Search results for "FOOD SYSTEM"
showing 10 items of 83 documents
Stakeholder perceptions of alternative food entrepreneurs
2009
This paper focuses on rural entrepreneurs' perceptions of their stakeholders with respect to their influence towards the economic success of farms and environmental issues, as well as their trustworthiness. There is special emphasis on the comparison of perceptions between suppliers of alternative food supply chains and suppliers of conventional supply chains. Survey research, with a final sample size of 522 rural entrepreneurs in Central Finland, was used as a research method. The results showed that 28% of the respondents could be defined as alternative food entrepreneurs. Significant differences between alternative and conventional food entrepreneurs were related to perceptions towards c…
La filiera siciliana della pasta: un'applicazione della netchain analysis
2016
The system of Sicilian durum wheat is facing, as indeed is happening to the entire food system, the evolution of consumption patterns toward higher quality requirements: health-wise, primarily, but also including some intangible requirements. Recent acquisitions in the field of healthy food, have called attention to some specific characteristics of Sicilian durum wheat. The durum wheat sector represents a major landmark for regional agriculture, being by far the most widespread arable crop in Sicily; a crop that, over the past 30 years, has evolved considerably, due to the impact of EU regulations. Currently, the whole Sicilian cereal-pasta chain shows shortcomings in organization and size,…
Evaluating the Sustainability in Complex Agri-Food Systems: The SAEMETH Framework
2015
During the last few years, the definition of sustainability and the translation of its general principles into practical and operative tasks have come into the foreground of scientific research and political agendas throughout the world. The understanding and the evaluation of the environmental, social and economic performances of complex agricultural food systems is probably the real challenge, and the design of more sustainable alternatives has been recognized as necessary for a correct territorial management. This study’s primary goal is the proposition of an interpretive structure “Sustainable Agri-Food Evaluation Methodology” (SAEMETH), able to guide the evaluation of the sustainabilit…
Energy consumption and improvement of energy efficiency for the European agricultural-food system
2020
This work addresses the subjects of reducing fossil energy consumption and the interventions to improve energy efficiency in the European agricultural-food sys-tem. Following an overview on both such subjects, the results of European projects TESLA and SCOoPE are also analysed with attention to best practices and technologies available to improve energy efficiency in order to reduce the fossil energy use in agri-food systems of Mediterranean countries. A list of Key Performance Indicators for the fruit and vegetable sector, useful for comparative analyses aimed at selecting best methods of energy management and technologies for improving energy efficiency, is reported. Finally, a brief focu…
Towards a more sustainable food Supply chain: opening up invisible waste in food service
2016
Future challenges to the global food supply chain are complex. In order to embrace sustainability, companies should change their management practices towards more efficient resource use. Food waste being a misuse of resources, we identify its causes and possible ways of minimising it. To achieve this goal, we conducted explorative research with qualitative and quantitative data through in-depth semi-structured interviews and an open questionnaire with top Spanish food service companies. Results show that most businesses mainly tend to minimise food waste according to economic criteria, without taking into account the social, ethical or environmental factors. As a consequence, just “visible”…
Hunger and Food Charity in Rich Societies: What Hope for the Right to Food?
2014
First World Hunger: Food Security and Welfare Politics (Riches, 1997a) offered the first cross-national study of the emergence and entrenchment of food aid and charitable food banking from the early 1980s to the mid-1990s. It consists of five case studies from advanced industrial countries with developed ‘liberal’ welfare states: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the USA. All of the countries were food exporters and food secure through national production and imports, suggesting that domestic hunger could not be caused by the failure to provide sufficient food and nutrition, but rather was a matter of distributional justice and human rights — that is a fundamentally political issue.
Transforming Food Systems at Local Levels: Using Participatory System Dynamics in an Interactive Manner to Refine Small-Scale Farmers’ Ment…
2016
Food systems will need to undergo considerable transformation. To be better prepared for and resilient to uncertainty and disturbances in the future, resource users and managers need to further develop knowledge about the food and farming system, with its dominating feedback structures and complexities, and to test robust and integrated system-based solutions. This paper investigates how participatory system dynamics modeling can be adapted to groups at the community level with low or no formal educational background. The paper also analyzes the refinement of workshop participants’ mental models as a consequence of a participatory system dynamics intervention. For this purpose, we…
Transformation of Agricultural Markets: Trends, Drivers, and Implications for SDG2
2019
The objective of this text is to provide noneconomists with an analytical tool with which to understand some of the more important trends in the food system and to improve the interpretation of the complex and rapid changes to which this field is subject. The text will begin with a general description of the main characteristics of traditional agricultural markets and then examine modern agricultural markets and related issues, such as industrialization and globalization. Finally, the text will address some of the implications of recent events in global agricultural markets regarding food security and the goal of zero hunger.
Sustainable development of apple snack formulated with blueberry juice and trehalose
2021
Novel products that carry concrete and relevant health benefits, with texture and flavor not substantially different from already available products, are generally well accepted by consumers. Vacuum impregnation is a non-thermal technology that allows the enrichment of fruit with different ingredients in solution. The characteristic of the resulting product is a combination of both the solid matrix and the impregnation solution. This work aimed at: (i) evaluating the effect of trehalose on anthocyanin retention after drying of apple snacks vacuum impregnated with blueberry juice
Delphi method applied to horticultural cooperatives
2012
PurposeAgricultural cooperatives have been able to become a strong and consolidated organizational form, although the new challenges of globalization and trade liberalization require changes in the strategic approach. The requirements of the distribution companies, consumers and government about the concentration of demand, traceability, food safety and respect for the environment had led to a thorough reorganization of agricultural food systems. So it is necessary to undertake a strategic review of horticultural cooperatives in order to conduct a strategic assessment and hence identify the strategic actions to be followed in the coming years. This paper seeks to address these issues.Design…