Search results for "FARMERS"
showing 10 items of 40 documents
Farmers' participation in civic agriculture: The effect of social embeddedness
2014
This work investigates how farmers??? attitudes influence their decision to participate in some particular forms of civic agriculture, namely farmers' markets (conventional or organic), solidarity purchase groups, direct selling and box schemes. It also explores whether social embeddedness-related attitudes occur with different intensities within the various types of civic agriculture. To this end, a survey was carried out among farmers participating in civic agriculture in Sicily (Italy). Empirical results confirm the role of social embeddedness whereby personal relations between farmers and consumers are emphasised: a greater presence of community relations fosters a greater role of socia…
Experimental Infection of Voles with Francisella tularensis Indicates Their Amplification Role in Tularemia Outbreaks
2014
Tularemia outbreaks in humans have been linked to fluctuations in rodent population density, but the mode of bacterial maintenance in nature is unclear. Here we report on an experiment to investigate the pathogenesis of Francisella tularensis infection in wild rodents, and thereby assess their potential to spread the bacterium. We infected 20 field voles (Microtus agrestis) and 12 bank voles (Myodes glareolus) with a strain of F. tularensis ssp. holarctica isolated from a human patient. Upon euthanasia or death, voles were necropsied and specimens collected for histological assessment and identification of bacteria by immunohistology and PCR. Bacterial excretion and a rapid lethal clinical …
Characterization of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in dairy farmers
2020
International audience; Background - Although farming is often considered a risk factor for COPD, data regarding the burden and characteristics of COPD in dairy farmers are sparse and conflicting. Objectives - To characterize COPD in dairy farmers. Methods - 4788 subjects entered two parallel COPD screening programs, one in agricultural workers and one in general practice from 2011 to 2015. Subjects with COPD were invited to participate in the characterization phase of the study. Those who accepted were included in two subgroups: dairy farmers with COPD (DF-COPD) (n = 101) and non-farmers with COPD (NF-COPD) (n = 85). Patients with COPD were frequency-matched with subjects with normal spiro…
Placing resilience in context: Investigating the changing experiences of Finnish organic farmers
2018
Understanding how farmers are resilient is critical for effective government and individual\ud management responses in an increasingly uncertain world. Through an inter-temporal focus on\ud Finnish organic farmers, we explore changing identities, attitudes and practices, and reflect on\ud ramifications for farming resilience. Despite the essentialising binaries perpetuated by discussions of\ud conventionalisation and bifurcation in the organic movement, organic production systems are, and\ud always have been, heterogeneous. This paper offers a nuanced analysis of the fluctuating and mixed\ud practices and identities that compose the sector. Considering the experiences of both ‘pioneer’ and\…
The genomic history of Southern Europe
2018
Farming was first introduced to southeastern Europe in the mid-7th millennium BCE - brought by migrants from Anatolia who settled in the region before spreading throughout Europe. However, the dynamics of the interaction between the first farmers and the indigenous hunter-gatherers remain poorly understood because of the near absence of ancient DNA from the region. We report new genome-wide ancient DNA data from 204 individuals-65 Paleolithic and Mesolithic, 93 Neolithic, and 46 Copper, Bronze and Iron Age-who lived in southeastern Europe and surrounding regions between about 12,000 and 500 BCE. We document that the hunter-gatherer populations of southeastern Europe, the Baltic, and the Nor…
Hemostatic, inflammatory, and oxidative markers in pesticide user farmers
2016
Research Article; International audience; The aim of this work was to investigate inflammatory, oxidative, and thrombotic parameters as biomarkers in farmers exposed to pesticides. Fifty farmers using chemical pesticides and 60 unexposed control men participated in this study. The Mediterranean diet compliance, the duration of pesticide use, and personal protection for pesticides handling were recorded using self-administered questionnaires. Serum biochemical parameters, oxidant/antioxidant, inflammatory, and thrombosis markers were determined. Our findings showed oxidative stress reflected by an increase in malondialdehyde, carbonyl proteins and superoxide anion levels and a decrease in vi…
Tracing the genetic origin of Europe’s first farmers reveals insights into their social organization
2014
Farming was established in Central Europe by the Linearbandkeramik culture (LBK), a well-investigated archaeological horizon, which emerged in the Carpathian Basin, in today's Hungary. However, the genetic background of the LBK genesis has not been revealed yet. Here we present 9 Y chromosomal and 84 mitochondrial DNA profiles from Mesolithic, Neolithic Starčevo and LBK sites (7th/6th millennium BC) from the Carpathian Basin and south-eastern Europe. We detect genetic continuity of both maternal and paternal elements during the initial spread of agriculture, and confirm the substantial genetic impact of early farming south-eastern European and Carpathian Basin cultures on Central European p…
The Neolithic Transition in the Baltic Was Not Driven by Admixture with Early European Farmers
2017
Summary The Neolithic transition was a dynamic time in European prehistory of cultural, social, and technological change. Although this period has been well explored in central Europe using ancient nuclear DNA [1, 2], its genetic impact on northern and eastern parts of this continent has not been as extensively studied. To broaden our understanding of the Neolithic transition across Europe, we analyzed eight ancient genomes: six samples (four to ∼1- to 4-fold coverage) from a 3,500 year temporal transect (∼8,300–4,800 calibrated years before present) through the Baltic region dating from the Mesolithic to the Late Neolithic and two samples spanning the Mesolithic-Neolithic boundary from the…
Consumers’ Willingness to Pay for Agri-Food Products Delivered with Electric Vehicles in the Short Supply Chains
2022
This study aims at investigating the consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for agri-food products delivered in the farmers markets with electric vehicles (EVs). The empirical analysis has been carried out by administering an online questionnaire to 273 consumers within a hypothetical context. A multiple price list has been provided in order to measure the price premium for 1 kg of oranges transported by EVs comparing with the ones transported by traditional vehicles. A Tobit regression model has been used for the data analysis in order to identify the most influential factors affecting the consumers’ WTP. Results suggest that consumers’ WTP is mainly influenced by environmental attitudes, kn…
Pig domestication and human-mediated dispersal in western Eurasia revealed through ancient DNA and geometric morphometrics.
2013
Zooarcheological evidence suggests that pigs were domesticated in Southwest Asia ∼8,500 BC. They then spread across the Middle and Near East and westward into Europe alongside early agriculturalists. European pigs were either domesticated independently or more likely appeared so as a result of admixture between introduced pigs and European wild boar. As a result, European wild boar mtDNA lineages replaced Near Eastern/Anatolian mtDNA signatures in Europe and subsequently replaced indigenous domestic pig lineages in Anatolia. The specific details of these processes, however, remain unknown. To address questions related to early pig domestication, dispersal, and turnover in the Near East, we …