Food Studies Commons^™

No. 06: The Informal Sector’S Role In Food Security: A Missing Link In Policy Debates, Caroline Skinner, Gareth Haysom

Hungry Cities Partnership

This discussion paper aims to review what is currently known about the role played by the informal sector in general, and informal retailers in particular, in the accessibility of food in South Africa. The review seeks to identify policy-relevant research gaps. Drawing on Statistics South Africa data, we show that the informal sector is an important source of employment, dominated by informal trade with the sale of food a significant subsector within this trade. We then turn our attention to what is known about the informal sector’s role in food sourcing of poorer households. Surveys show that urban residents, and …

Eco-News March 2017, Office Of Sustainability, University Of Southern Maine

Eco-News

In this issue:

• Trash Talk
• Upcoming Events
• Green Cleaning
• Sustainability Tip

Food Remittances: Rural-Urban Linkages And Food Security In Africa, Jonathan Crush, Mary Caesar

Southern African Migration Programme

The need for a new research agenda

Globally, the transfer of funds by migrants to their home countries or areas (cash remittances) is at an all-time high. By 2017, it is predicted to rise to US$500 billion – and there is a growing policy consensus that cash remittances can be mainstreamed into development. Equally, food remitting also has a role to play in urban and rural food security. Yet despite its importance, researchers and policymakers tend to ignore food remitting.

The growing literature on rural-urban linkages highlights their complex, dynamic nature in the context of rapid urbanisation and growing rural-urban …

No. 08: International Migration And Urban Food Security In South African Cities, Jonathan Crush, Godfrey Tawodzera

Hungry Cities Partnership

The drivers of food insecurity in rapidly growing urban areas of the Global South are receiving more research and policy attention, but the precise connections between urbanization, urban food security and migration are still largely unexplored. In particular, the levels and causes of food insecurity amongst new migrants to the city have received little consideration. This is in marked contrast to the literature on the food security experience of new immigrants from the South in European and North American cities. This paper aims to contribute to the literature on urban food security in the South by focusing on the case …

February 2017 (Issue 2) : Tips To Increase Physical Activity, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi

Nutritions and Food Services Newsletters

• Why is it important?
• How much physical activity do we need?
• Why is physical activity important?
• Practical Tips to Increase Activity

Cultivating An Alternative Paradigm In Urban Areas To Achieve Greater Food Certainty In The United States, Owen Beatty

Honors Theses – Charlotte Campus

The purpose of this study is to analyze food insecurity in the United States and propose a potential solution by means of increased localized agriculture and urbanized initiatives as new paradigms of relief. The word paradigms in this thesis is used to describe the examples of innovative alternatives to contemporary systems. A wide variety of research was gathered that examines the current U.S. food system and government nutrition assistance programs. The United States Department of Agriculture measures poverty by assessing a family’s cash income with a comparison to their needs. One such need is the cost of food, in which …

February 2017 (Issue 1) : Tips To Improve Water Intake, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi

Nutritions and Food Services Newsletters

• Functions of Water in the Body
• How Much to Drink
• How to Make Kids Drink Water
• How to Increase Water Intake
• Do not Forget Milk

The Slow Food Movement: A 'Big Tent' Ideology, Mark N. Wexler, Judy Oberlander, Arjun Shankar

Journal of Ideology

The Slow Food Movement (SFM) has been characterized as a reminder of the centrality of the kitchen in the “good old days”. It has also been referred to as a poor use of science posing as a rallying point for the beleaguered middle class trying to reclaim psychological territory lost to the fast-paced commercialization of what was once private or leisure time. This paper argues that both these criticisms contain more than a kernel of truth. However, each misses the mark when it comes to explaining the relative successes of SFM. In this paper, we explore SFM’s basic ideological premises. …

January 2017 (Issue 2) : Safe Use Of Microwave, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi

Nutritions and Food Services Newsletters

• How Does a Microwave Cook
• Injury Risk
• Safety Tips
• Use Microwave Safe Containers
• Avoid Super-Heated Water
• Check for Damage To Machine
• How to Report Problems

January 2017 (Issue 1) : Dysmotility, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi

Nutritions and Food Services Newsletters

• Causes of Dysmotility
• Measuring Transit Time
• Dietary and Life Style Changes

Addendum Guidelines For The Prevention Of Peanut Allergy In The United States: Report Of The National Institute Of Allergy And Infectious Diseases–Sponsored Expert Panel, Alkis Togias, Susan F. Cooper, Maria L. Acebal, Amal Assa'ad, James R. Baker, Lisa A. Beck, Julie Block, Carol Byrd-Bredbenner, Edmond S. Chan, Lawrence F. Eichenfield, David M Fleischer, George J. Fuchs Iii, Glenn T. Furuta, Matthew J. Greenhawt, Ruchi S. Gupta, Michele Habich, Stacie M. Jones, Kari Keaton, Antonella Muraro, Marshall Plaut, Lanny J. Rosenwasser, Daniel Rotrosen, Hugh A. Sampson, Lynda C. Schneider, Scott H. Sicherer, Robert Sidbury, Jonathan Spergel, David R. Stukus, Carina Venter, Joshua A. Boyce

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

Background: Food allergy is an important public health problem because it affects children and adults, can be severe and even life-threatening, and may be increasing in prevalence. Beginning in 2008, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, working with other organizations and advocacy groups, led the development of the first clinical guidelines for the diagnosis and management of food allergy. A recent landmark clinical trial and other emerging data suggest that peanut allergy can be prevented through introduction of peanut-containing foods beginning in infancy.

Objectives: Prompted by these findings, along with 25 professional organizations, federal agencies, and patient advocacy …

Syllabus: Writing About Food, Carol Connare

Sustainability Education Resources

This course approaches food writing from a news reporting perspective. The Pioneer Valley is home to a network of food producers, from farmers and cheesemakers to brewers and beekeepers. Students will travel into the field to meet people who make and grow what we eat, conducting interviews and collecting information to synthesize into multimedia stories for publication around themes such as health, history, travel, ecology, animal welfare, social change, nutrition, and home cooking. Students will experience the full spectrum of food writing—blogs, magazine articles, personal essays, reviews, recipe-centered pieces, social and cultural commentary—and create stories in a variety of these …

Finding The Link Between Social Connectivity And Dietary Intake Among Rural Adolescents In North Carolina And Kentucky, Jordan Elizabeth Mcdonald

Theses and Dissertations--Nutrition and Food Systems

Social networks play a significant role in adolescent decision making, specifically when it comes to dietary outcomes. This study, granted by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), assessed the connectivity of these social networks and the impact they have on fruit and vegetable, added sugar and sugar sweetened beverage consumption. Additionally, the relationship between shopping companionship and dietary choices was studied. Positive and negative associations were found among adolescents who shop with parents or friends. It was also found that those adolescents with greater social network cohesion were found to have more negative dietary outcomes. Divulging further into the …

No. 25: Food Insecurity In Informal Settlements In Lilongwe, Malawi, Emmanuel Chilanga, Liam Riley, Juliana Ngwira, Chisomo Chalinda, Lameck Masitala

African Food Security Urban Network

Although there is widespread food availability in urban areas across the Global South, it is not correlated with universal access to adequate amounts of nutritious foods. This report is based on a household survey conducted in 2015 in six low-income informal areas in Malawi’s capital city, where three-quarters of the population live in informal settlements. Understanding the dimensions of household food insecurity in these neighbourhoods is critical to sustainable and inclusive growth in Lilongwe. The survey findings provide a complementary perspective to the 2008 AFSUN survey conducted in Blantyre, which suggested a level of food security in urban Malawi that …

Workshop Report: Hungry Cities Partnership Knowledge Mobilization Workshop In Nanjing, Zhenzhong Si

Hungry Cities Partnership

The Hungry Cities Partnership (HCP) and Nanjing University, China organized a workshop entitled “Wet Market and Urban Food System in Nanjing” on January 12, 2017 at the School of Geographic and Oceanographic Sciences of Nanjing University in Nanjing, China. The workshop aimed to disseminate the results of the HCP household food security survey in Nanjing to government officials and researchers and to discuss the management of the urban food system. It also facilitated communication and understanding between the HCP team and local government officials regarding research themes in 2017. Presenters included Prof. Jonathan Crush, HCP Postdoctoral Fellow Zhenzhong Si, and …

No. 04: The Urban Food System Of Kingston, Jamaica, Elizabeth Thomas-Hope, Robert Kinlocke, Therese Ferguson, Charmaine Heslop-Thomas, Beth Timmers

Hungry Cities Partnership

Kingston is a colonial city and, like the country of Jamaica more generally, was the product of early mercantilism moulded by colonialism, sugar plantations and slavery. As Jamaica’s capital, Kingston is an economic and administrative hub with a social geography marked by many of the characteristic fissures of emerging cities in transition economies. Its population is fed by a combination of food imports and domestic production from agricultural areas across the island. The key trading point for fresh produce flows into Kingston is Coronation Market in the city centre. Between 60% and 70% of fruit and vegetables arriving at Coronation …

No. 05: The Urban Food System Of Bangalore, India, Aditi Surie, Neha Sami

Hungry Cities Partnership

Bangalore (officially Bangaluru) is one of India’s fastest-growing cities. It is now the fifth-largest urban agglomeration in India, and the capital and primate city of the state of Karnataka in terms of area, population and economic output. With no natural features restricting its development, Bangalore’s spatial growth patterns are characterized by urban sprawl. Although it accounts for only 0.4% of the area of Karnataka and about 16% of the total population of the state, Bangalore has the highest district income in the state, contributing approximately 34% to Gross State Domestic Product at current prices and is a magnet for investment …

No. 07: The Urban Food System Of Mexico City, Mexico, Guénola Capron, Salomón Gonzalez Arellano, Jill Wigle, Ana Luisa Diez, Anavel Monterrubio, Héctor Hidalgo, Jesús Morales, José Castro, Cristina Sánchez-Mejorada, María Concepción Huarte T., María Teresa Esquivel, René Flores

Hungry Cities Partnership

This report provides an overview of Greater Mexico City and its food system. The city’s history, demographic characteristics, geography and economy are first discussed. The city’s urban food system and urban food security are then examined with a particular focus on formal and informal food retail, food expenditure patterns, and policies to combat hunger and food insecurity. Meeting the daily food demands of Mexico City’s over 20 million inhabitants requires the agricultural production of Mexico’s rural areas, its fishing industry and food imports. Food products arrive in the city from around the country in a combination of traditional and highly …

Urban Garden, Where Art Thou? A Study Of Urban Agriculture In The Dallas Metropolitan Area, Jaronda Williams

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Food security, the constant access to a variety of food at all times by everyone (USDA), is something not all Americans have the pleasure of experiencing. Beaulac et al. (2007) found evidence of disparities in food access by income and race. A neighborhood lacking access to food is what researchers in Scotland defined as food deserts in the 1990’s (Cummins and McIntyre 2002). Food deserts exist all across America leaving citizens with the hardship of deciding to travel for healthy food options or settle for the poor grocery option in their neighborhood. Millions of Americans are faced with this battle, …

The Farm In The City In The Recent Past: Thoughts On A More Inclusive Urban Historiography, Ruth Glasser

Urban and Community Studies Faculty Writing

The scholarly and journalistic literature usually treats urban agriculture as a new phenomenon, but it is a neglected dimension of urban history. Some U.S. cities, at least in the Northeast, had food-raising and processing practices not just in colonial times but right up until the relatively recent past. Three areas of history are explored that have mostly omitted discussion of city food production but nonetheless provide important frameworks to explore such production: urban development, agricultural, and immigrant history. Woven throughout this piece is evidence from a study of Waterbury, Connecticut. Local food production did not die when the Industrial Revolution …