Climate change and food security nexus in Asia: A regional comparison

Global climatic conditions are expected to become more variable in the future, which will have far-reaching impacts on food production. In Asia, many of these impacts have been measured, but a comprehensive analysis of the effects of climate change on food production at the regional scale is limited. In this study, two key issues were addressed. First, we estimated the actual trends in temperature and precipitation across 12 Asian countries in Southern, South-Eastern, Western, and Eastern Asia between 1970 and 2018 and examined their implications on food production. Second, we deployed robust estimation techniques and examined how climatic conditions influence food production across Asian sub-regions. The results show that annual temperature across Asian regions trends positively. However, a cross-country analysis reveals varied trends in annual rainfall. The regional results indicate that temperature significantly induces food production in all regions except South-Eastern Asia, where the effect is negligible. Rainfall promotes food production in Southern, South-Eastern, and Western Asia but is not favourable to food production in Eastern Asia. The findings also show that the impacts of climatic variables on food production differ significantly from country to country. Our results are robust and suggest that substantial investments in agricultural extension, research programmes, and improved irrigation infrastructure are critical to enhancing food production and security in Asia.     

Safety Risk Assessment and Improvement in a Food Production Process

The food industry is under pressure to improve food safety, implement efficient risk management, and control quality “from farm to fork.” During processing of raw materials into packaged consumable products, food may be influenced by biological and chemical pollution and other various environmental factors. Risk assessment of a food production process was studied in this work. The novelty of this work lies in analyzing the development laws of food safety risk in serial and parallel modes, and developing a heuristic algorithm of polynomial time to minimize safety risks in food production with a constant budget. This algorithm was validated by a numerical example of peanut milk production. The primary procedures in peanut milk production were found and the advice on investment allocation was given to improve production.     

Ecosystem Subsidies to Swedish Food Consumption from 1962 to 1994

Analysis of food consumption and agricultural production trends in Sweden has focused on domestic food production levels and yields, overlooking human dependence on ecosystem support. We estimate the ecosystem areas appropriated (ArEAs) for agricultural production (crop and animal feed production and grazing in arable land and marine production for fishmeal used in animal feed) to satisfy Swedish food consumption needs from 1962 to 1994. The total agroecosystem areas worldwide supporting Swedish food consumption (that is, domestic production less exports plus imports) have declined by almost one-third since the 1960s as a result of consumption changes and agricultural intensification. By 1994, Swedish consumption of domestic food crops was halved and consumers relied on agricultural areas outside Sweden to satisfy more than a third (35%) of food consumption needs. Surprisingly, 74% of manufactured animal feed ArEAs were from imported inputs. Moreover, marine ArEAs equal to 12% of the total appropriated areas were needed to support fishmeal usage in animal feed. The results show that domestic agricultural areas do not support Swedish food consumption and that the bulk of manufactured feed used in animal products’ production in Sweden is supplied by ecosystems of other nations. These are hidden subsidies of nature, not explicit in Swedish national agricultural policy. Sweden must recognize its high level of dependence on the capacity of ecosystems of other nations to supply its food needs. Ignorance of ecosystem support may increase vulnerability.     

Environmental analysis of packaging‐derived changes in food production and consumer behavior

This study analyzed the environmental impacts of packaging‐derived changes in food production and consumer behavior to assist packaging designers in making environmentally conscious decisions. Packaging can be functionalized to prevent food loss and waste (FLW), for example, extending the expiration date and apportioning the package size, but it can generate additional environmental impacts from changes in food and packaging production. Previous studies assessed additional impacts from packaging production; however, the effects of packaging functionalization are yet to be connected with food production and consumer behavior. To examine the effect of functionalization on these aspects, we analyzed packaging‐derived changes in food production for milk and cabbage products. The case study compared products with functionalized packaging that permits a longer expiration date or a smaller portion size to their base‐case products. Our results showed that the packaging‐derived changes increased the global warming potential (GWP) of food production more than other processes did. Thus, changes in food production weakened the effectiveness of the packaging functionalization to decrease the GWP. Moreover, the analysis of consumer behavior scenarios showed that consumers’ perception of the expiration date decisively influences the effectiveness of packaging functionalization. When consumers discarded food after the expiration date, provided they consumed in small quantities, the packaging functionalization reduced FLW. From the scenario analysis, we identified appropriate combinations of packaging functionalization and consumer behaviors to effectively decrease total GWP. With our expanded analysis, packaging designers can understand the effectiveness of their decisions on the product life cycle in reducing FLW and environmental impacts.     

红壤丘陵区粮食生产的生态成本

人类的生产活动必然对资源与环境造成影响,以红壤丘陵区的湖南省祁阳县为研究对象,应用经济学和生态学方法,对粮食生产中的生态成本进行了研究。结果表明:2008年该区粮食生产生态损失总价值相当于当年农业总产值的4.85%;早、中、晚稻生态成本已分别达到3.18、2.44、3.02元/kg,而出售单价分别为1.76、1.90、1.84元/kg,高成本低收益的情况对该区域的可持续发展产生着不利影响;在当前生产力水平条件下,适度提高化肥、农药、农业机械、农膜、劳动力的投入,提高水稻产量,扩大家庭种植规模,可降低生产单位水稻的生态成本。     

南京城市化食物生产消费系统氮素流动变化

城市化的发展对食物生产消费过程中氮素的流动产生了一定的影响。以1995—2012年南京市食物生产消费变化为基础,分析了食物生产消费过程中氮素的流动变化及其引起的环境负荷。结果表明,农村和城镇人均食物氮消费量分别由1995年的5.09 kg人~(-1)a~(-1)和3.04 kg人~(-1)a~(-1)下降至2012年的4.11 kg人~(-1)a~(-1)和2.65 kg人~(-1)a~(-1);与1995年相比,南京市食物消费代价降低了39.29%;农田系统和畜禽养殖系统氮素综合利用率由1995年的18.71%增加至2012年的24.34%,整体低于全国水平,大量的氮素进入环境;1995年食物链引起氮素的环境负荷为100.49 Gg N/a,到2012年下降至69.90 Gg N/a,下降了30.44%。南京城市化的发展增加了食物进口,会使食物生产地的氮环境负荷大幅度增加。     

Evaluating the relationship between natural resource management and agriculture using embodied energy and eco-exergy analyses: A comparative study of nine countries

By shifting from animate labor to ever-increasing fossil fuel and other supplement energy subsidies, energy use in human food supply systems continues to increase. As agriculture is the fundamental manner in which humans interact with the environment, it is especially important to understand the relationships between humans, energy, and food. Many researchers evaluate the material and energy resources involved in the food production chain. Energy return on energy investment (EROI) analyses have been particularly useful in assessing the quantity of energy dissipated versus the energy eventually acquired, thus helping to evaluate the overall efficiency of human food systems (i.e., energy invested versus dietary Calories harvested). A complimentary measure, eco-exergy, has been used to evaluate the quality of energies dissipated and generated in ecosystems. To deepen our insight into the dynamic between humans and their food system, we combine these two measures for a food production analysis. Focusing on meat production, adjusted EROI and eco-exergy ratios are used to evaluate both the quantity and quality of energy accumulated and dissipated in nine country's agricultural processes. Each country's food production indicators are then compared with more established methods of sustainability measurement including ecological footprint and biocapacity. The results reveal a significant, highly correlated relationship between these food production indicators and each country's ecological footprint (resources being consumed) while also showing no correlation to their respective biocapacity (resources actually available), thus quantifying a food production disconnect from the local ecosystem. Using these new metrics, we evaluate which changes in each country's food system could result in more environmentally balanced practices, and also how these changes can be realized.     

甘肃白龙江流域生态系统粮食生产服务价值时空分异

粮食生产服务是区域生态系统主要的服务功能之一,也是人类福祉和社会发展的基础,受自然环境和社会经济发展而不断变化。然而,目前国内外尚缺乏统一的生态系统服务价值的时空动态评估方法,尤其是在脆弱的山区过渡带区域。以灾害频发的脆弱生态过渡带——甘肃白龙江流域为例,尝试引入自然环境和人文社会要素对区域生态系统生产服务经济价值进行系数调整与修正,构建生态系统服务价值的计量评估模型,测算流域内生态系统生产服务价值并分析其时空差异性。结果表明:(1)1990—2010年间白龙江流域耕地面积波动起伏较大,但流域内生态系统生产服务价值却表现出持续上升的趋势,至2010年平均生产服务价值达186.74万元。生态系统生产服务价值空间格局变化不大,其高产区约占42.4%以上,主要分布在宕昌县西北部的岷江两岸和舟曲城关镇—武都汉王镇的白龙江两岸及其以北区域。(2)方法改进后,白龙江流域生产经济价值相对减小(172.74万元),间接反映了研究区内滑坡、泥石流等自然灾害和区位人文社会要素对生产经济价值的影响,更符合流域的实际情况。     

Feeding the world healthily: the challenge of measuring the effects of agriculture on health

Agricultural production, food systems and population health are intimately linked. While there is a strong evidence base to inform our knowledge of what constitutes a healthy human diet, we know little about actual food production or consumption in many populations and how developments in the food and agricultural system will affect dietary intake patterns and health. The paucity of information on food production and consumption is arguably most acute in low- and middle-income countries, where it is most urgently needed to monitor levels of under-nutrition, the health impacts of rapid dietary transition and the increasing ‘double burden’ of nutrition-related disease. Food availability statistics based on food commodity production data are currently widely used as a proxy measure of national-level food consumption, but using data from the UK and Mexico we highlight the potential pitfalls of this approach. Despite limited resources for data collection, better systems of measurement are possible. Important drivers to improve collection systems may include efforts to meet international development goals and partnership with the private sector. A clearer understanding of the links between the agriculture and food system and population health will ensure that health becomes a critical driver of agricultural change.     

Habitat connectivity and ecosystem productivity: implications from a simple model

The import of resources (food, nutrients) sustains biological production and food webs in resource-limited habitats. Resource export from donor habitats subsidizes production in recipient habitats, but the ecosystem-scale consequences of resource translocation are generally unknown. Here, I use a nutrient-phytoplankton-zooplankton model to show how dispersive connectivity between a shallow autotrophic habitat and a deep heterotrophic pelagic habitat can amplify overall system production in metazoan food webs. This result derives from the finite capacity of suspension feeders to capture and assimilate food particles: excess primary production in closed autotrophic habitats cannot be assimilated by consumers; however, if excess phytoplankton production is exported to food-limited heterotrophic habitats, it can be assimilated by zooplankton to support additional secondary production. Transport of regenerated nutrients from heterotrophic to autotrophic habitats sustains higher system primary production. These simulation results imply that the ecosystem-scale efficiency of nutrient transformation into metazoan biomass can be constrained by the rate of resource exchange across habitats and that it is optimized when the transport rate matches the growth rate of primary producers. Slower transport (i.e., reduced connectivity) leads to nutrient limitation of primary production in autotrophic habitats and food limitation of secondary production in heterotrophic habitats. Habitat fragmentation can therefore impose energetic constraints on the carrying capacity of aquatic ecosystems. The outcomes of ecosystem restoration through habitat creation will be determined by both functions provided by newly created aquatic habitats and the rates of hydraulic connectivity between them.     

Omnivory in the calanoid copepod Temora longicornis: feeding, egg production and egg hatching rates

We measured in laboratory experiments the ingestion, egg production and egg hatching rates of female Temora longicornis as a function of diet. The diets consisted of a diatom (Thalassiosira weissflogii), an autotrophic dinoflagellate (Heterocapsa triquetra), and a bacterivorous ciliate (Uronema sp.) given as sole foods, or combinations of these single-food items: diatom+dinoflagellate, diatom+ciliate, dinoflagellate+ciliate, and diatom+ciliate+dinoflagellate. For the three single-item diets, the functional response was similar; i.e., ingestion rate increased linearly with food concentration (food range: ∼25 to ∼600 μg C l⁻¹). When all diets were considered, maximum daily carbon ration (∼70% of body weight) was independent of food type. However, the maximum daily egg production rate (12% of body carbon) was obtained with the diatom diet. For all diets, both ingestion and egg production rates increased with food concentration. Ingestion and egg production rates were affected differently by the interaction of food concentration and food type: at low food concentrations, ingestion rates were highest on diets containing the diatom. At high food concentrations, egg production rates were highest on the two phytoplankter diets and their combination. The presence of the ciliate in the diet did not enhance ingestion rate or egg production. Mixed-food diets did not enhance egg production relative to single-food diets. Hence, dietary diversity did not appear to be particularly advantageous for reproduction. Carbon-specific egg production efficiency (EPE; egg production/ingestion) was independent of food concentration and type, and equaled 9%. Egg hatching success was low (mean<30%) and independent of food concentration and type, and egg production rates. Our results are consistent with previous observations that egg production in T. longicornis is enhanced during diatom blooms. However, the relatively low EPE and egg hatching success suggest that reproduction and recruitment in this study were severely constrained by the biochemical composition of the diet, or the physiological condition of the females towards the end of their season of growth in Long Island Sound.     

Potential of Biowaste from the Food Industry as a Biomass Resource

The importance of biomass as a resource for energy production or as a chemical feedstock will increase significantly in the next decades. The amounts of biomass that can be used for non‐food purposes however will be limited and its use will compete with other claims like food and feed production. In order to minimize such food‐feed‐fuel conflicts it is necessary to integrate all kinds of biowaste into a biomass economy. The food industry in particular might be a good candidate for assessment, since it produces inevitably large amounts of biogenic residues each year. The possibilities to use food processing residues for non‐food purposes like bioenergy, biomaterial production, chemical feedstock or as animal feed are therefore discussed in more detail in this paper. It is shown that food processing residues represent a small but valuable biomass fraction that can be exploited in numerous ways. The most promising approach appears to be to design new microbial bioconversion processes as part of more complex biorefinery concepts.     

Light and nutrients regulate energy transfer through benthic and pelagic food chains

The amount of energy flowing to top trophic levels depends on primary production and the efficiency at which it is converted to production at each trophic level. In aquatic systems, algal production is often limited by light and nutrients, and the nutritional quality of algae depends on the relative balance of these two resources. In this study, we used a mesocosm experiment to examine how light and nutrient variation affected food chain efficiency (FCE, defined as the proportion of primary production converted to top trophic level production), using a food web with benthic and pelagic food chains. We also related variation in benthic and pelagic efficiencies to the nutritional quality of primary producers, i.e. carbon:nitrogen:phosphorus stoichiometry. As predicted, pelagic and benthic FCEs were highest under low light/high nutrient conditions, the treatment with the best algal food quality, i.e. the lowest C:nutrient ratios. Pelagic FCE and pelagic herbivore efficiency (HE_P) were more responsive than benthic FCE to variation in light and nutrients. Furthermore, pelagic FCE and HE_P were highly correlated with algal C:P, suggesting ‘carryover effects’ of algal food quality on carnivores (larval fish) via effects on herbivore (zooplankton) quality. Benthic (tadpole) production was primarily explained by primary production rate, suggesting food quantity rather than quality drives their production. However, benthic FCE was also highest at low light/high nutrients and was significantly correlated with food quality. The stronger effect of food quality in mediating pelagic compared to benthic efficiencies, is consistent with differences in the stoichiometric mismatches between algae and consumers. Pelagic FCE and HE_P were more likely to be P‐limited, whereas benthic FCE was more likely N‐limited. This study is the first to examine both pelagic and benthic FCE within the same system, and highlights the importance of differential consumer needs in determining how food quality affects energy transfer efficiency.     

Cassava stems: a new resource to increase food and fuel production

Given the growing global population, mankind must find new ways to lower competition for land between food and fuel production. Our findings for cassava suggest that this important crop can substantially increase the combined production of both food and fuel. Cassava stems have previously been overlooked in starch and energy production. These food‐crop residues contain about 30% starch (dry mass) mostly in the xylem rather than phloem tissue. Up to 15% starch of the stem dry mass can be extracted using simple water‐based techniques, potentially leading to an 87% increase in global cassava starch production. The integration of biofuel production, using residues and wastewater from starch extraction, may bring added value. The cassava roots on which biofuels and other products are based can be replaced by cassava stems without land use expansion, making root starch available as food for additional 30 million people today.     

Microalgae for integrated food and fuel production

Microalgae have a great potential for the sustainable production of food and fuel for a growing world population with increasing demands and changing habits. Since they are cultivated in technical systems, they do not contribute to land use competition, loss of biodiversity, and environmental pollution like other food and energy crops. Despite these advantages, the commercialization of algae technology is still in an infant stage. Algae fuel production has so far failed due to low oil prices and lack of economic viability. However, integrated food and fuel production is considered promising because the food market is more diversified and open to new and innovative products than the energy market. Integrated food and fuel production from microalgae can not only achieve higher returns on investment but also greater acceptance than fuel production alone. From the sociotechnical point of view, it is however crucial that the integrated algae production system will fulfill the promises of health and sustainability. To achieve this, a codesign approach is used, considering public perception and the views, knowledge and values of citizens and stakeholders already at an early stage in the research and innovation process.     

基于农户尺度的陕北退耕区粮食安全

对陕北退耕区米脂县(人口高密度区)和吴起县(低密度区)农户尺度粮食生产能力进行分析,应用最小人均耕地面积和生产函数方法研究了该区粮食安全状况及影响因素.结果表明:人口低密度区的粮食生产能力可基本保障其粮食安全,而人口高密度区不能确保粮食安全;基本农田面积和农业科技投入是影响农户粮食安全的主要因素,劳动力投入、素质和粮食补贴也有正向影响,但目前的农业科技水平和劳动力素质未达到粮食生产能力的囤蓄要求.应加大基本农田和农业科学技术的囤蓄力度,达到最小人均基本农田0.14 hm2,重视农业劳动力的技术培训,并制定合理的退耕后续政策.     

Overcrowding,food and phosphorus limitation effects on ephipphia production and population dynamics in the invasive species <Emphasis Type="Italic">Daphnia lumholtzi</Emphasis>

Daphnia lumholtzi has been very successful in colonizing North America since its appearance in Texas in 1990. Although previous studies have sought to link its success as an invasive species with various aspects of its population biology, there is little experimental data linking the invasion success of D. lumholtzi with its autecology, specifically its reproduction strategy. In this study we sought to link food quality and quantity to diapause in D. lumholtzi through a variation in phosphorus (P) content of algae, food quantity, and light level. We also assessed the effect of Daphnia peak population densities on reproductive rates and production of resting eggs. We found that when food is abundant, per capita ephippia production may be limited by P, but under food limitation conditions, there is no significant effect of food quality on ephippia production. Our results suggest that a combination of food quality/quantity and population density may work together to induce the production of resting eggs in this invasive species. Handling editor: S. Declerk     

Indigenous Bacteria and Fungi Drive Traditional Kimoto Sake Fermentations

Sake (Japanese rice wine) production is a complex, multistage process in which fermentation is performed by a succession of mixed fungi and bacteria. This study employed high-throughput rRNA marker gene sequencing, quantitative PCR, and terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism to characterize the bacterial and fungal communities of spontaneous sake production from koji to product as well as brewery equipment surfaces. Results demonstrate a dynamic microbial succession, with koji and early moto fermentations dominated by Bacillus, Staphylococcus, and Aspergillus flavus var. oryzae, succeeded by Lactobacillus spp. and Saccharomyces cerevisiae later in the fermentations. The microbiota driving these fermentations were also prevalent in the production environment, illustrating the reservoirs and routes for microbial contact in this traditional food fermentation. Interrogating the microbial consortia of production environments in parallel with food products is a valuable approach for understanding the complete ecology of food production systems and can be applied to any food system, leading to enlightened perspectives for process control and food safety.     

Climate change and food security

Dynamic interactions between and within the biogeophysical and human environments lead to the production, processing, distribution, preparation and consumption of food, resulting in food systems that underpin food security. Food systems encompass food availability (production, distribution and exchange), food access (affordability, allocation and preference) and food utilization (nutritional and societal values and safety), so that food security is, therefore, diminished when food systems are stressed. Such stresses may be induced by a range of factors in addition to climate change and/or other agents of environmental change (e.g. conflict, HIV/AIDS) and may be particularly severe when these factors act in combination. Urbanization and globalization are causing rapid changes to food systems. Climate change may affect food systems in several ways ranging from direct effects on crop production (e.g. changes in rainfall leading to drought or flooding, or warmer or cooler temperatures leading to changes in the length of growing season), to changes in markets, food prices and supply chain infrastructure. The relative importance of climate change for food security differs between regions. For example, in southern Africa, climate is among the most frequently cited drivers of food insecurity because it acts both as an underlying, ongoing issue and as a short-lived shock. The low ability to cope with shocks and to mitigate long-term stresses means that coping strategies that might be available in other regions are unavailable or inappropriate. In other regions, though, such as parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain of India, other drivers, such as labour issues and the availability and quality of ground water for irrigation, rank higher than the direct effects of climate change as factors influencing food security. Because of the multiple socio-economic and bio-physical factors affecting food systems and hence food security, the capacity to adapt food systems to reduce their vulnerability to climate change is not uniform. Improved systems of food production, food distribution and economic access may all contribute to food systems adapted to cope with climate change, but in adopting such changes it will be important to ensure that they contribute to sustainability. Agriculture is a major contributor of the greenhouse gases methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), so that regionally derived policies promoting adapted food systems need to mitigate further climate change.