well understood. Coastal resources provide many goods and services and influence markedly the nature of many human communities. In 2010, 43 percent of the US population lived in …

Urban Agriculture As Embedded In The Social And Solidarity Economy Basel: Developing Sustainable Communities, Isidor Wallimann

Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration

The Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) is a viable strategy in dealing with some contemporary problems known both in industrial and developing countries. Addressed is how local populations could reach certain objectives and satisfy certain needs using techniques characteristic of SSE and, thus, carve out a social and economic space of their own vis-à-vis anonymous markets, global actors, local and national elites. Illustrated further is this strategy on the example of Urban Agriculture Basel, a unit of the Social Economy Basel. Within this self governed space, it is suggested, a path can be laid for the necessary transition towards local, …

From Milpas To The Market: A Study On The Use Of Metal Silos For Safer And Better Storage Of Guatemalan Maize, José Rodrigo Mendoza

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

This project aimed to implement the use of metal silos to improve quality and safety of maize consumed by inhabitants of the highlands of Guatemala. This manuscript includes a literature review of the maize production chain in Guatemala, a survey about agricultural practices used in the region of study, as well as a characterization of the analyzed maize regarding its mycoflora, nutritional composition, and insect infestation. To better understand the current situation regarding agricultural practices and maize consumption, a survey was carried out. Sample consisted of 280 families representing 14 rural communities distributed in the townships of Todos Santos and …

Behavioral Determinants Of Biofortified Food Acceptance: The Case Of Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potato In Ghana, Chinonso E. Etumnu

Master's Theses

Biofortified foods are being introduced in sub-Saharan Africa as an important strategy to help address micronutrient malnutrition. However, there has been little research on factors that could play decisive roles in their successful introduction. This paper investigates the determinants of consumer acceptance of biofortified orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) using data from a choice experiment conducted in Ghana. I find that OFSP is preferred to traditional white-fleshed and yellow-fleshed sweet potatoes as indicated by consumers' marginal willingness to pay for the three varieties. I also find that respondents' socio-economic characteristics do not have a significant effect on consumer acceptance of OFSP. …

From Empty Lot To Garden Plot: Urban Agriculture In Chula Vista, Jennifer E. Gutierrez

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This project is an exploration of how agriculture can be incorporated into the fabric of the city of Chula Vista, which has both uniquely urban and suburban areas. The proposal is to integrate agriculture as a design tool to reconnect to the city’s agricultural past and as a model for cities of the future. First, I discuss Chula Vista’s history and contemporary context, including demographics. I review the existing urban agriculture policies Chula Vista has and compare them to other cities in California. The second part of the project is concerned with how to choose and develop a site for …

Automatic Food Expiration Notification System, Nikolas-Viktor P. Doukas, Ozan Celebi, Lindsey E. Colgrove, Michael D. Werner, Tre Commings, Christopher M. Zatek, Daniel E. Odihi

Engagement & Service-Learning Summit

No abstract provided.

The Future Of Farming In Capable And Small Hands: The Young Farmer’S Movement In Waterloo Region 1907-1924, Morgan Williams

The Partisan

No abstract provided.